Chapter 14 - Nathan’s Choice
Nathan did not ask Leah to forgive him.
That was the one mercy he gave her.
Three weeks after the hearing, they sat across from each other in Evelyn’s office.
Divorce papers rested between them.
Nathan looked thinner.
Older.
“I entered a gambling treatment program.”
Leah nodded.
“I heard.”
“I sold my car.”
Another nod.
“And I’m cooperating with investigators.”
“I know.”
Nathan looked at her.
“I keep thinking about the night Owen was born.”
Leah said nothing.
“You asked me to protect him.”
“No.”
Nathan frowned.
Leah looked directly at him.
“I asked you not to let anyone take him away from me.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“And then I helped them try.”
“Yes.”
Silence filled the room.
Nathan looked toward the divorce papers.
“Will I see him?”
“That depends on the court.”
“I’m not asking legally.”
Leah understood.
He was asking her.
She looked at the man she had once trusted more than anyone.
“I won’t teach Owen to hate you.”
Nathan’s eyes filled with tears.
“But I also won’t teach him that love means accepting betrayal.”
Nathan nodded slowly.
“That’s fair.”
“No.”
Leah looked down at her hands.
“It isn’t.”
“None of this is fair.”
She pushed the papers toward him.
“But it’s what we have.”
Nathan signed.
Before leaving, he stopped beside the door.
“My mother used to tell me Dad abandoned us.”
Leah waited.
“I spent twenty years angry at a dead man because believing her was easier than questioning her.”
Nathan looked toward the hallway.
“Don’t ever let Owen become me.”
Leah answered quietly.
“I won’t.”
May you like
Nathan left.
And for the first time since their wedding, Leah did not feel responsible for saving him.
