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It’s astounding what comes from having a husband—well, ex-husband—like mine. You think your life will be worse without them but ever since Dominic was found in that cabin, I received way more attention for his horrible acts and my stress has dwindled. Publishers wanted me to write books for them for millions of dollars, talk show hosts wanted me to come on for interviews. Is it bad to say I took them all? I did, and it felt amazing getting so much of what Dominic had done off my chest, but I didn’t do it without crediting Brynn and Shavonne. They should’ve been the people receiving all the praise, not me, but I will get to that as soon as the person I’m seeing arrives.
As I sip my chai, the door of the café opens and a lean woman in jeans and a lavender T-shirt walks into the shop with a young boy’s hand in hers. Her hair is piled into a neat curly bun, and she wears small pearls in each ear. She stops when the door closes and scans the restaurant, and I wave a hand for her to see me. When she does, she presses her lips, then grips the boy’s hand as she weaves through the tables with a slight limp.
As they approach, I can’t help seeing the resemblance of Dominic in the boy. He has his eyes and nose. Even his ears are like Dominic’s, but he has his mom’s mouth and almond skin tone.
Michelle Dawson stops at my table and pulls one of the chairs back for the boy to sit on. When he does, he grins at me and rests his forearms on the tabletop.
“Hi,” he says meekly.
My heart snags a beat and I can’t help smiling at the sweet sound of his voice. “Hi.”
Michelle claims the seat beside him and wedges her hands between her thighs. “Thank you for meeting me, and I’m so sorry we’re late,” she murmurs.
“It’s no problem.” I wave a hand. “You’re a mom. You have your hands full.”
She smiles, then glances at her son. “He loves this café.”
“What’s your name?” I ask the little boy.
“My name’s Elijah,” he says proudly. “What’s yours?” He’s six years old now and very well spoken. Pretty sure he gets that from his father. Michelle wasn’t really much of a speaker.
“I’m Jo. Would you like a cookie, Elijah?” I ask.
“Yes, please!” he cheers.
I give him one of the two cookies I ordered. I ordered an extra one on purpose, just to have something to give him and something that proves I didn’t come here fueled with animosity. He unwraps the cookie and digs right in and Michelle asks him, “What do you say, Lijah?”
“Oh—thank you, Jo,” Elijah responds, grinning with chocolate bits in his teeth.
I can’t help laughing at the sight of it. Adorable. He really is and though it pained me to know Dominic had a whole child with someone else, there was no way I could take anything out on this boy. He’s so handsome and kind and besides, I’m not evil like my ex. For awful parents, they sure have done a good job raising him. Or perhaps that’s all Michelle. Perhaps she’s changed, and a little part of me believes that, and it’s that part of me that’s willing to sit right across from her all these years later.
I watch her dig into her purse and pull out her cellphone. She hands it to Elijah who grins and says, “Thank you, Mommy!” before unlocking it with ease and opening the YouTube app.
While Elijah is watching a video and nibbling on the cookie, I shift my gaze to Michelle. “You know, I almost didn’t bother coming here.”
She nods, lowering her gaze. “I would’ve understood if you hadn’t.” She collects a breath, eyeing me. “Listen, Jolene. Before we speak about him, I want you to know that I am so sorry for the way I treated you in college. I had no right to make your life that hard. The truth is I was a sad, miserable person and you always seemed so happy. Plus you were rich and I was jealous, so I found a weakness of yours and used it to my advantage. I think when I told him who your dad was, and how you came from money, he took that as his opportunity. . . I just didn’t know it then.”
I look away, pressing my lips to avoid any tears.
“Anyway, it was wrong of me to treat you that way and I never should’ve done that. I also never should’ve kept seeing him behind your back. We were a thing in college, but it was never really all that serious until later. Regardless, it was wrong and I’m really sorry. A-and that man who um . . . caused the injury to my leg. Well . . . I get why he came for me.”
My heart drops when she mentions Boaz and I meet her eyes again. “Michelle, I—”
She raises a hand to stop me. “Call it even.”
But it isn’t even. She’s literally disabled because of an emotional decision I made. I fidget in my chair, then pick up my tea to take a long sip.
“Secondly, I had no clue the money he was giving us was from your company. I did know you were married. I won’t lie about that. For a while, I was doing it to be spiteful because I hated you. I—I was just willing to do anything to have one up on you. I don’t know if you know this, but he was the only person who continued seeing me after the surgery while everyone else forgot about me. We were friends before but became a little more than friends during my recovery and even after.”
All I can do is nod. I have to admit, even though I’m glad I’m done with Dominic, this stings to hear. When did Dominic have the time to do all this with her? We’d spent so much time together in college and even after. We were a unit—inseparable . . . or so I thought. It’s like she’s rubbing salt into a fresh wound, but not intentionally, of course. At least, I don’t think she is. She seems sincere, like she means every word. I glance at Elijah, who is almost done with his cookie, his eyes focused on the small screen of the phone.
“We were an on and off thing, even when college was over. He, um, would always say he’d give me the life of my dreams, that he would leave you for me, but I never believed him. And I didn’t know that he would be stealing from you in order to try and make that happen. I know it sounds stupid, considering where you came from, but I honestly thought the money he was sending me was his and that he’d worked for it. I figured he’d built himself through you, you know?”
“Sure.” I peer out the window of the café before asking, “Do you still keep in touch with him?”
Her head shakes rapidly. “No. Absolutely not. The last thing I want Elijah around is that.” She leans forward and says in a lower voice, “I can’t have my son knowing what his father is and what he did to those girls and that man. If he asks one day when he’s older, I’ll tell him. But not right now.”
I nod, and she relaxes in her chair again.
