Page 28 of The Hotel Room

Silence stretched, heavy and unbearable.

Her voice dropped, quieter but no less cutting.

“You were curious. So youdestroyedus. And now you think you get to stand here and tell me it’s not important because you didn’t love her? Because you didn’t have feelings?”

She blinked, as if trying to hold back tears.

“Youshouldhave had feelings, James. You should have thought about what it would do to me. To our family.Thatwas supposed to matter.Iwas supposed to matter.”

His throat tightened, guilt twisting into something heavier—something bitter and defensive, a voice in his head still whispering,she’s overreacting.

But the way she looked at him now—like she didn’t evenknowhim—made him feel sick. She closed her eyes for a long, trembling moment before shaking her head.

“I’m coming back for the kids. Not you. I won’t stop you from being their father. But I need you to understand—weare done.”

James felt the words hit him, but the denial kept surging.

“Kate, please—”

Her eyes locked onto his. Steady. Unflinching. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

The silence that followed felt like it could crack open the earth beneath him.

James watched her, searching forsomething. A crack. A flicker. Some sign she didn’t mean it. That she wasn’tserious.

But all he saw was distance.

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The house felt...normal again. Or at least, itlookednormal.

The sounds of life had returned—the hum of the dishwasher, the creak of the floorboards as Noah paced upstairs, the faint chatter of Lily’s cartoons drifting in from the living room.

But it wasn’t the same.

Kate was keeping her distance. Quiet. Cordial. She spoke to him only when necessary, her words clipped and polite, like he was a stranger she was forcing herself to tolerate.

And now, after dinner, he could feel the weight of the tension pressing down on all of them.

This wasn’t sustainable.

So James sat down on the couch with the kids, determined tofix it, or at least explain it in a way that kept the damage contained.

Lily was curled up, her knees tucked under her while Noah sat stiffly on the opposite end of the couch, scrolling through his phone with his usual scowl.

James cleared his throat, trying to sound calm. Steady.Like a good father should.

“Hey, guys. I know things have been...different lately.”

Lily looked up immediately, her wide brown eyes full of that quiet worry that made James’s chest ache.

Noah didn’t even glance up from his phone.

James pressed on, keeping his voice gentle. “I just wanted to talk for a minute. About your mom. About everything.”

Noah finally glanced up, his expression guarded. “Are you getting divorced or what?”

James winced.Straight to the point, huh?

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