Chapter 4

Just before dawn, I finally drifted into an uneasy sleep.

A while later, the sounds from the kitchen woke me up.

I slipped on my slippers and walked out.

On the dining table sat three bowls of oatmeal and a few side dishes.

Logan was wearing my floral apron, sliding freshly fried eggs onto a plate.

Sitting across from him was Chloe.

"Zoe..."

The moment she saw me, she scrambled to her feet, her voice timid and soft.

"Zoe, I'm so sorry. I came over to apologize to you in person."

I stayed frozen by the bedroom door, not taking another step forward.

"Who let you in here?"

My voice was hoarse.

Logan set the plate down and wiped his hands on a towel.

"Zoe, Chloe only came with good intentions. She said last night was a total misunderstanding, and she wanted to clear the air face-to-face."

"A misunderstanding?"

I stared at Chloe.

Her head hung low, her fingers twisting together so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

"Zoe, really, I'm so sorry. What I said last night about being pregnant... it's not what you think."

"I just wanted to tell Logan because my ex found out I'm pregnant again and threatened to harass me. I wanted Logan to talk to him for me..."

I let out a short, cold laugh.

"Your ex is threatening you, so instead of calling the police, you call a married man with a family to come to your apartment in the middle of the night?"

Chloe's lips trembled, and tears began spilling over.

They dripped down, landing right onto my dining table.

"Zoe, Logan and I really have nothing going on. He was just being nice and helping me out..."

"Save it."

I raised a hand, cutting her off cold.

"I don't give a damn about your excuses. Get out of my house. Right now."

Just then, the bedroom door clicked open.

Lily rubbed her sleepy eyes as she stumbled out, her pajamas wrinkled and her hair looking like a little bird's nest.

"Mommy..."

She mumbled sleepily, and then her eyes landed on Chloe at the dining table.

The four-year-old instantly furrowed her tiny brows.

"Auntie, you're here again?"

My heart dropped into an icy abyss.

"Lily."

I knelt down and took her little hands in mine.

"What did you just say?"

Lily looked nervously at Logan, then back at Chloe, her lower lip trembling.

"Auntie comes over a lot. Whenever Mommy isn't home, Auntie is always here."

The room fell dead silent.

Chloe's face turned as white as paper.

Logan swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Lily, don't tell stories."

His voice sounded strained and shaky.

"I'm not telling stories!"

Lily tucked herself closer into my arms, her little face crumpled with hurt.

"Whenever Auntie comes over, Daddy goes into the bedroom with her to play games, and they make me sit in the living room watching cartoons all by myself."