CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET SHE NEVER TOLD
CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET SHE NEVER TOLD
The Bentley remained parked at the curb.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Finally Blake managed to ask the question that mattered most.
"Why?"
Emma looked away.
Because the answer hurt.
Because the answer always hurt.
"You divorced me before I knew."
Blake froze.
"What?"
"I found out I was pregnant three weeks after the papers were finalized."
The world tilted beneath him.
"You never told me?"
A bitter laugh escaped her.
"Would you have believed me?"
Blake opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
Because the honest answer was no.
At that point he trusted lawyers more than he trusted his wife.
Emma continued.
"You had already decided I was guilty."
The memory flooded back.
The accusations.
The shouting.
The endless investigations.
Every conversation had begun with blame and ended with anger.
He remembered refusing her calls.
Ignoring her emails.
Blocking her attempts to explain.
At the time he believed he was protecting himself.
Now he saw something far uglier.
He had never given her a chance.
The oldest boy stepped forward.
"Mom?"
Emma squeezed his shoulder.
"It's okay."
Blake stared at the child.
His child.
A son he had never held.
Never taught to ride a bike.
Never tucked into bed.
Never heard say "Dad."
Then he looked at the other two.
Three birthdays missed.
Three first words.
Three first steps.
Five years.
Gone.
Forever.
The realization was unbearable.
"What's their names?" he asked quietly.
Emma hesitated.
"Ethan. Noah. Liam."
The boys looked up curiously.
Blake felt tears threaten for the first time in decades.
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The billionaire who negotiated billion-dollar deals without blinking suddenly couldn't trust his own voice.
Because no amount of money could buy back lost time.
