Page 4 of Make Me Trust Again
We can’t, not now, not ever.
It is over.
We are over.
CHAPTER ONE
ROSE
May
“I’m not paying child support.”
“You—” I blink, unsure if I heard him correctly because he can’t be serious.
Only he is.
My fingers clench into fists, nails digging into my skin. “He’s yourson.”
“And I was taking care of him while he lived under my roof,” John says nonchalantly, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.
He was enjoying this.
The asshole.
“You mean, you contributed financially?—”
My lawyer gives me a warning look.
I bite my tongue and press my lips into a tight line while she turns to John.
“Mr. O’Neil,” Mrs. Lewis says evenly, her calm voice completely contrasting the storm brewing inside my chest. “My client has been very forthcoming during the mediation. She isn’t asking for anything except for the child support so that your son can continue to receive the best medical care.”
John works his jaw, his expression growing distant as he thinks. His hand rises, and he rubs at his chin. Today, he’s clean-shaven, his dress shirt is pristine, and his suit is ironed. There is no trace of the rampant man that I’ve been living with for the last year of our marriage. The man who either blamed me for the ordinary life he had to live or ignored me and shifted his focus to training and his dream of maybe playing in the NFL. The dream that was officially crushed this past fall.
As if he can feel my gaze, John turns to me, his eyes meeting mine, and the victorious gleam in them sends an icy chill running down my spine.
“Fine.” Tense silence fills the room for a heartbeat. I hold my breath, and the hair at my nape rises as I wait for the other shoe to drop. John smirks at me. “But if I have to pay child support, I want shared custody.”
Shared—
“Absolutely not.” The words are out before I can stop them.
My heart starts beating violently inside my chest, the sound echoing in my eardrums. I can hear the lawyers going back and forth, their voices just a distant noise as I stare at my husband, my soon-to-beex-husband. He’s leaning back in his chair, his elbows resting on the armrests, completely at ease as he watches me, basking in my misery.
He is doing this on purpose; we both know it.
He loves torturing me.
I left him, and now he wants to get his revenge. And what better way to hurt me than to do it through our son?
He might not care for him, but he knows there is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep Kyle happy and safe. And that includes keeping him safe from John.
John shifts in his seat and leans his elbows against the table. “Stop this nonsense, Rose, and come back home.”
Now he wants me to come back home? And for what? So he can act like I don’t exist? So I can be unhappy and unloved like I’ve been for most of our seven years of marriage?
“No.” I push my chair back, the metal screeching loudly against the hardwood. Everybody quiets, all heads turning to me. “Kyle stays with me, that’s non-negotiable. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job interview to get to, and I’m already late.”
