Jilted (17 page)

“You asshole, how fucking dare you! You miserable piece of sh—”

“Mommy, why are you yelling?” A child’s voice stopped Skylar in the middle of her tirade.

Ashley froze. Mommy?

Skylar looked down at the little boy who had sidled next to her. “Tristan, what are you doing up?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Someone rang the doorbell and then I heard you yelling.”

Just then Priscilla came running out into the hallway. “I didn’t see him come down the stairs.” She took the little boy by the hand. “Come on sweetie. Let Nanna take you back to bed.”

“Yes, baby, go with Nanna so she can put you to bed. She’ll read you another story.”

The child however seemed more interested in Ashley’s presence than listening to his grandmother. “Who are you?” He demanded, staring at Ashley with eyes that looked identical to his.

Ashley opened his mouth but couldn’t get the words out. He had a son. A son he knew nothing about. He felt a sense of betrayal even deeper than the one he’d experienced when he’d learned of Skylar’s treachery. By his estimation, his son was almost five years old and there was no doubt that Tristan was his. If one compared that little boy to a side by side comparison of Ashley’s picture at five, they’d be mistaken for twins. For the past five years he’d missed out on everything in his son’s life; his birth, first steps and words. All the milestone moments that he was supposed to be there for were lost because of a lie.

Skylar looked directly at Ashley while she addressed their son. “He’s just someone Mommy used to know. Now go back to bed, sweetie and you’ll get that story.”

Tristan pouted. “But why can’t I stay up with you and Nanna and watch cartoons?”

Skylar ruffled his curls. “Absolutely not. You’re not going to want to get up in the morning. Besides, I thought you were excited about tomorrow. Tired little boys can’t go to the park.”

“Okay,” the boy said with obvious reluctance. He stole one more look at Ashley before allowing his grandmother to lead him away.

When they were alone again, Skylar turned to him with a glare. “If you say one negative thing about my child, I’m going to rip your tongue out.”

Ashley’s mind was working a mile a minute. He had been so sure that she was lying when she’d come to him that day claiming to be pregnant. There had been a desperation about her that he believed at the time was due to the fact that she wanted him to take her back. After the other lies she’d told, he didn’t possibly think that she was telling him the truth about it. And then he thought about the role his mother had played in the whole mess.

“Tristan,” he said in a whisper, testing the name on his tongue. “What’s…what’s his full name?”

Skylar snorted with a roll of her eyes. “Like you care.”

Galvanized into action he closed the gap between the two of them and grabbed Skylar by the forearms. “What’s my son’s full name?”

Her eyes widened. “Let me go!” she said in a hushed whisper. “Did you think you could just barge into my home and make demands on me? I don’t owe you a damn thing.”

Ashley didn’t get a chance to reply because the sound of the lock on the door turning cut into his thoughts. The door opened and a young woman who he assumed was Skylar’s younger sister Isabelle stepped inside.

When the teenager saw him, the smile she’d had on her face transformed into a scowl. “What are you doing here and why are you grabbing my sister?”

Ashley released Skylar and turned to face Isabelle. “This isn’t what you think. Your sister and I—”

He didn’t get a chance to respond before the teenager brought her foot up and kicked him square in the balls with so much force, Ashley saw stars. A sharp pain spread through his groin and stomach area, making him double over. He couldn’t breathe.

“Izzy!” Skylar said in horror, not because she cared that Ashley was actually hurt but because her sister had done the one thing she’d wanted to do to this man since he’d cruelly cast her aside.

“Why is this hateful bastard in our house?” Izzy demanded, glaring in Ashley’s direction.

Skylar couldn’t be upset with her sister because when Ashley had jilted her at the altar, she wasn’t the only one who’d been affected by his actions. Her mother and Izzy had suffered too. They had to help Skylar pick up the pieces of her life that he’d shattered. They’d cried with her and took care of Skylar when she wanted to simply give up. They’d stepped up to the plate and helped her with the children when they didn’t have to.

