Chapter 7 - The Day Bennett ReturnedBennett returned to the hospital on the morning I was scheduled to leave.
His suit was wrinkled, his eyes were red from lack of sleep, and the confidence he had carried two days earlier was gone.
He closed the door behind him.
Gideon stood near the window.
Mallory remained beside the baby’s bassinet.
Bennett looked from one person to another.
“I need to speak to my wife alone.”
“No,” I said.
His eyes narrowed.
“Tessa, this is a private family matter.”
“You stopped treating it like a family matter when you involved another household and my company’s accounts.”
He stared at Gideon.
“You went through my records?”
Gideon’s voice remained calm.
“Company records are not your personal property.”
Bennett turned back to me.
“Hadley misunderstood the arrangement.”
“She sent us the documents.”
His expression changed.
For the first time, I saw fear.
“You spoke to her?”
“Yes.”
“You had no right.”
I looked down at my daughter, who was sleeping peacefully.
Then I met his eyes.
“You told another woman that my home would become yours. You moved company funds without permission, and you came into this hospital believing you could abandon your responsibilities while keeping everything my family built.”
He stepped closer.
“I made mistakes, but we can fix this.”
“You did not make one mistake. You built an entire life around repeated choices.”
His voice softened.
“Think about what this will do to our daughter.”
May you like
I almost admired the speed with which he tried to use the child he had refused to hold.
“I am thinking about her. That is why I will not teach her that love requires accepting dishonesty.”
