Page 84 of The Devoted Husband

Her agreement to let him father a child that wasn’t his?

With a sigh, Sade stood and grabbed her phone off the charger. She hadn’t even bothered to open the DNA test results because she knew what they would say. As she went down the hall searching for Dante, she wondered how Vanessa and Clay would feel when they saw the results. Would they be relieved? Or would their grief be doubled?

Dante was seated in a recliner in front of the projector, which played a crime movie that Sade was unfamiliar with. She handed him her phone and said, “The results are in.”

He looked at the phone before taking it from her. “Why are you giving it to me?”

“I figured you’d want to see them too.”

His eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “I told you if you said the baby was mine that I believed you.”

“Still . . . I want you to see it for yourself.”

Dante opened the email, smiling when he saw the results that Sade already knew in her heart. He stood and wrapped his arms around her, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

“Smiley, I already believed you. But it is nice to see this in black and white.”

“Good.”

As she removed herself from his embrace, Dante asked, “Are you okay? You seem...sad or disappointed. Did you want this to behisbaby?”

Sade scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Of course not.”

“Then what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s necessarily wrong. I was just thinking about Atlas and how things started to go so wrong.”

Dante tilted his head. His tongue rolled over his teeth as he eyed her. “You regret what happened?”

“No. It was either him or you, and I’m happy you’re still here with me.” She released a nervous chuckle. “This really isn’t the kind of thing a person wants to discuss with their partner.”

“So, this is about you missing him then? Or, at least, missing the way thingsusedto be with him?”

“It’s about saying goodbye to something and someone I thought I’d have a future with. I didn’t go to his funeral, and even though I told Atlas we were over, I never really got closure. I feel bad.” Sade sat on the arm of the recliner. “All Atlas wanted was to love me and be with me.” She chuckled bitterly. “To be there for our child. And he...went a little crazy with it, but he was the first man to make me feel worth the pressure he was putting behind me. So, I guess I feel guilty because he’d still be alive if it wasn’t for me.”

“He’d still be alive if he wouldn’t have tried to kill me.”

“You know what I mean, Tay.”

“I do.” He sat back down and pulled her down to his lap. “Is there anything I can do to convince you this wasn’t your fault?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I know that logically. Like I didn’t make him start acting crazy. But in my heart, I feel responsible.And I know Vanessa will probably be hurt because the baby isn’t his. As much as I hate her and her sister, I feel bad about that too. They blamed me for Adam, and I know they blamed me for Atlas. Now, she will blame me for never having any grandchildren.”

“Even if she did, again, that’s not your fault, baby.”

Sade sighed as her phone vibrated. “Uh-oh.” It was Vanessa. “I kind of hate I told Grandma to give her my number. I wasn’t actually expecting her to call me after the results were delivered.”

Dante chuckled as he gripped her thigh. “Answer, Day.”

Sade pulled in a deep breath before answering with, “Hello?”

“Sade, hi. Is now a good time to talk?”

“Um, sure. What’s up?”

“We saw the results. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. At least you don’t have to worry about dealing with me for the rest of your life.”

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