My Six-Year-Old Told Me About His Sister Before My Husband Did Chapter 09

My Six-Year-Old Told Me About His Sister Before My Husband Did Chapter 09

That evening, I received a friend request.

Coralie.

After a moment, I accepted it.

Her message came almost immediately.

[Izzy, I’m begging you. Can you ask Thayer to send us back?]

Only then did I learn that after I left, Thayer had moved Coralie and Twyla to a remote property near the Canadian border.

Twyla had gotten sick three or four times from the cold and the move.

[I can’t reach him. He only gave me Reeve’s number and told me to contact his assistant if I needed anything.]

[But Twyla misses him. She cries until she can barely breathe. I don’t know what else to do. Please, Izzy. You’re a mother too. Help me.]

[And… I just found out I’m pregnant again.]

A photo came through.

A pregnancy test.

Two lines.

I took screenshots of everything and sent them to Thayer.

[There’s nothing left to discuss. Divorce me. Let me go.]

[Do you want the baby in her stomach to be another child born from

—

your affair?]

The typing bubble stayed on for a long time.

Finally, he replied.

[Izzy, wait for me. I’ll handle her. You’ll see that I mean it this time.]

I let out a cold laugh.

The next day, Thayer left.

Tavish stayed.

He blinked at me with pitiful eyes.

“Mom, you’re still my mom, right?”

After a few days with Thayer, his face had grown sharper.

I treated him with cool indifference.

Tavish, on the other hand, became painfully eager.

He followed me around like a little attendant.

When I was thirsty, he brought water.

When I was cold, he warmed my hands.

He even bought flowers for me.

Everyone at the inn said I had raised such a sweet boy.

“Mom,” he asked one day, full of hope, “can you forgive me? Can you not divorce Dad?”

—

The expectation on his face was obvious.

But there was still a wall in my heart.

I crouched down and looked at him seriously.

“Tavish, you’re smarter than most children your age. You should understand this. Thayer cheated on me, and you didn’t stand with me.”

“I’m going to divorce him. You’ll stay with your father. I won’t hurt you, and I won’t abandon you completely. But things won’t go back to the way they were.”

Tavish’s face fell.

His eyes reddened.

He tugged at the hem of my sweater and begged.

“Mom, can you sleep with me tonight? Like before? I really know I was wrong.”

I pointed to the room next door and slowly closed my door.

“It’s safe here. You can sleep by yourself.”

“I taught you when you were little that people have to live with the consequences of their choices.”

Tavish cried.

But I had no intention of forgiving him.

—

I heard him sobbing through the thin walls.

He called for me, his voice small and broken.

“Mom. Mom, please.”

I pressed my palms against my ears and stared at the ceiling.

The snow was falling again.

I remembered the day Tavish was born. Thayer had held my hand and promised to love us forever.

Forever had lasted until Coralie walked into our lives.

I fell asleep to the sound of Tavish’s crying.

The next morning, I woke to find his small face pressed against my door.

He had fallen asleep in the hallway, curled up like a stray dog.

I stood there for a long time, looking at him.

Then I walked past him to the kitchen and started making breakfast.

When the smell of food reached him, he stirred.

“Mom?”

His voice cracked.

“Breakfast is ready,” I said.

He scrambled to his feet, hope blazing in his eyes.

“Does this mean you forgive me?”

I set the plate in front of him.

“No. It means I’m still your mother. That’s all.”

He ate in silence.

I watched the snow outside, already planning my next move.