Page 36 of In the Lonely Hour

“He didn’t take me away from y’all. You did when you gave him a second chance.”

Her face twisted as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I only gave him a second chance because you ghosted us. Even with that, I haven’t led him on and made him think he had a chance with me. I let him come home for Dior.”

“That’s not what he said. He said y’all were working on your marriage and seeing as you blocked me… that’s what it looked and felt like too.”

“Bloc—Andres. I would never block you. What the hell are you talking about?”

“Layla, you blocked me.”

“No, I didn’t! Why do you keep saying that?”

Pulling his phone from the pocket of his sweats, he called her, and it did not go through. Afterward, he showed her their text thread and how none of the messages were showing as delivered. Confusion covered her face as she grabbed the phone.

“I don’t understand.”

“The day you were supposed to give him your decision, you texted me and told me not to wait on you. He came to the center and had a meeting with my parents basically to get me to back off. He offered them a quarter of a million yearly and said he’d continue to support the center as long as I stayed away from you while you two were trying to work on your marriage.”

“I never texted you this, and I certainly didn’t block your number.” Layla pulled her phone out and went to his contact information. Sure enough, he had been blocked. She groaned. “Carlos had to text you and block you from my phone that day. When I went to get my smoothie and his soup, he asked me if he could use my phone.”

Silence simmered for a few seconds as he put the pieces together.

“So you didn’t block me?”

She chuckled as her eyes watered. “No! I promise I didn’t. I told Carlos that I chose you. Why would I block you?”

“You did?”

Layla nodded. “Yes. But after that, I didn’t hear from you. Then when I called you, you didn’t answer. I figured maybe you thought I wouldn’t do what I said and had prepared to leave us. You had that right, so I wasn’t going to force you to be in our lives. That’s why Dior was upset with you. I told her you weren’t going to work with us anymore, and she asked why, but I couldn’t give her an answer.”

His head shook and he closed his eyes briefly as a slow smile spread. A slight groan slipped from his lips. Andres ran his hand down his face before pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. He kissed her temple before closing his eyes and savoring having her in his arms again.

“I thought you didn’t want me anymore,” he confessed, causing her to grip him tighter.

“You wereallI’ve wanted.” Layla kissed his neck. “I’m so sorry he made it seem like I didn’t. I had no idea what he was up to, I swear.”

“He just keeps storing up an even bigger ass whupping,” Andres muttered as he released her. “What did Dior’s letter say?”

Layla chuckled softly as her eyes watered all over again. “Basically that she did not want Carlos staying with us. That she wanted you back. That we were happy and safe with you. And she wasn’t coming home until he left because she didn’t like him anymore.” She sighed and made her way back into his chest. “Crystal called the police, so I did file a report. I’m going to see my lawyer first thing in the morning. I have pictures of my neck and a written statement from Crystal about what happened. I’m hoping that will be enough to get Carlos to sign those papers without any pushback.”

“What about his visitation with Dior?”

“I don’t want him around her at all, honestly, and apparently she doesn’t either. If he tries to fight for visitation, I’m going to demand it be supervised, but after tonight, I want full custody.”

Andres held her for a few seconds more before leading her inside. As soon as she saw Dior, she rushed over to her. He could tell it was hard for Layla to not scold her for leaving, but she knew that would only make it worse. Instead, Layla let Dior know that waking up to her not being home scared her and Dior promised not to do it again. She asked Dior why she hadn’t told her how she felt about Carlos, and Dior made them all laugh with her simple answer—Layla never asked.

“All this time I’ve been trying to hold on to what I thought was best for you, and you didn’t even want it. What do you want, Dior?”

Dior thought over her mother’s question for a while. “I want us to live together without daddy with Mr. Dre. I want to be ableto go back to the center with my new friends. And I want to go to Mrs. Marilyn’s house to play with her dogs.”

Layla smiled softly and wiped a tear before it could fall. “Then that’s what you’ll have.”

She pulled Dior into her arms and kissed her cheek before holding her.

Andres’s heart was full as he watched them. He hated how things played out this evening, but he was glad they’d finally gotten to the truth—a truth that confirmed he wasn’t alone in his feelings for Layla or his place in her and Dior’s lives.

Layla smiled as she released Marilyn from their embrace so they could sit across from one another. She’d already thanked Marilyn for the part she played in last night’s events, but when Marilyn asked to meet her for lunch, Layla’s curiosity wouldn’t allow her to say no.

Andres ended up going back to their place last night just in case Carlos popped back up. Layla assured him that she didn’t think that would be the case, but she also didn’t mind having him back around. It felt good to be in his presence again. As much as she wanted to be held by him and wake up in his arms, Andres ended up falling asleep on the couch after spending hours with Dior. Between the excitement of her missing him and the fear of her father popping up and causing trouble, Layla wanted his attention to be on Dior fully.

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