He Locked Me Out Now He’s Begging Me Back Chapter 35
He drew in a breath, and his tone softened again.
“Tessa’s in a bad place mentally. Her job isn’t stable. The landlord keeps pushing her to leave. She can’t end up on the street with Noah. She just needs family to help her through this.”
“Everything you just said proves she cannot repay the loan.”
“She’s my daughter!”
“Then you can help her with your income and your share of the assets.”
I looked at him and said, one word at a time,
“My home equity is not an option.”
Daniel was silent for a long time, but he didn’t leave.
Then he pulled out his phone, opened a few screenshots of text messages, and pushed them toward me.
They were a conversation between him and Tessa.
“You and Noah can stay through the school year.”
“I’ll handle Claire.”
“Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. She’d never really throw out a single mom.”
I glanced at the date.
That was before my father got sick, before I ever left Portland. The so-called temporary emergency had been a lie from the beginning.
“Why are you showing me this now?”
Daniel lowered his head.
“Tessa sent these to my mother. Now everyone is blaming me, saying all of this happened because of me.”
So that was it.
Not conscience.
Just the fact that the lies could no longer be hidden.
“They’re right,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I promised it to Tessa. And I deliberately made your lock access a guest pass. I knew you’d never agree, so I thought if I got her moved in first, I could smooth things over with you later.”
This time, he didn’t mention single motherhood. He didn’t mention Noah. He didn’t say he was caught in the middle.
“You always gave way for this family,” he continued. “You paid the bills, picked up the kid, managed everyone’s feelings. After a while, I just started thinking what you did was expected. Even if you got angry, eventually you’d compromise.”
I looked at him steadily.
Late honesty only confirmed that leaving had been the right choice.
Daniel reached out as if to touch me, then stopped, his hand hanging in the air.
“Claire, I really do know I was wrong. Tell me what you want, and I’ll change it. Withdraw the suit. Come back with me, okay?”
“You’re still making plans for me.”
He froze. “Then tell me what to do.”
I closed my laptop.
“Get divorced.”