of hard—I just want my fucking happily ever after! I don’t want this pain anymore.”
“You control that, Mia. You alone can make the choice to change that. Do you want that happily ever after with Ethan or do you want it with someone else? You decide. Do you work things out with your husband or do you move on? Neither choice will be easy. Neither choice is right, though neither choice is wrong. It’s all about what you want.”
“This isn’t a decision I can easily make. He’s done this to me twice! How do I know he won’t do it again? I cannot handle this again,” she said quietly, her hand kneading the back of her neck.
“Then don’t—walk away. Move on. Go visit an attorney.”
Mia whipped her head at Luke and stared at him in complete shock. As did Ethan. His mind screamed, Dude! What the hell?
“Are you seriously telling me to end my marriage?”
“If it’ll make you happy, yes, I am.”
“It’ll obliterate what’s left of my heart,” she replied as tears streamed down her face. Luke pulled her into his arms and she clung to him as she cried.
As much as he wanted to know what Mia was keeping from him, Ethan also needed her to talk to him. He could push her to a decision, he knew that, but he didn’t want to push her to the wrong one. He wanted her to know that her decision was the right one.
After a couple minutes, she sniffed and wiped her eyes, then sat up. “What else should we talk about?”
And with that question, Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. She really wanted to try.
“Anything. Talk about your past. Be open. Finally let him all the way in. Stay here if you must. That’s fine, but just talk to him.”
“I talk and I get angry and then I lash out. Just like I did today.”
“And after that, what happened? He went out there and …”
“We talked. I apologized. We kissed.”
“Of course,” he laughed. “And I bet you learned something new too.”
She nodded, worrying her hands.
“Keep at it. Keep pushing. You’re good at that.”
She chuckled and fell into him, her shoulder connecting with his chest. “Push.”
“I’m glad you’re done with touring for the rest of the year,” he said, after a few moments of quiet.
“Why?”
“You’ve been so focused on work. The band takes a break and what do you do? You make two movies, collaborate with other musicians and when that’s done, you begin work on the next album,” he paused in thought before continuing. “I remember you telling me when you signed this new deal that you’d be taking a break—a very long break. You barely had a break at all. A few months, maybe even less, before the thoughts of your music and working pulsed through your body. You don’t let yourself relax,” he paused. “Maybe …”
“Maybe what, Luke?” she asked, her voice demanding him to answer.
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Damn it. What?”
“How do you think Ethan felt about that?”
He hated it, Ethan answered in his head. He missed his wife.
“Do you even know?” Luke pried.
Instead of an answer, she shook her head.
“You’re still hiding. Dig deep, Mia, and fix this. You got the details of the night he slept with Kristen. Get to why he did it. Todd is not the full reason. There’s more.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Yes, he did have something to do with it,” he admitted, “but it’s not the entire reason.”
“Why would he say it was Todd then?”
“Because he doesn’t want to hurt you anymore than he already has,” he said, taking her hand. “You two need to discuss what that is if you think there is any chance at all of you going back to him and it working. He had a reason for doing it, Mia. Are you brave enough to ask?”
“I don’t know what to do. I’m a product of a broken home. My parents are divorced. And look what happened to me. I was—still am—a mess. I don’t want that to happen to my kids. But Ethan hurt me. Yes, he loves me. I know that. I feel it. His love—” she stopped, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued. “His love has been one of the best things in my life.”
Luke squeezed her hand and smiled. “About time you realized that.” And with that awesome admission from her, Luke stood and offered his hand to Mia. “We should go back to