“You think that’s true? You don’t think you can get closure now that Lyndsey is gone?”
Ethan passes me the joint before settling in his seat, his head resting on the back of his chair with his eyes shut. “I don’t know, Trent. I never even got to confront her about the affair.”
I stub the end of the roach on the ashtray and pinch the end to save it for later. “And what would you have said?”
He blows out a breath. “Fuck you.”
I snort and we glance at each other until our smiles fall off.
He swallows, his chin quivering slightly. “Why? Why do that to me when you knew how unhappy I was? Why do that when I wanted to leave and you fought for me to stay? What did I do to deserve that?” His voice cracks and he faces away from me, his jaw working back and forth.
My chest aches at his pain, my stomach burning with rage at Lyndsey.
“I don’t think she’d ever tell you why, Ethan. Because there will never be a good enough answer, even if you were the shittiest husband. That’s no excuse to cheat, to have and hide a child with someone else?” I scoff, clenching my jaw for a second. “Even if she was alive, I think she would lie and manipulate to get herself out of it long enough to avoid any consequences and hurt you even more.”
Ethan looks at me with a humored sadness. “Are you suggesting that it’s a good thing she died?”
A smile pulls at my lips. “Yeah, I guess I am. Fuck, I’m going to hell.”
“And I’ll be right beside you.”
My eyes flick to his, and we don’t look away. Something warm and new tangling around us. He nods toward the door.
“Want to get back to bed?”
TEN
ETHAN
Trent massages my shoulders. “Whatever happens, it’s meant to be.”
I nod, shrugging off his touch before walking into the lawyer’s office.
My lawyer, John, greets us with a tight smile and directs me to sit down. “Thanks for coming in. This is the Smith’s solicitor, Matt. He’s here to speak on behalf of the family.” He gestures to the other man sitting across the table, his eyes bouncing between me and Trent with a small frown.
I nod at Matt and Trent crosses his arms, glaring at the man.
He clears his throat. “Before we continue, we wish to consider an agreement. Ethan will not sue for damages or compensation, and will sever contact with the family.”
I scoff. “I don’t want more contact with them. I just want to know if she’s my daughter or not, so I can move on.” If she is, I’ll deal with how to handle her family, but only for her sake.
The lawyer presses the paper forward with his fingertips. “Then you should have no problem signing?”
I glance at my lawyer who nods and explains, “I glanced over it. You still have access to your assets and accounts, but you will no longer be associated with the company,”
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “And I’m assuming there’s also a gag order?”
Matt clears his throat. “Correct. No one wishes for this information to be made public, especially for the safety and wellbeing of the child.”
“Of course. I would never do anything to harm her.” I also know that I could never let information about the affair get out if she is mine because at this point it would only cause damage to her. Her mother is dead and… I’ll get over it.
My lawyer clears his throat, grabs the contract, and tells me to give him a minute to read through one last time before sliding it to me to sign.
I barely glance at it, not caring if they stripped me of anything and everything to do with their family. The financial lawyer has already tied up enough money for me to live comfortably without the urgency of finding a new job.
Scribbling my signature on the dotted line, I shove the paper toward the lawyer.
He pulls an envelope from his briefcase, his eyes flickering with an emotion I can’t place before it shuts down and he stares at me blankly.
