My Husband Was Gone for Three Years, and Both My Mother-in-Law and I Got Pregnant Chapter 15

My Husband Was Gone for Three Years, and Both My Mother-in-Law and I Got Pregnant Chapter 15

“You still refuse to marry me. Are you leaving the door open for my brother?”

One night, Dylan crowded into the shower and demanded an answer.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re Nason’s biological father, and you’re the man raising both children Why would I want an infertile loser like Kevin?”

Dylan was extremely satisfied with my answer.

He kept me in the shower for quite a while before finally letting me go.

I would never marry Dylan.

I would never remarry Kevin either.

I remained on guard around both men.

Even the children and Margaret were tied to me through a complicated web of interests.

No one was truly reliable.

Only shared interests could keep our family looking loving, united, and perfectly happy.

Two years later, I drove my new Porsche to pick up Nason and Lilly from school.

The company Dylan had created with me as the majority shareholder had gone public the previous

year.

I still had no interest in working every day.

Fortunately, owning a controlling stake did not require me to sit in an office.

Kevin’s collapse had been much less comfortable.

The forensic accounting inquiry exposed his hidden transfers and misuse of company resources during the London assignment. His employer fired him, investors sued, and years of legal fees

consumed what remained after the divorce settlement.

Amelia disappeared during the second month after his bankruptcy.

The last I heard, she had run off to Miami with a crypto investor.

As I passed a downtown Starbucks, I spotted a familiar figure through the window.

Kevin.

He wore a wrinkled apron and stood behind the counter handing coffee to customers.

He had lost a great deal of weight.

His hair had turned gray.

Kevin saw me too.

He put down the cup in his hand, pushed through the door, and hurried after my car.

“Alison!”

I pulled over and lowered the window.

“It’s been a while.”

My voice was calm.

Kevin stood on the curb, his hair blowing messily in the wind.

His lips moved before he finally managed to speak.

“The children… are they doing well?”

“Very well. Nason won first place in a math competition last week, and Lilly got the lead in her school play.”

“That’s good. That’s really good.”

He rubbed his hands together and avoided my eyes.

“I don’t make much now. The child support might be a few days late.”

“File a modification request with the court if you can’t meet the order,” I said. “We don’t need the money anymore.”

His expression froze.

“Mom… Is she doing all right?”

“She’s great. She went on a cruise with our neighbor Tom last week. My father went with them.”

“Your father?”

“Yes. They got married last year.”

Kevin opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

I glanced in the rearview mirror at the two small heads peeking up from the back seat.

Then I looked at him.

“Kevin, you don’t need to request extra visits anymore. Follow the court schedule. Dylan will continue raising them.”

“Alison…”

I rolled up the window and stepped on the

gas.

“Mommy, who was that man?” Lilly asked from the back seat.

I glanced in the rearview mirror at Kevin’s shrinking figure.

“No one,” I said.

Then he disappeared around the corner.