Page 81 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

"I'm not blind," she continued, her voice strained. "I can see how happy she is with you. With all of you." She gestured vaguely toward the living room where she'd met his mother and Juno. "She has a whole village here—grandparents, friends, even a surrogate mother in your coffee shop girlfriend, if I'm reading your lovesick gazes correctly."

"Melissa—"

"No, let me finish." She took a deep breath. "I love Lena. I do. I'm not a bad person, Alex. But I've never been good at motherhood. Not the day-to-day stuff. The routine, the consistency... it's not me."

Alex was stunned into silence, watching as this woman revealed a side of herself he'd never seen. One she probably shared with very few people. If any.

"As you know, Daniel left almost three weeks ago," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "I was supposed to go with him—Lena and I, both," she added, as if just remembering her original plans had included her daughter. "But then all this happened with you." She shook her head, but he could see she was more sad than angry. "He had to go. He couldn't wait for me to figure things out."

"I'm sorry," Alex said, and was surprised to find he actually meant it.

Melissa wrapped her arms around herself, the gesture achingly fragile. "I'm afraid if I don't go to him soon, he'll find someone else." She met Alex's gaze directly. "I can't lose him, Alex. I really like him, and I think I could be good for him."

"Melissa," Alex said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table. "You're afraid he'll find someone else while you work out custody for your daughter? Is that the kind of man you really want?"

"You don't understand," she said, her voice getting stronger. "Daniel has so much to offer someone like me. I'm not getting any younger, Alex. And he'll marry me, even though I have Lena."

Alex sat back and crossed his arms. "You say that like he thinks Lena is a necessary evil. Extra baggage. Melissa, that's not okay. And I don't even know this guy. I've never met him, and as you already know, I'm not okay with you taking Lena out of the country again. Now that I know I have a say in things, it's not going to happen, Melissa. I'm sorry."

Melissa sighed and looked away, reluctant to meet his gaze. "Look, I need time to figure out what I want, Alex. I want to go to Greece. I want to take some time to just be me for a while. Not a mom, not an aging ex-model." She waved a hand up and down the length of her. "Just me."

Alex pressed his lips together, afraid if he opened his mouth, he'd say the wrong thing. Melissa wasn't going to Greece as Melissa. She was going as an altered version of herself that had been customized to meet what she believed were Daniel's specifications. She was a beautiful woman still, but if all Daniel saw was what his money could pay for, he'd hurt her eventually, because she wouldn't be able to live up to the impossible standards he apparently had.

"And while I need to be in Greece, while I need time to figure things out, Alex, our daughter is too young to worry about all of that."

If Alex had his way, his daughter would never have to worry about any of that. He studied Melissa's face, looking for signs of manipulation or deceit, but found only exhaustion and a kind of defeated acceptance. He took in the more defined angle of her jaw, the new hollows beneath her cheekbones, the obvious fillers in her lips. She believed that her youth and her beauty were the only currency she had.

"I know that Lena needs stability," Melissa continued. "She needs a home, a routine, people who are fully present for her. That's not me. Not right now. Maybe not ever." The admission seemed to cost her something. "I want to sign over primary custody to you."

Alex blinked, certain he'd misheard. "Primary custody?"

"You'd be her primary residence. I'd have visitation rights whenever I'm in town or whenever we can arrange for her to visit me." Melissa's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I hate myself for not being good at being a mom, especially since Lena is the perfect,perfectchild. but I can't seem to change that about myself, no matter how hard I try. Maybe this is why I reached out to you in the first place. I just didn't realize it until now. I can't do this parenting thing alone. I don't even think I could do it with help."

The raw honesty in her voice struck him. How much courage had it taken for her to admit that?

"Melissa, you don't have to give up being her mother—"

"I'm not giving her up," she interrupted sharply. "I'm giving her what she needs. What I can't provide on my own." She wiped at her eyes. "I want to be part of her life, Alex. Just... maybe not the center of it."

Alex thought of his own parents, how they'd struggled after Jason's death. How they'd pulled back from him when he'd needed them most. People could love their children deeply and still fail them.

Alex nodded, mulling over everything she said, trying to sort through it all so that he'd be able to share it with his attorney. He wished he'd been recording this all along, but he'd forgotten to take his phone out, and since Melissa was being so agreeable, he wasn't about to stick his foot in it now.

"I just have one stipulation," Melissa said, straightening her shoulders. There went that chin again.

Alex waited, not sure he was going to like the line she was going to draw in the sand between them.

"I don't want to pay child support. I know that's not fair to ask of you, but I don't really have an income, Alex. Not one I can count on."

He didn't bother telling her to get a job.

"I'm the kind of person who needs to be taken care of," she continued, as if that explained it. "My financial situation is determined by the merit of whoever is taking care of me."

Angry for her, that she thought so little of herself, Alex wanted to argue, to tell her she was worth so much more than what men like Daniel had to offer her. But it was clear by the set of her shoulders and the expression on her face that she wasn't there to be talked out of the lifestyle she'd chosen for herself.

She was there because she'd done the right thing. She was there because she wasn't going to make Lena live that lifestyle with her. For that, Alex would be eternally grateful.

"Can we agree on that?" Melissa asked, a hint of her old forthrightness returning. "If so, then I'm ready to settle this out of court. Just us and our attorneys."

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