Chapter 240

She barely made it back to her hospital room before everything went black.
It wasn’t until she heard Matthew’s voice, faint and distant, that she finally let herself relax. Matthew was back. With him here, there was no way anyone could pin Mr. Ratcliff’s death on Reese. Only then did she feel safe enough to breathe again.
“Auntie, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean what I said,” Annie sniffled, tears as big as raindrops rolling down her cheeks. “Will you forgive me, please?”
The second Reese saw Annie, all the coldness on her face melted away. Now, Annie was sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath, and Reese’s heart just broke.
She hurried over, scooped Annie up, and kissed her cheek. “Shh, don’t cry. I’m not mad at you.”
Back at the hospital that day, Reese had stormed out in anger, not even realizing she’d left Annie behind until she got home to BlackOak. She’d meant to go back after work, but before her shift was even over, the police showed up and took her away. After that, everything just spiraled one thing after another, and she barely had a second to think, let alone check on Annie.
“It’s my fault for being so busy and forgetting about you. You shouldn’t blame yourself, sweetheart.”
“But… but you looked so scary just now,” Annie hiccuped, her voice barely above a whisper.
“That was about something else, not you,” Reese promised, giving Matthew a quick look, hoping he’d help out.
Matthew rubbed his nose, his eyes lingering on Reese for a moment before he gently took Annie from her. He pulled a tissue from his pocket and wiped away her tears.
“No more crying, okay? Didn’t we come here to apologize to Auntie and invite her to dinner?”
That reminded Annie, and she looked up at Reese with hopeful eyes. “Auntie, you haven’t had dinner yet, right? Daddy and I made a bunch of yummy food. Will you come eat with us?”
Reese smiled, tapping Annie’s nose. “Of course I will.”
Downstairs in the parking lot, Sebastian sat behind the wheel, one hand resting on the steering wheel.
In the backseat, Robbie clutched his little dinosaur toy. “Dad, I saw Mom’s car go into the garage. When are we going up?”
Sebastian swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the apartment entrance. For once, there was a flicker of hesitation in his gaze.
He’d seen Reese come home. But all
he could think about was the way
she’d looked at him that morning and said, “Sebastian, I’ll see you in court She’d been so sure, determined, and now he wasn’t even sure if he should go upstairs at all.
And if he did, what would he say? Would Reese even listen?
After a long pause, he finally said quietly, “Let’s go.”
He undid his seatbelt, about to get out, when he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
This time, Reese wasn’t alone. Walking beside her was a tall man carrying a little
girl.
Reese wore a beige trench coat, her
face turned up as she smiled at the girl in the man’s arms. Annie had one arm wrapped around Matthew’s neck, the other reaching out to hold onto Reese. Matthew carried Annie easily his shoulders straight and sure. As they stopped out into the wind, Matthew reached over and smoothed Reese’s collar like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Annie pouted in protest.
Daddy was so unfair. Her hair had blown right into her mouth and he didn’t even notice. He was too busy looking after Auntie. If Daddy couldn’t marry Auntie someday, Annie decided, she’d never forgive him.
The three of them walked side by side, turning the corner and heading off together. The soft, dim lights from the courtyard spilled over them, making them look just like a family out for a walk after dinner.
Sebastian watched them walk away, then got out of the car and pulled out a cigarette, fumbling to light it His hands were shaking or maybe the wind was just too strong, but the lighter wouldn’t catch no matter how many times he tried. The source of this content ɪs.net
Frustrated, he threw the lighter to the ground. It hit the pavement with a loud
crack, making Robbie shrink back in his seat, startled.