The Last Stitch Between Us のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

"Shawn, what's that you're holding? What kind of junk did you bring home this time?""We've got guests, and there aren't enough rooms. Find somewhere else to stay for a few days."My wife, Zoey, stared down at me coldly. Before I could answer, she tossed my suitcase into the hall.The door slammed shut.Clutching Leo's urn, I stood alone in the dark hallway. Laughter spilled from the apartment, and pain stabbed through my chest.Just hours ago, after years of illness, Leo had finally passed away.Zoey had said she was going overseas for work. Her phone had been off for days.The doctor had warned us three times that Leo might not make it. Still, he held on through the pain, hoping to see his mom one last time.I still couldn't reach her before he took his final breath.But minutes ago, I'd opened our apartment door and found Zoey—who was supposed to be overseas—sitting right there.With Peter's whole family.They were gathered around the dinner table, eating and watching TV

Zoey looked down at me like she was doing me a favor.I snapped. Tears burned my eyes."Enough! You don't deserve to say Leo's name. Leo is already—"The door clicked open before I could finish.Peter walked in like he owned the place, greeting me like he was the man of the house."Shawn, what a coincidence. You're here too. I left my coat in Zoey's bedroom, so I came back for it."I looked at Zoey and scoffed."No wonder you kicked me out yesterday. You didn't want me interrupting you two."Zoey crossed her arms, completely unapologetic."What Peter and I do is none of your business."I don't have the energy for this. When your mind's in the gutter, that's all you see."Peter grabbed his coat, still carrying Zoey's perfume, and waved it right in front of me."Shawn, you've got it wrong. My parents took the guest room last night, and there weren't any other rooms, so I—""Save it. You two could share a bed for all I care. Just sign the divorce papers."Then I headed to Le

Zoey suddenly stumbled back two steps and screamed, "Ah! Shawn, why don't you just die?"You'd really do something this cruel just to fight me for custody of Leo?"Peter quickly caught her, then turned on me."Shawn, you've gone too far. You scared Zoey."I saw Leo myself. He was perfectly fine. Why would you—"I tightened my grip on the urn and glared at him."Shut up!"You don't get to lie about a dead kid. You'll pay for this."My words hit a nerve.Zoey exploded. "Shawn, you've really lost it. Cursing your own son wasn't enough, so now you're cursing Peter too?"With a father like you, no wonder Leo picked up such awful behavior."A bad feeling hit me, but before I could react, Zoey rolled up her sleeves."Peter, hold Shawn down!"Peter smirked and grabbed me, pinning me in place.Zoey walked over and ripped the urn from my hands."What are you doing?!"I stared at her in horror. No matter how hard I fought, I couldn't break free."Fine. You want to call these ashe

"Dr. Layne, what... what are you saying?"Zoey froze, staring in disbelief."I'm not making this up. Mr. Schneider called you several times the night before last, but you never answered. I was worried just watching him try..."Zoey's hand dropped to her side, phone still in it.Dr. Layne kept talking, but she didn't hear another word.She stared blankly at the corner of the room.Her eyes were empty and unfocused.After a long silence, Zoey finally hung up.Her voice shook. "Shawn, what the hell happened?"I turned away. "I already told you. You just refused to believe me."Zoey shook her head. "No. That's impossible."Peter said he saw Leo yesterday."I let out a bitter laugh. "You're a lawyer. You should know better than to ignore the evidence."How much do you love Peter to be this blind? Fine, don't believe me—but you don't even believe the doctor?"You accused Leo and me of lying to you. Don't you know what kind of kid Leo was?"He never lied."Zoey frowned, still

But she'd forgotten I used to be a well-known fashion designer.I gave it all up to care for Leo and help Zoey chase her dream of becoming a lawyer.I handed over everything I earned and quietly carried our family.The day I left the studio, Zoey swore I'd stood by her through her hardest years and promised she'd love only me forever.Then her career took off. She opened her own law firm.And she started spending her days watching Peter's interviews on TV.Peter and I had studied the same field. Once I left fashion, he no longer had me as competition and started collecting awards overseas.Meanwhile, Zoey looked down on me more and more, convinced I was useless.She never saw what I'd sacrificed.I cut her off coldly. "Enough. I'm not interested, and you don't deserve to be a mother. If you want another kid that badly, have one with Peter."Zoey jumped to her feet."This is all Peter's fault. He lied to me. That's why I didn't know our son died."I'm going to confront him r