Jake (Downton Cowboys #2) - Miley Maine Page 0,65

way,” I murmur, wondering how either one of us will manage to get over this.

“I—I don’t know what I did wrong,” she wonders. “We were so happy, starting a family. I—”

“You can’t blame yourself for this.” I pull away, gripping both her arms and looking into her eyes. “Don’t you dare make this your fault.”

“Then why?” She softly cries, her voice barely audible. “What happened?”

“Men’s escapades?” I bitterly smile. “Sometimes, they’re more disastrous than we think.”

“I thought he was done with that once we were married and set on having a child.” She remorsefully shook her head. “I can’t believe I wasted the best years of my life living a lie.”

“I’m not a lie.” I try to force a hopeful look into my gaze. “I’m your Belle and I love you.”

“Oh,” she starts sobbing again, hugging me, “I love you, too, sweetheart.” She pauses. “And I’m sorry that Jake doesn’t know your worth as much as I do. As much as he should.”

Jake.

How will I ever forgive him?

How would our relationship ever recover from this?

I doubt that it would.

In one hour, my whole life and my parent’s marriage have been turned upside down. Ugly truths sneer at us now, laughing in our faces, mocking our blind trust for the men we thought adored us.

Exhausted and weak, I stand up and extend a hand for her to follow suit.

“Let’s go home,” I whisper.

“Peter had better be gone,” she bitterly hisses, angrily wiping the tears off her face. “Look at this mess.” Revolted, she looks at her hand that is now stained with blotches of black mascara and eyeliner.

As we slowly walk back, we see Marlin and Nicholas standing in the distance. Their daughter, Celia, was obliviously running around, chasing a butterfly.

“Oh, thank God!” Marlin exclaims as soon as she sees us. “We were worried sick.”

“Come on,” Nicolas urges Celia to get into the car.

Marlin rushes to meet us halfway, offering a hand to help us with our long dresses. Betty soon appears from inside the church with her mother, gesturing for her to go to the car while she waits for us.

“You can stay with us tonight,” Nicholas offers.

“Thank you, dear,” Mom titters, “but it’s Peter who’ll need a home now.”

I see him and Marlin shrugging to each other and decide to ignore it. We all get into his car, while Betty joins her mother.

“Please, just take us home,” I address him from the backseat.

“Honey, we’ve got plenty of space,” Marlin insists.

“Sleepover!” Celia cheers.

“No, Cici.” She glares at her. “What do you say?” She turns to me.

“No.” I shake my head. “I think we need to be alone tonight. Thanks, hon.”

Sighing in resignation, Marlin gives her husband a meaningful look.

The ride is quiet, with only Celia making the occasional comment about something she sees along the road. Every now and then, she fluffs the layers of her skirt like a princess or adjusts her flower tiara with a coy giggle.

She is absolutely adorable, which painfully reminds me of my unborn baby and what his or her life would look like without a father.

As soon as we get home, Mom and I thank Nicholas and Marlin, and kiss little Celia goodbye before we walk into the house. While I see defeat in my mother’s every move, I try my best to maintain a presentable composure.

A couple of our neighbors happen to be out, and they see us returning home alone with her runny makeup and my muddy wedding dress. No doubt, we are about to become the new hot topic in town.

I close the door behind us and pull the little curtain over the glass window, hiding from the world and spreading a hint of darkness over the space inside.

“I’ll get out of this dress and get dinner started,” I announce, impatiently looking forward to the solitude of my shower.

“Hmm,” Mom mindlessly hums, looking around as if still looking for my father to pop his head from around a corner.

But he is nowhere to be seen.

In the bathroom, I abandon all of my inhibitions. Under the rain of the showerhead, I allow my tears to burst out and my cries to be as loud as I want them to be.

I feel cheated, violated.

How did Jake have the heart to do this to me? Fool me into thinking that he was a good, honest man, and that we would build a life together?

All based on a lie.

And my dad. How heartless he turned out to be. A woman, just like me, is out