“I think it’s a perfect gift.” Mia smiles at me as I hold on to the tiny heart pendant, rubbing my thumb over it again and again.

“Can I get this one engraved?” I ask the jewelry store employee.

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll take it then.” At this point, I would have taken it anyway. Mia and I have been shopping all day, and I want nothing more than to get out of here.

“Good choice,” Mia says, and I can’t help but lean down to drop a kiss to her perfect lips.

“Thank you for today.”

“Are you kidding me? I had so much fun.” She bends to collect the bags she set down while I was talking to the clerk, and I point to something else in the case, mouthing to the employee that I want it, too. Mia doesn’t notice, and for that, I am thankful.

My phone vibrates, and I pull it out to see a text.

Rianna: We’re starving! Are you almost done, can you bring home food?

Me: Yup, just cashing out at the last store now. What do you girls want?

The woman walks over, and I hand her my Amex card before she says the total. We really abused it today. “The girls are hungry, what do you feel like?”

“Whatever they want.”

I text Rianna back.

Me: You girls pick and text us your order. Love you.

I sign the receipt, and the woman says, “The engraving should be done tomorrow by five.”

“Great, if I’m not available can my girlfriend pick it up?” I glance at Mia, who has wandered over to another case, and then I slip her necklace into one of my bags.

“Yes, of course, what is her name?”

“Mia Cavalano.”

“Fantastic. You’re all set, have a wonderful night, Mr. Reddick.”

When we leave the store, the mall is desolate, and I ask Mia, “What time is it?”

“Nine fifteen.”

“Damn, woman, you are a shopaholic.” I’m normally the guy who knows exactly what he wants and is in and out of the mall as fast as humanly possible. So, for me to spend the whole evening here is almost unheard of.

After loading all the bags into the trunk of my car, I get a text.

Rianna: We really want Taco Bell.

Me: Seriously?

I text her back and then show Mia the screen as a huge order pops up in another text. And then Mia’s response is not at all what I expect. “It does kinda sound good.”

“Oh my God, what is wrong with you women?” I pull out of the lot and head to Taco Bell. After ordering thirty dollars worth of their food, my car smells like it, and I can’t lie, I’m kind of excited to eat it.

“So, is there anything else we need to do before the party?” Mia asks me.

“I don’t think so. The bowling alley is handling everything.”

“What about her home-cooked meal?”

“Oh shit, yes. Let’s talk about that with her tonight.”

I pull into my driveway and turn the car off. Before going inside, I grab Mia by the side of her face and kiss her softly. Her lips mold against mine, making my cock throb. As fast as the kiss starts, it stops, and I rest my forehead against hers for a beat, trying to get myself under control.

“Ready to go eat this crap?”

She nods happily, and I don’t think there is anything that could ruin our day. It’s been perfect.

But as we walk through the front door, a very familiar face looks over at me.

My world stops.

I can’t breathe through the anger that pulses violently through me.

What. The. Fuck.

Standing in the middle of my living room is Georgia. Rianna is screaming at her to leave, but Maisy is clinging to her side.

My insides are spinning, spiraling deep into emotions I can’t decipher. My grasp of reality slips through my fingertips. Maybe this isn’t even real at all. I close my eyes, hoping they are just playing tricks on me, but Rianna’s verbal assault is relentless, and when I open them she is still here. I go into defensive mode.

“Rianna stop!” I shout.

Tears are rolling down her face as she looks at me, waiting for me to make this right. “Take your sister downstairs.”

“No, Daddy!” Maisy looks over at me. Georgia’s arms are clenched so tightly around her tiny body it makes my vision tint in red. That woman has no right to hug Maisy after abandoning her. Those hands that I used to love and do anything for, which broke me in the most unimaginable way, should never get to hug her daughter again.

“Your mom and I need to talk,” I kneel in front of Georgia so I can look Maisy in the eyes and block out the fact that I’m so close to my ex that I can smell her perfume.

“If I let go, she’ll leave again,” she whispers, hiccupping. I hope Georgia is paying attention and really getting a good look at all the pain she has caused these two girls.

“I won’t let her leave yet, I promise, baby.” Georgia loosens her hold, and Rianna snatches Maisy away as if Georgia has the plague. I watch my oldest drag my youngest through the living room and down the steps to the basement. Once the girls are out of sight, I glance over my shoulder, expecting Mia to be standing in the doorway. She’s gone.

Fuck my life.

“What are you doing here?” I snarl, even angrier that she’s affecting not just the girls but also Mia.

“It’s good to see you, too, Roan.” Her condescending tone is too much. How dare she just come into my home like this and expect to exchange friendly chitchat.

“Fuck you, don’t play games with me, Georgia.”

“I’m not playing games. I came back for Maisy’s birthday, that’s all.”

“Why didn’t you call me first?” After all these years, why this birthday?

“I don’t have your number.”

“It’s the same fuckin’ number it was when you lived here.” Goddamn, it’s really fucking hard to keep myself composed. “You would know if you had bothered to call at any point in the last seven fucking years.”

She runs her fingers through her long blonde hair, and it isn’t until this moment that I realize that she’s sober. I haven’t seen her sober for a long, long time, so this is a sight. “I wanted to call. You have to believe me,” she says, and those few words are the last she should say.

“Why? Why the fuck should I believe anything . . . anything at all that you say? You left me with a goddamn note, and you left our little girls alone in the middle of the fucking night. You’re a horrible person.”

“I know I am and that’ll always be my greatest regret in life.”

“Good, I hope it keeps you awake at night. Just like it does to Maisy and Rianna.”

Tears stream down her face, but I don’t give a shit. I hope she cries until she’s stuck alone in the middle of a lake of her own tears.

“I wanna make this right. I wanna make everything better.”

“Fuck you! There is nothing left for you here, you can’t undo what you did.”

“I’m so sorry, Roan.” I rake my fingers through my hair in frustration and look around my house, wishing I had a way out, a way to make this all stop.