37 Times She Chose Him, The Last Time I Let Him Go Chapter 06

37 Times She Chose Him, The Last Time I Let Him Go Chapter 06

Grant’s grip loosened and fell away.

He stood outside the room, watching Tessa hide her face in my chest.

“Don’t let Dad in,” Tessa whispered, her voice trembling. “Close the door, Mom.”

I closed the door. Through the glass, he didn’t leave.

That afternoon, Margaret Holloway, Grant’s mother, arrived.

“Natalie called and said you’re pressing charges against Leo?”

I tucked the blanket around Tessa. “He locked her in a storage closet. He needs to apologize and be held accountable.”

Margaret lowered her voice. “He’s five. And Tessa is fine, isn’t she?”

“Who told you that?”

“Grant did. He said she got a little scared and just needed some oxygen.”

The doctor walked in and corrected her, voice cold. “She had an acute asthma attack. A few more minutes of oxygen deprivation and the outcome would have been much worse. Please don’t downplay her condition.”

Margaret’s face flushed.

After the doctor left, she tried again. “Deleting the footage was wrong, but Grant was scared for Natalie’s kid. She’s a divorced woman with no support.”

Tessa flinched under the blanket.

I pulled out my phone and started recording audio. “So you’re saying he was right to protect Natalie’s son first?”

Margaret dodged the question. “Families shouldn’t talk like this. Take back the divorce papers. That child needs her father.”

Tessa spoke up from the bed. “Grandma, having a dad doesn’t help.”

Margaret froze.

Tessa rolled over, facing the wall. “He’s always on loan to someone else.”

For once, Margaret had nothing to say.

On discharge day, Grant waited downstairs in his car. He’d cleaned Tessa’s car seat and bought a new kite.

“I’ll drive you home.”

I loaded the bags into James Quinn’s sedan.

“No need.”

He blocked my door. “Where are you taking Tessa?”

“The house my mother left me.”

“That place hasn’t been lived in for years. She won’t be comfortable.”

“She’ll be more comfortable than a house that’s always being borrowed by someone else.”

Grant went pale. “Natalie and Leo are gone. They won’t come back.”

“I don’t care if they stay or go.”

“Then why are you still divorcing me?”

I looked at him. “Because you’re still you.”

He stood rooted to the spot.

After a long silence, his voice came out rough. “Give me a month. I’ll sort things out with Natalie and make it up to Tessa.”

“You’ve made that promise before.”

“This time I mean it.”

He pulled out his phone and called Natalie on speaker.

“Don’t contact me again. And don’t let Leo call me dad.”

Natalie’s wail came through the speaker. “Are you blaming all of this on me?”

Grant shut his eyes. “It’s not about blame. I crossed a line.”

“But Leo looks at you like a father. He was crying just now, asking why you don’t want him.”

Grant’s grip tightened on the phone.

I saw it—that hesitation.

I opened the car door and got in.

As the car pulled away, Grant ran after us, slapping his palm against the window.

“Naomi! At least let me say goodbye to Tessa!”

Tessa pressed herself into my arms.

James hit the gas.

In the side mirror, I watched Natalie run out from the corner with Leo and throw herself around Grant.

And he left his hand on her shoulder. He didn’t push her away.