Ellie thought she'd never find love again, especially after having her son, Noah, and the love of her life leaving her to raise their child alone. Ellie found contentment in being a single mother until she meets Daniel on a night out.
He's charming...
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I thought about taking Daniel up on his offer to come with me to speak to Craig, but if I were in Craig's position, I wouldn't want to be blindsided like that. I feel awkward discussing my new relationship with him, but we have a child together, so whether I like it or not, our lives are entangled together for the rest of our lives.
I can't change my sentence, but I hope it gets a little easier as time passes and we move on with our lives.
Noah knocks on Craig's front door and he greets us with a curt smile. Noah ducks inside and disappears down the hallway, leaving us alone. I don't want to be alone right now but I inhale a deep breath and summon whatever courage I can find.
"Can we talk?"
"Yes." Craig eagerly nods.
Hope swirls in his hazel brown eyes, but this conversation isn't the one he's wishing for, in fact, it's quite the opposite. There's no good time to break somebody's heart, nor an easy way to soften the blow.
Surely Craig knows that when he walked out, he took whatever chance of us being a family went with him.
He leads me into the kitchen and I use the kitchen bench to put some space between us. It's hard to breathe when he's so close, and I don't like that sense of powder and entitlement he can have over me.
"I'm sorry for scaring you." His features soften as he leans against the cool marble bench. "Seeing you with Noah reminds me of the regret that weighs heavily on my chest. I should have never left you both."
"Thanks for the apology." I tap my fingernails on the bench, it's such a bad nervous habit to have. I always wondered if his choice to leave weighed as heavily as it has on mine.
"Can we start over? I really did mean everything I said." Craig reaches over the bench and covers my hand with his big warm one. The way his hand pins mine down leaves an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I move back and cross my arms over my chest.
"Please, Ellie. It's the worst mistake of my life and I can see that now. You're an amazing mother and you made me a better person."
"We can't."
"I've changed." Those words used to tug on my heartstrings when I actually thought this man was capable of change.
"We can't because I'm seeing someone else."
His mouth drops open, then the shock mixes with sadness, and speckles of anger appear. His hands turn into fists, then he exhales a breath and places his palms on the bench.
"I." I sigh. "I wanted to be the one to tell you in case Noah said something."
"How long? You told Noah?" His brows knit together and he resembles a deer caught in the headlights.
"It's still very new and he just met Noah. I introduced him as my friend just to see how they'd go. I don't want to move fast and upset Noah."
