Eligible Ex-husband - Marie Johnston Page 0,71
playing around in the back seat of my parents’ rental.
“Go get loaded up,” I order the girls. Nerves tighten in my gut. Is Natalie feeling like crap because of my parents? And I’m the one that asked her to come when she didn’t want to.
I meant it when I said I’m not messing up my second chance with my wife. And that means something needs to be done.
I didn’t wake up today, thinking I’d need to confront my parents. I’ve never done that. Not about the way they treated me versus Liam. Not about the way they treat Natalie. And not about how little they’re truly involved in my kids’ lives.
That ends today.
After the girls give my parents another round of hugs and run off, I steel myself. “Listen.” Something in my tone makes them pause. Neither one has gotten in the car yet. “I’ve never said anything before, but I’m rectifying that. You need to treat my wife better. She’s the love of my life, the mother of my kids, and I don’t want to lose her. If that means cutting toxic people out of my life, then…”
“What the hell are you saying?” Father blusters. “We’ve never said anything bad to her.”
“Simon…” Disappointment oozes from Mother.
I shake my head. “I know I’m not Liam and that I’ll never live up to him. I know you’d rather he was around and not me, but I can’t control that. I love Natalie. She’s shown me how to really care for someone and I don’t want to lose her. So, I’m serious. If you can’t treat her with respect and cut out all the subtle digs and the cold shoulder, then I’m sorry, but I can’t expose the girls to seeing their mother get treated that way. I love you both, but that’s where we stand.”
I give them a sharp nod and walk away before an argument starts. Natalie and the girls are loaded up, but her questioning gaze is on me. My expression must tell her it wasn’t a congenial goodbye.
When I slide into the driver’s seat, all I say is, “Tell you when we get home.”
The drive is quiet and the girls run inside as soon as I park. I stare out the windshield, my chest tight, as I tell Natalie what I said.
She twists her hands. “I can’t believe—”
“That’s the problem.” I twist in the seat so I can face her properly. “You can’t believe I’d stand up to my parents for you. I should’ve done it years ago. I’m sorry.”
She rests her hand on my pecs as if she senses the turmoil inside. “I feel guilty as hell. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you. Have you ever…”
She knows the answer. I’ve never told them what I really think.
“I wish it was more of a release, but it was… disheartening. Because I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again.” I don’t know if they’ll ever get over themselves enough to try to be in our life.
But it was necessary, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to save this marriage.
Chapter 21
Natalie
I puff through the plank that Aleah is running me through. She counts down, but each second feels like a minute.
“Good job,” she says as she resets her timer.
I drop to the floor and lay my head on my arms. My gut is aching from my third set of planks, but it’s nothing unusual for working with Aleah. Not to mention that I haven’t been diligent about my training the last month or so.
I’ve been tired. Just worn out down to my bones.
I hope I’m not sick, but I haven’t been able to shake this icky feeling since the day Simon cut his parents off. That was three weeks ago. My half-marathon is in two weeks and I don’t think I’ve got even a four-mile run in me. The long runs I’ve had to do turned into a jog-walk ordeal.
“You’re flagging today, my dear.” Aleah sits with her legs crossed on the mat next to me. I hope that means I get a rest.
“I’m tired.” I roll to my side and prop my head in my hand.
“Not sleeping well?”
“I don’t think it’s that. I’ve been feeling run down for a while. Probably because I haven’t been training enough.”
She narrows her dark eyes. “Do you think you’ve been overtraining?”
Do I look as guilty as I feel? “Definitely not. I’ve missed a few workouts”—I grimace— “each week.”
She smiles, but she’s still considering me. “How’s Mr. North Dakota?”
My face