He said, “I’m not divorcing you! I was wrong to change Neil’s name without your knowledge, but I only wanted to help. You won’t blame me, right? You’ve always been considerate of me, haven’t you?”
His tone became increasingly diffident toward the end of his sentence. When he ended, he was barely audible.
I said kindly, “I can understand your desire to help. Besides, you’re the perfect person to be Neil’s father since he adores you, right?”
Shawn shook his head vigorously and held my hand, claiming that he wouldn’t become Neil’s father.
I laughed at that. That was what he claimed, yet he hadn’t stopped Neil from addressing him as his father. Shawn had also claimed not to have feelings for Jill, yet he allowed her to hurt me time and time again.
“Doesn’t it weigh on your conscience to say something like that, Shawn?” I asked.
1/2
He was about to answer when the doorbell rang, thought the realtor had brought someone to view the apartment, but all I saw when I opened the door was Jill and Nell.
Neil glared at me when he saw me, then ran to Shawn. “I missed you, Daddy!”
Jill feigned guilt as she said, “I’m sorry to disturb but Neil has a stuffed toy that he needs to hug to sleep. That’s why I dropped by. I also wanted to pack my things.”
She smiled provocatively at me the whole time, seemingly sure that I wouldn’t kick her out. It made sense–I’d always been the one to back down when there was conflict. I’d always given in to Shawn.
Not this time, though. I smiled at her and pointed at the things in a corner. I said, “All your stuff is there. You can take them and leave.”
Jill’s smile froze. This was not the result she’d expected. As she thought about what to say, added, “Take Shawn’s things with you, too. It’ll be more convenient if you two live together.”
I
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