Every time I was busy, it was his chance to slip into the house. He did everything so skillfully that I never once suspected. And in the end he'd taken everything, even the heart that had once been mine.
He sat watching cartoons with my daughter, pretending to be interested, laughing and joking like a real father. Just by acting concerned, buying a few novel snacks, the little girl immediately warmed to him.
My position. Could he really steal it so easily?
I'd once thought that if I found out about him and Lennox, I'd make a scene. He thought so too. That I'd scream, lose control, so that Lennox, exhausted, would choose him instead. But he never expected I would just leave, decisively, almost cruelly. I didn't need to fight. I chose to withdraw, taking my last shred of dignity with me.
He even dared to touch Lennox's stomach, telling her in a gentle, delusional voice, "We haven't done anything wrong. We just haven't had time for a checkup yet."
He was even fantasizing that my daughter would accept having a little brother created by him. The more he spoke, the more ridiculous I found it.
Lennox stood there, her face ice cold. "Enough."
One sharp word cut off his delusion. Lennox moved closer step by step. "My husband can only be Aaron. My daughter will have no little brother."
That voice, those eyes, had become that way because of me.
He still wouldn't let go. Crying, trembling, begging. "Aaron's gone. He won't come back."
Those words were like a blade stabbing deep into Lennox's heart. She landed a slap straight across his face. "Shut up. Aaron is just angry. He'll come back to me."
The man still clung on. "Don't I matter to you at all? What about the baby inside you? How can you bear to treat me like this?"
I knew clearly Lennox wouldn't soften. She grabbed his throat, one hand trembling with rage. "A baby. You think I'd have your child? That year when Aaron lay in the ICU, I swore for the rest of my life I'd never let him get hurt again. That afternoon I had my tubes tied. In this lifetime I only have one daughter. Summer."
Hearing that made my heart ache and warm at once.
The man's eyes went wide. He'd thought their intimacy had given him an opportunity. But no. Lennox, from beginning to end, had never intended to give him a place to stand. He'd just been deluding himself too deeply.
Lennox finally released her grip, her gaze like ice as she looked down at him. "Starting today, you're fired. You'd better leave this city."
Those words completely ended all entanglements. He still tried to cling on. But I, even though I wasn't there, was still the only person Lennox loved.
He immediately confessed to Lennox that he'd just been looking for an excuse to stay near her. He said he knew he was wrong, begging her not to throw him out. But I knew that every time Lennox saw him, she remembered that I'd left. If it weren't for him crossing the line, telling me everything on his own, I wouldn't have had to leave her and our daughter. She was so furious she said if he didn't leave, she'd call people to throw him out.
Because of him, I'd left the place that had once been my home. Lennox's voice carried a rare cruelty. I'm certain he understood that too. He could never change her decision.
And then he began giving up, going mad. He staggered to his feet, pointing at Lennox and screaming with mockery. "Lennox, do you really think that after knowing everything between us, he'll still come back? Pure love. Back then, didn't I just pretend to be forced to drink, then fall into your arms, and you took the bait? And last night, I didn't beg you to keep me there. It was you who couldn't control yourself, clinging desperately to me. The one who drove Aaron Grant away wasn't me. It was you."
He wasn't done yet. He even dragged my daughter into his blame. "You two drove Aaron Grant away with your own hands."
Every word he spoke was like tearing Lennox's heart apart, making it impossible for her to keep lying to herself. She was the one who couldn't control herself and betrayed me. Who took our daughter on trips with that man behind my back. Who didn't prioritize saving me during the avalanche. Who left me alone in an empty house even on our anniversary.
I wondered, over these past two weeks, how desperate had Aaron Grant become?
On the drive home, Lennox mobilized every connection she had just to find any trace of me, but the only response was silence. No one knew where I was. According to surveillance data I'd never left the city. The last place I'd gone was that old sanatorium, but it had been abandoned for years. Not a single camera still worked. I'd walked in carrying that file folder, then vanished without a trace.
Late at night, Lennox returned home looking exhausted. Summer was still waiting on the sofa, the little girl anxiously watching the door. Hearing it open, she ran over. "Mommy, where's Daddy?"
Seeing her daughter's hopeful eyes, she could only shake her head. Summer's eyes immediately dimmed. Remembering those photos and messages, the little girl asked fearfully, "Mommy, did Daddy leave because you and Beck were together? Does Daddy not want me anymore?"
She was too heartbroken to speak. If she hadn't made that mistake, I wouldn't have had to leave. Lennox held her daughter tight, hoarsely consoling her. "No, Daddy wouldn't be that cruel. We just made a mistake. As long as we find Daddy and apologize, he'll definitely come back."
But despite the flood of phone calls, a week passed and still no one could find any trace of me. Someone hesitantly said over the phone, "Miss Whitmore, we still haven't found him anywhere. Could it be that something had happened to him?"
Lennox immediately hurled her phone against the wall, her eyes bloodshot. "Impossible. How could anything happen to Aaron? To my Aaron?"