Life Of A Single Mom

Chapter 6

I ended up leaving because deep down I knew if I stayed any longer, I was going to crash out. And one thing I refused to do was let my emotions land me behind bars while the system raised my kids.
So I walked away.
At first, Will called every single day. Morning calls. Late-night voicemails. Random texts telling me he missed me, loved me, needed me. But eventually, I think he realized I was serious this time. The calls slowed down until they stopped completely.
And honestly?
That silence hurt more than the cheating.
I loved that man. I really did. But sometimes love alone isn't enough to keep a relationship alive. Respect matters too. Loyalty matters. And for once in my life, I chose myself instead of choosing chaos.
Months passed after our last conversation.
Some nights I'd lay awake wondering if he had moved on. Wondering if he forgot about me the same way people forget old memories once they stop hurting. No matter how hard I tried to stay angry, part of me still hoped he'd come back fighting for us.
Then out of nowhere...
flowers started showing up.
Gifts too.
Along with random text messages from a number I didn't recognize.
I tried acting unbothered, but inside? Baby, I was smiling hard. A small part of me just knew Will hadn't given up on me that easily.
Later that evening, another text came through:
Get dressed. Hair done. Makeup done. A car will pick you up at 8.
Now normally I would've ignored something like that, but curiosity got the best of me.
I slipped into my favorite red dress - the one that hugged every curve perfectly. That dress did something to me every time I put it on. Had me feeling confident, expensive, untouchable. The kind of dress that turned heads the second you walked in a room and had other women side-eyeing from across the floor.
By 8 o'clock sharp, the car pulled up.
The driver stepped out, opened my door, and suddenly my nerves kicked in. My mind started racing the entire ride there.
Would me and Will fix things? Was this his way of apologizing? Would we argue? Cry? Or finally get closure?
Too many emotions were hitting me at once.
When we arrived, I looked around and saw the setup - candles glowing softly, dinner already waiting, everything intimate and thoughtful. And instantly my heart softened because every little detail reflected conversations me and Will used to have before things got complicated.
I couldn't stop smiling.
For a moment, I just sat there admiring everything in front of me.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
"Hey beautiful."
That voice...
The second I turned around, my whole world shifted.
Micah.
Not Will.
Micah stood there looking at me like no time had passed between us at all.
And truthfully, that man always did something to me.
The crazy part was I never even had to sleep with him to feel connected. His presence alone brought me peace. Every single time life knocked me down, somehow Micah always appeared exactly when I needed him most.
Right on time.
We sat down, ate dinner, laughed, and caught up on life like old friends reconnecting after years apart. Conversation flowed so naturally between us that neither one of us realized hours had passed until the sky slowly started changing colors and the sun began rising.
And sitting there across from him, watching him smile at me over coffee and half-finished plates, I realized something I had spent years trying to ignore:
Micah felt safe.
No games. No chaos. No sneaking around.
Just peace.
But despite everything I felt for him, I had always kept my distance. Partly because we lived in different cities... but mostly because he wasn't my usual type.
And sometimes the people who are best for you look nothing like the people you're used to loving.