Izzy had taken a part-time job at a frozen yogurt store to help alleviate household expenses, despite being a full-time high school student with extracurricular activities. It was Izzy and her mother who watched the children when Skylar was studying for the bar or when she had to work long hours. These were all things a husband would have helped her with, so Izzy had every right to be pissed.

Seeing Ashley holding his balls while trying to gasp for air made Skylar feel a little sense of justice but she also felt some compassion as well. Despite what he’d done, she couldn’t stand to see anyone in pain no matter how horrible they were.

Skylar gently touched her sister’s shoulder, but Izzy looked as if she was ready to follow up that kick with a left hook. “Izzy, let me handle this, okay?”

Izzy furrowed her brows. “Please tell me you’re not letting him back into your life or into the kids’ lives, after what he did.”

“I know you’re upset sweetie, but I need to talk to Ashley, okay?”

“Whatever he has to say is probably bullshit. I wish I would have kicked him harder. After what he did to you, even if you forgive him, I won’t.” And with that Izzy stormed off.

It was awkward standing alone in the hallway with Ashley, who was still doubled over in pain. “Well I’m not going to apologize for that but, I’ll go get you an ice pack for your...er…junk.” When Skylar would have headed to the kitchen Ashley grabbed her by the wrist.

“Wait.”

Skylar tried to yank her arm out of his grip but it was surprisingly tight for someone in his current predicament. “Let go.”

“I need to know. What…did…she mean…by kids?” Every word he spoke seemed like a huge struggle to get out.

Skylar ran her tongue along her suddenly dry lips. It wasn’t like he she could hide the truth from him. If he could look up where she worked and lived, it would only be a matter of time before he found out the rest. “Tristan isn’t the only one.”

Ashley brought himself upright, albeit with visible effort. “What are you talking about? What do you mean he’s not the only one?”

“Tristan is a triplet.”

Chapter Fourteen

Though he was still in a lot of pain from Isabelle’s surprise assault, it was nearly forgotten at the mention of Tristan being a triplet. He had three children! Three children he knew nothing about.

“Triplets,” he muttered the word, unable to wrap his brain around the concept. He knew how multiples could happen but it was still a shock learning about them nonetheless.

Ashley had been so lost in thought; he hadn’t realized that Skylar had left him alone in the hallway until she returned carrying a plastic bag full of ice. “Here, this should ease some of the ache.”

He begrudgingly took the pack and placed it against his groin. “Thank you.”

“It’s probably best if you leave now.”

He shook his head vehemently. “No. I need you to tell me about my children.”

Skylar narrowed her gaze and placed her hands on her hips. “Seriously, Ashley? You’re demanding answers after how you threw me out of your office? I can understand you being angry if I tried to keep their existence from you altogether but that wasn’t the case. I was devastated after what you did and to be perfectly honest I didn’t want to tell you about them, but I grew up without a father and I didn’t want my children to live with the ‘what ifs’ that I did. So I swallowed my pride and went to you in the infancy of my pregnancy because I believed that you deserved to know, but your first reaction was to kick me out. You didn’t demand a paternity test upon their birth or even proof that I was pregnant. You called me a liar and some other filthy names. You made me feel two inches tall. You allowed your mother to say some gross things to me, but even still I wanted you to give you the opportunity to know your children. And now you show up at my house to make demands? Fuck you, Ashley. I don’t owe you a thing.”

He could feel the heat in his face and Ashley was sure he was beet red. Everything she said was true, but she wasn’t exactly innocent in all this. Skylar had already proven that she as a liar. How exactly did she expect him to take such life-changing news at face value, especially from her? Granted, he might have been absent from his children’s lives all this time, but now that he knew of their existence, he wanted to see them. “So you’re going to deny me access to my children, because if you are—”

“What? You’re going to destroy me? I’ve heard that line before and even though you tried, I’m still here. I survived and came out stronger because of it. So whatever you try, I’ll be ready for you. But as far as the children go, what I was going to say before you got on your high horse was that I think we should wait until we’ve both calmed down and we can have a conversation like mature adults. It won’t benefit the children if we’re at each other’s throats. For now, I think you should leave.”

