Amy had clearly underestimated the impact of the divorce on her quiet and reserved son.
“We confronted him,” Lucas revealed with a quick look around the room. His eyes were quiet and serious when he looked back at her. “We told him that we knew he wasn’t a good lawyer, that there were all sorts of shady dealings, and we asked him to stop.”
Amy’s stomach clenched. “What did he say?”
Sylvie snorted and shook her head. “He denied everything, of course, and he tried to make it seem like you planted the evidence or something. Even though we did tell him that you had nothing to do with this and that you actually told us not to pursue this.”
Amy sighed. “He didn’t believe you, did he?”
“We told him he has to change,” Lucas replied with a lift of his chin. “And until he does, we’re not sure we want anything to do with him.”
Oh, no. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid.
And she had no idea what to say now that the day she dreaded was here.
All of the distance and all of the issues between them existed because of her refusal to vilify their father.
Now that they had drawn their own conclusions, Amy had no idea what she was supposed to do next.
Was she meant to keep defending him?
Amy blinked, her mind racing with one scenario after the next. “Isn’t that a little extreme? He’s still your father, after all. I don’t want you to make any rash decisions.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tammy’s husband, James, and Luke’s wife, Denise, cleaning up the shards of glass. Luke’s kids, Josh and Emma, stood nearby, their arms folded over their chests. Tammy’s kids, Abby and Tania, rounded the corner, carrying a small bin and garbage bag. Another murmur of conversation rose as the front door clicked open, revealing Jonathan’s kids, Jaxon and Reese, who were covered in sweat and dirt and cuts and scrapes.
With a frown, their parents descended upon them.
Amy spotted Tara and Emily duck in behind them, arms looped together. Tara went into the kitchen and started carrying out more trays of food while Emily wove in and out of the crowd, her eyes wide and searching. She stopped when she saw Amy and gave her a small wave. Amy tried to smile back, but her features felt stiff and awkward.
She didn’t know what she was meant to tell her children.
On the one hand, she was glad the secrets between them were growing smaller, but on the other hand, she didn’t want any of her personal drama spilling over into their lives.
She’d done her best to ensure it wouldn’t, but it all seemed like it was in vain.
“We need to do this, Mom,” Sylvie said before squaring her shoulders. “We appreciate you trying to protect us from this, but we’re not children anymore.”
“And we hope you can accept whatever we decide to do,” Lucas added, his voice catching toward the end. “We know none of this has been easy for you, and we’re sorry we made it worse.”
Amy stood and covered the distance between them.
Crushing both of her children to her, a surge of relief coursed through Amy, loosening some of the knots in her stomach. “Neither of you have anything to be sorry about. I love you both so much, and I’m sorry you’re finding out all of this about your father.”
Lucas and Sylvie hugged her back, only pulling away when Lily called out to them.
After exchanging another look, they released their mother and pulled Lily aside. Amy stood and wandered over to Emily, a heavy feeling settling in the center of her chest. Emily handed her a glass of red merlot as soon as she reached her. Amy took a few large sips and sagged against the nearest wall, her mind still racing to process everything.
“You look like you need something stronger.”
Amy gave Emily a grimace. “Lucas and Sylvie confronted their father, and now they’re insisting that he needs to change, or they won’t continue to have a relationship with him.”
Emily’s eyes widened as she dropped her gaze and let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot to unpack. What are you going to do? Are you going to stop them?”
Amy took another sip of her drink, the rich liquid trickling down her throat and settling in the center of her stomach. “I don’t know if I can. It’s their decision, anyway. I just hope they don’t end up making it too quickly.”
With a sigh, she glanced over at her children and saw them huddled in a corner, with Lily hunched in on herself and a glazed look in her eyes. Amy wanted to go over to them, but she knew it wasn’t the right time. The three of them had a lot to talk about, and all she could do was stand on the sidelines and hope they survived the war.
Regardless of how it looked, Amy was going to support all three of her children, no matter what life or her soon-to-be ex-husband threw at them.
