friends.”
Adam wiped his cheek.
“You missed everything because you were ashamed of missing the beginning.”
“I know.”
“No. You know facts. I lived it.”
Neither of us spoke for a while.
Then I asked about Rachel.
He said they had been together for four years.
She had a daughter, Chloe, from a previous marriage.
They were engaged.
“She ended the engagement,” he said.
I felt no satisfaction.
Maybe I expected to.
Instead, I just felt tired.
“She said she doesn’t know who I am anymore.”
I looked at him.
“That feeling has a name.”
He waited.
“Consequences.”
PART EIGHT — HE WANTED FORGIVENESS. THE CHILDREN WANTED THE TRUTH.
Adam asked to see the triplets.
I told him it wasn’t my decision alone.
A family counselor helped us navigate what came next.
That mattered to me.
I did not want the children turned into weapons.
I also refused to let Adam
