Page 96 of My Rockstar Ex's Broken Vows

She shrugs, taking a sip of her wine. "I’ve been telling you from the start not to take everything so seriously. What’s wrong with fucking for fun and letting that be that? Instead, you’re sitting here overthinking every little thing. That’s not just fun for you, is it?"

I stay quiet, the truth of her words settling uncomfortably in my chest.

"It is serious, Brooke," I say finally, my voice quieter. "We have a past, and everything is happening at warp speed. There was never a chance for the two of us to just keep it light."

Brooke nods, leaning back on the couch with a thoughtful expression. "Okay. Then go for it. I don’t really understand why that can’t be enough."

"That’s the problem," I say, staring down at my glass. "I am going for it. But I’m not sure our lives are compatible. He’s flying to LA to shoot music videos and getting mobbed by fans while I’m here, putting Ollie to bed and figuring out the PTA schedule. What if the long-distance thing, the PR, the constant attention... what if I can’t do it? Or worse, what if it’s Ollie who pays the price?"

She tilts her head, her voice softer now. "Do you really think Callum would let that happen?"

Her words catch me off guard, and for a second, I can’t find a response. "I don’t know," I admit finally. "But I know he’s living his dream. And I’m... here. Stuck. I’m not even sure how to make it work."

Brooke leans forward, her expression shifting from playful to serious. "Sienna, no one gets a perfect setup. Life is messy. But if Callum makes you happy—and I mean really happy—then maybe it’s worth figuring out. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing right this second."

Her words settle somewhere deep, their weight heavier than I expected. I lean back, taking a sip of my wine. "Maybe."

Brooke smirks. "Good. Now, let’s stop talking about your rockstar boyfriend for five seconds and talk about me. I think I met the love of my life on a Bumble date last night. Or maybe just someone who bought me an excellent steak."

I laugh despite myself, grateful for the shift in tone. But as Brooke dives into the details of her latest romantic escapade, her words linger.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

But maybe that’s what scares me the most.

Friday,April 18

1:16 PM

The hold musicis surprisingly cheery for a DNA testing lab. A jaunty piano tune feels wildly out of place given the weight of what I’m calling about.

My phone rests on speaker mode on the counter, and I pace back and forth. My mind races with everything that’s brought me to this moment.

It started with Marcus’s pattern of control and his relentless meddling. He’s got an insatiable need to orchestrate every aspect of my life. The app Callum and I uncovered was bad enough, but it’s what it made me realize that’s sticking with me now: Marcus always had to have the upper hand.

I pause in my pacing, leaning against the counter. Back then, halfway through my pregnancy, we’d come to an agreement. The truth about paternity wouldn’t matter. Marcus had looked me in the eye and told me it didn’t matter whose child I was carrying. He would be there. He would love us both.

And I believed him.

But then Ollie was born, and Marcus insisted on a paternity test. He’d brushed off my hesitation, saying something about how it would "give us closure" and "clear the air." I didn’t want to fight him on it—not when I was exhausted and adjusting to newmotherhood. So I let him handle it. He sent off the samples, took the swabs, and even brought me a copy of the results.

At the time, I didn’t question it. I had no reason to.

Looking back, it is all so strange…how he took it upon himself to use an old brush Callum had left behind in my apartment to use as a control for testing Callum's paternity. I remember being a little weirded out, but I didn't make a deal out of it when he was so hell-bent on it.

Now, I can’t stop thinking about it and how smoothly he handled the whole process. And how I just let him. God, at first, I was the perfect wife for someone like Marcus Walker.

The hold music cuts out, replaced by the crisp voice of a woman. "Thank you for holding. This is Kimberly with BioSure Labs. How can I assist you today?"

I clear my throat, trying to steady my voice. "Hi, yes. My name is Sienna Walker, and I’m looking to get a copy of a paternity test that was done about five years ago. It involved my son, Oliver Walker, and the alleged father, Marcus Walker."

"Of course," Kimberly says. "Do you have the case number or any identifying information from the test?"

I hesitate, my hands tightening on the edge of the counter. "No, I don’t have the case number, but it would have been under Marcus Walker’s name, my husband." Saying that out loud almost makes me nauseous. "He handled the testing. I just want to get a copy of the report."

"Not a problem," she says smoothly. "Let me pull up the records. Can you verify the approximate date and location where the samples were collected?"

I give her the details as my heart thuds in my chest. I wait for what feels like forever. There’s a soft clicking sound on her end, followed by the faint hum of typing.

---