As much as he wanted to argue, he couldn’t deny the logic of her words. But he couldn’t leave. Not without at least seeing their faces. “Please, let me see them.”

“Tristan may still be up but the other two are sleeping and I don’t want to wake them.”

“What are their names? Their full names.”

“Tristan is the oldest by 30 minutes. His full name is Tristan Anthony Brown. Finn Michael Brown was born next. The boys are identical. Then my daughter, Harper Elizabeth Brown was last.”

He had a daughter too! “You must have pictures. Just give me something to take home with me.”

Skylar gave him a long hard stare before releasing a sigh. “Okay. Stay right here.”

Ashley laughed without humor. “I’m not moving a muscle. I don’t want to risk running into your sister again, or your mother for that matter.”

Skylar was only gone for a few minutes when she returned with a photo and handed it to him. “You’re in luck. The kids had school pictures taken a few weeks ago. I have some extra. I had put in a special request to the photographer to get the three of them in a picture together in addition to their individual ones.”

Ashley snatched his picture from Skylar and glanced down at it. His chest grew tight and he felt a tickle in his throat. Tears stung his eyes and he was dangerously close to letting them fall. He hadn’t cried since he was a boy, but seeing the three beautiful children in the picture choked him with emotion.

As Skylar had pointed out, the boys looked exactly alike right down to their smiles. Having only seen Tristan briefly, he couldn’t tell which one of his sons was which. While his sons resembled him, his daughter was all Skylar. He lightly touched the picture with his fingertips, imagining that he was really with them. “I’ve missed so much,” he whispered.

“You only have yourself to blame, Ashley. Now that you got your picture and I’ve been thoroughly warned, I need you to leave.”

He wanted to argue and demand that she bring his children to him but the magnitude of his actions five years ago weighed heavily on him. He had a lot to process and he couldn’t do it being this close to Skylar. No matter the situation, the woman wreaked havoc on his equilibrium. Finally he found his voice. “Fine. I’ll leave. But I’ll be in touch. I will have access to my kids, and if you make things difficult for me—”

She held up her hand to halt his speech. “I’ve had enough threats from you for the night. As much as I’d like to never see you again, I’m not that petty to keep my children away from their father. They deserve the right to know you, even if you are an asshole.” Skylar then walked to the door and opened it. “Goodnight, Ashley.

He opened his mouth with a retort but she shook her head.

“I said goodnight, Ashley.”

Left with no choice, he headed out the door but as he stepped across the threshold he halted and turned to face her. “I’m sorry.” And then he left.

Skylar waited until Ashley got in his car and drove off before she closed the door. Feeling the gravity of the day weighing heavily on her shoulders, she put her back against the wall and slid down it until her butt touched the floor and her knees were pulled against her chest. Now that he knew about the kids, her peaceful life was about to be uprooted. It had taken all this time to get to a point where the pain he’d caused her didn’t make Skylar want to roll into a ball and cry. Though his cruelty had still been her greatest pain, she’d managed to focus on her children and her career. But now she had no choice but to deal with him. He genuinely seemed interested in getting to know the triplets, and Skylar had meant what she’d said about allowing him to see them. But she wondered what it would be like having to see him all the time. She was sure they’d need to have a conversation about visitation arrangements. Would she constantly be reminded of what he did whenever she saw him? Her chest was tight with worry over how she’d handled this situation like a mature adult. Up to this point, she’d had the children to herself, but the idea of sharing them caused her great anxiety.

“Sweetie, are you okay?”

Skylar looked up to see that her mother had entered the hallway. “Yes.”

“Mind if I join you?” Priscilla pointed to a space beside Skylar.

“Sure.”

“Here you go. I thought you might need this.” She handed Skylar a ceramic mug that Finn had made for her in art class. It was misshapen and clunky, but she loved it all the same.

Skylar took the cup gratefully. The scent of hot chocolate wafted to her nostril. Tiny little white marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles floated on the top. A smile touched her lips. Her mother always knew how to make her feel better. “You haven’t made me a cup of your special hot cocoa in a long time. I think the last time was when all the kids had the flu and I was working on a particularly tricky case at work.”