Page 99 of The Edge Of Us

"Why would she...? After what I did?"

"Because she's stronger than we are," my mother whispered. "Stronger than we ever deserved."

I wiped my face with my trembling hands. Tears fell, fast and ugly. My body shuddered from them. "I hurt her. I could've-God, I could've killed her. I wanted to. In that moment..."

"You were drunk. Broken. But that doesn't excuse it," Dad said, firm. "This is your wake-up call. You're at rock bottom, Allen. Now it's up to you whether you stay here or not."

I lay still, letting those words crash over me. I thought of Corinne's eyes-once filled with love, then pain, now terror. I thought of my children. My beautiful little Astrid and Kyle. I could still see their faces that night. The confusion. The fear.

"I have to let them go," I whispered. "I have to be better. Not for her. Not to get her back. But for them. For the kids."

My mother broke into a sob, pressing her face into my shoulder. Dad stood still, watching me with guarded pride.

"Call the lawyers," I said after a moment. "I'll sign over temporary custody to you both. 50%. Until a judge says I'm okay. I need to fix myself. I need to be someone my kids aren't afraid of."

"We already started the process," Dad replied quietly. "The judge will grant the temporary custody in a few days."

I nodded slowly. Then I looked at my mother. "Get me admitted. Find the best reformation institution you can. I want inpatient treatment. Long-term. However long it takes."

She stared at me for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. We will."

We sat in silence for a while, the beeping of the monitors the only sound in the room. The painkillers were working but the ache was still there. Not in my body. In my soul.

"She'll never forgive me," I said softly. "I wouldn't either."

"Maybe not. But she wants you to live. That says something," my dad said. "She didn't choose revenge. She chose justice."

I thought about what kind of man I had become. How I let myself fall apart after my affair. After I destroyed our marriage. After Natasha. After my own damn self-pity swallowed me whole.

"She's with him isn't she?" I asked, though I already knew.

My mother hesitated. "Yes. Jasper."

A bitter chuckle escaped me. "Her best friend's brother. Of course."

"He was the one who defended her in the hospital when we..." she trailed off.

"When you what?"

Dad sighed. "We tried to stop her from pressing charges. We pleaded."

My jaw clenched. "You shouldn't have done that. She owed me nothing."

"We know. And we said some things..." Mom said, guilt lining her face. "Things we regret."

"You tried to blame her?" I asked, not angry-just disappointed.

"We were scared. We thought if you went to prison... if the press got wind of it..."

"You thought it would ruin the family name," I said bluntly.

My father looked away. "We were wrong."

"Yeah," I said. "You were."

They both stood, slowly.

"We'll begin the arrangements for the institution," Dad said. "It's your choice. But it sounds like you've made it."

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