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“You’re kidding, right?” I say.
“No, I mean it.”
His hand comes across the table again. This time when I move, I spill coffee onto the table, just avoiding my skin.
“Don’t be like this. You love me,” he pleads.
“No, Vince, I don’t,” I say.
“You do. I hurt you, I get that, but we can overcome that. Just come home, give me another chance. I love you, Leah. I always have.”
His whiney tone is grating on my nerves.
I shake my head, unable to believe what I’m hearing. This is a man who was threatening me with solicitors less than six months ago. Now he’s here begging for a second chance.
“What about Yasmin?”
I’m amazed as I watch the muscles in his shoulders relax. Oh wow, he thinks he has a chance.
“That’s over. She and I are history. Everything got out of hand. Yas, she was supposed to be a bit of fun, something to lighten the load. The boys, they encouraged it,” he tries to explain, as if somehow, that makes everything magically better.
“What about the baby? You can’t just ignore the child you created.”
A flush of red tinges his cheeks.
“It’s not mine,” he says, his eyes dropping to the table.
My eyebrows raise at his words. Did I just hear correctly that the child isn’t his?
“Excuse me? Not yours?” I say, slowly.
My mind goes back to the night at Tristan’s Bar, a night that set me on my current path. A night when Yasmin had purposefully told me she and Vince were having a baby.
I can no longer contain my laughter.
I look up to find Vince staring at me.
“No. It’s her ex-boyfriend’s. He dumped her when he found out she was pregnant, but had second thoughts and has come back,” Vince explains, looking at me, as if I’ve lost my mind.
I dab at the tears that are now freely running down my face.
“So, you thought you’d settle and come back for me?”
“No,” he says firmly, but I know he’s lying. Vince has never done well on his own. He can’t cook. I wonder if he has learned how to use the washing machine.
“I love you, Leah. I always have.” His tone is pleading.
“I’m sorry Vince, but it’s too late. I’ve moved on,” I say.
“Impossible. You love me,” he says again, reaching for my hand.
This time I place it in my lap.
“No, I don’t. And it’s probably the reason you had an affair. We’d grown apart.”
“No, it’s not. She tricked me.”
I stare at him, giving him a small smile. “Tricked you into bed? I don’t think so.”
