Page 107 of Backup Plan
“Are you okay?” she asks, rubbing her eyes.
“Better than I’ve been in a while. Go back to sleep.”
She’s snoring by the time I walk out of the room. The boys will be okay. I’ll be right back for them, and then maybe, if everything goes my way, I won’t have to worry about this part of their lives ever again. I’m a mom. I’ll worry about all the other stuff. But at least this is one area I might be able to control.
I drive over to the house I shared with Brent for so long, and less than ten minutes later thanks to the mercifully light traffic at this late hour, I pull into the driveway and stare at the house for a few beats. It’s a gorgeous house. Too big for a family of four, but Brent insisted. He thought it was perfect, and it was a nice place to raise the boys together.
Do I love staying with my mother? No. But is it working okay for now while I figure out our next move? Absolutely, and it even comes with a built-in babysitter.
I finally get out of the car, and he opens the door before I ring the bell as if he was waiting and watching for me.
His brows dip together as he takes in my disheveled appearance. “I take it this isn’t a booty call?”
I roll my eyes and fight with myself over making some snide remark. “No.” I mentally pat myself on the back for being so cordial.
This man destroyed our lives. He doesn’t deserve my censored snide remarks. But I’m here to make an offer, and I refuse to start off on the wrong foot. I’ll take the hit to my pride in order to protect my children.
“I want this to be over,” I say softly.
“So do I.” He’s lying. I know him well enough to know that. He likes dragging it out, and taking it to court would mean he’ll get media attention, and in his line of work, any press is good press. He thinks he’ll come out on top, and his lawyers are smarmy enough that he likely would. He’ll attract all the asshole rich men who are just like him.
I won’t let him win. I won’t let him have that.
But I have to make him think he’s winning.
“What will it take?” I ask.
He shrugs.
“I have an offer.”
He raises a brow. “Oh?”
“You give me sole legal and physical custody of the boys with a relocation clause that I can go anywhere I want, and I won’t pursue financial claims or any child support moving forward.”
He tilts his head thoughtfully. “What’s going on with you and the Bradley boy?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“A source tells me that you two are done. Is that true?”
“Again, Brent, that’s not why I’m here.” Though I’d love to know who his source is.
“Well, I figured since you’re staying with your mother that something had to have happened. What was it?”
I close my eyes. I inhale deeply through my nose and exhale through my mouth. I square my shoulders and open my eyes. “I’m not planning to relocate to San Diego if that’s what you’re asking, but if I have full legal custody and zero financial support from you, I’m likely not staying in the city. If I give you this, I want to ensure you have no hold over my future decisions.”
“When would I see the boys?”
“They’d be with me full time. They deserve consistency, and this would just make it official.”
Honestly, is he even a part of their lives now? It doesn’t seem like it, and I wore my rose-colored glasses of pretending I had the perfect life with the perfect husband when none of it was true. Hindsight has given me a clear picture of the truth. I held up my end of the deal when it came to parenting, and I also held up his end while he disappointed them time and again.
Will it be hard for them not to see their dad?
Yes. Of course it will. They love him despite his faults.
But when I see their little faces light up when I come pick them up, or when I see how much they whine when it’s time to go to Daddy’s house, or when I hear another story about how he was gone all weekend when they were there…I know I’m doing the right thing here. I know I’m trying to protect them from further disappointment and more damage to their sweet little souls. I’m not perfect, but history has proven that I’m likely better than the alternative.
