Tyson
I made it to the parking lot before I completely fell apart. My truck was parked
three rows back from the lab entrance, and I barely got the door closed before the
first sob tore out of my chest. My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my
knuckles went white, and I couldn't breathe, couldn't think past the image of
Brook's face. That coldness. That complete and utter devastation masked by ice.
She'd looked at me like I was a stranger. No—worse than a stranger. Like I was
someone who'd hurt her in a way she'd never forgive. And Preston. God, Preston
had run to me with his arms out, his face lit up with pure joy, and I'd held him
knowing—knowing—that just yesterday I'd doubted he was mine. My son. My boy
who had my smile and my stubborn streak and my love of trucks. I'd held him and
wanted to die from the shame of it. The test would prove I was his father. I knew
that now, sitting here with my world crumbling around me. I knew it. But it was too
late. The damage was done. I'd chosen Celeste's words over seven years with
Brook. Over my wife who'd never given me a single reason to doubt her. Who'd
loved me since I was seventeen years old, who'd built a life with me, who was
carrying our daughter. Another sob ripped through me, and I pressed my forehead
against the steering wheel. What the fuck had I done? My phone buzzed. Then
again. And again. I finally looked at it through blurred vision.
Asher : You done at the lab? Asher : Come to my place. Now. Asher : Don't go back
to your parents. Come here. I sat there for another five minutes, trying to pull
myself together enough to drive. Finally, I started the truck and headed toward
Asher's house on autopilot. When I pulled up, all three of their vehicles were there.
Asher's Je ep, Jacob's sedan, Tyrone's truck. They'd been waiting for me. I walked up
to the door, and Asher opened it before I could knock. One look at my face and he
st epped aside without a word. Jacob and Tyrone were in the living room. Nobody
spoke as I sank onto the couch and dropped my head into my hands. "How'd it go?"
Tyrone finally asked, his voice careful. "She wouldn't even look at me." My voice
came out raw, broken. "She looked through me like I wasn't there. And Preston—he
was so happy to see me, and I—" I couldn't finish. "The test is done?" Jacob asked.
"Yeah. Results in three to five days." I laughed, but it came out bitter and hollow.
"Not that it matters. I already know what it'll say." "Then why the fuck did you do
it?" Asher's voice was hard, angry. "Why did you believe Celeste?" I looked up at
him, at all three of them. "I don't know. I saw that paper, and I just—I couldn't
think. It looked real." "Did you even question it?" Tyrone leaned forward, his elbows
on his knees. "Did you ask yourself for one second why Celeste would have that
information? How she'd even get it?" I hadn't. I'd just... reacted.
"Brook has been faithful to you since the day you met her," Jacob said quietly.
"Seven years, man. Seven years of her being exactly who she's always been. Solid.
Devoted. She chose you every single day." "I know—" "Do you?" Asher cut me off.
"Because you threw that away over a piece of paper from your sister. Your sister
who has hated Brook from day one." The words hit like punches, each one deserved.
"When has Celeste ever done anything nice for Brook?" Asher asked, his eyes
boring into mine. "Ever? One single thing?" I opened my mouth. Closed it. Searched
my memory for something, anything. The answer was never. Not once in five years
of marriage had Celeste been kind to my wife. She'd been cold at best, cruel at
worst. She'd made snide comments about Brook's family, about her job, about how
she dressed. She'd "forgotten" to invite Brook to family events. She'd rolled her
eyes every time Brook spoke. And I'd let it happen. I'd told Brook that Celeste
would come around, that she just needed time. I'd made excuses. "Oh God." The
realization crashed over me like a wave. "She played me. Celeste played me, and I
fell for it." "Yeah, you did." Asher's voice was brutal. "And now your wife—your
pregnant wife—is looking at divorce lawyers because you believed the one person
who's been trying to destroy her for years." My head snapped up. "How do you
know—"
"Letti called Tyrone. Brook went straight from the lab to a lawyer's office." Jacob's
expression was grim. "She's done, man. Can you blame her?" No. I couldn't. If she'd
done this to me—if she'd believed someone over me without question, thrown away
everything we'd built—I'd be destroyed too. "The test results won't fix this," Tyrone
said quietly. "You know that, right? Even when it comes back proving Preston is
yours, that doesn't undo what you did. It doesn't erase that you doubted her. That
you walked out on her." "I know." My voice broke. "I know, but I don't—I don't know
how to fix it." "You grovel," Asher said flatly. "You get on your knees and you beg
her to give you a chance to make this right. You tell your parents they're wrong.
You tell Celeste exactly what she is. And you pray to God that Brook loves you
enough to eventually forgive you." "She won't even let me in the house." "Then you
camp on the fucking lawn." Asher's jaw was tight. "You don't give up. You don't wait
for the test results to prove you're right. You start fixing this -now . Today." I looked
at the three of them—my best friends since high school, the guys who'd been in my
wedding, who'd been there when Preston was born. They were looking at me with
disappointment and anger, but also something else. Hope. They still had hope that I
could fix this. I just didn't know if I deserved the chance.
"She told me I'd regret this," I whispered. "At the door, before she shut me out. She
said I'd regret it." "She was right," Jacob said. " Question is, what are you going to
do about it?" I didn't have an answer. Not yet. But sitting here, feeling the full
weight of what I'd destroyed, I knew one thing for certain. I'd spend the rest of my
life trying to make this right, even if Brook never forgave me. I just hoped I'd get
the chance.