Chapter 7
Two weeks later, Jake did something no one expected.
He went to Mark’s office, in the middle of the day, and apologized to every single person he’d lied to.
He told all their mutual friends, all their coworkers, that he’d made up the whole story about me cheating.
He posted a long, public apology on his social media, naming no names, but taking full responsibility for destroying a family for his own selfish reasons.
He didn’t make excuses.
He didn’t blame Eleanor, or his childhood, or anyone else.
He just said he’d been wrong, he was sorry, and he was going to spend the rest of his life making amends.
I saw the post when my mom sent it to me, my mouth hanging open.
That night, Mark came home from work, his face quiet.
He sat down next to me on the couch, where I was feeding Liam.
“Jake came to the office today,” he said, soft. “He apologized to everyone. He even apologized to my boss, for the drama it caused the company.”
I nodded, not saying anything.
Mark reached out, slow, like he was scared I’d pull away, and brushed a strand of hair off my face.
I didn’t pull away.
“I talked to him after,” he said. “He’s applying for jobs in Portland. He wants to move, start over. He said he doesn’t want to be a reminder of all the bad things that happened here. But he wants to stay in touch. He wants… he wants to be my brother. If I’ll let him.”
I looked at him.
“Will you?” I said.
Mark looked down at Liam, his face soft.
“I think so,” he said. “He messed up. Bad. But he’s family. And he’s trying. That’s more than a lot of people do.”
He turned back to me, his eyes wet.
“I’m trying too, Lila,” he said, quiet. “I know I hurt you worse than I can ever say. I know saying sorry isn’t enough. But I’m going to keep trying. Every single day. For as long as it takes. Even if it takes the rest of my life.”
I looked at him.
At the dark circles under his eyes from all the nights he’d gotten up with Liam.
At the way he looked at our son like he was the most precious thing in the world.
At the way he looked at me, like I was still the only thing that mattered.
I leaned over, slow, and rested my head on his shoulder.
He froze for a second, like he couldn’t believe it, then wrapped his arm around me, careful not to disturb Liam, and held me tight.
He didn’t say anything.
He just held me, and for the first time in months, I felt safe.
Not fixed.
Not completely healed.
May you like
But safe.
Like we were on the right path.
