“Excuse me?” I ask sure that I didn’t hear her correctly.
Sarah draws her lower lip slightly in between her teeth. “Dylan, I want to explain it all to you, but it’s not something I can just make you understand in a two-minute pass by. Can we take a seat?”
I look to the older woman. You would think with the amount of money she has that she would be covered in couture and expensive jewelry. Instead, she looks how I remember her when I met her that very first day over eighteen years ago. I remember thinking that she looked a lot like the lady at my preschool, almost whimsical in a way. Natural. Approachable. Trustworthy—I was wrong.
I should just walk out of here. There’s nothing this woman would have to say to me that I need to hear. But I’m curious. “You have five minutes.”
Sarah nods, taking a seat on the chair next to her. I don’t move right away, but noticing her hesitation, I lower myself to the couch.
She clears her throat. “It’s so nice to see you. How have you been?”
“This isn’t a cordial reacquaintance, Sarah. I’m allowing you this time to say what you have to, then I’m out of here, and I never want to see you again.”
She looks to me with saddened eyes. “Of course. Dylan, the money that repurchased this cabin, and the money that set up the scholarship in Chase’s name was the money your father gave me. I can only imagine what you were made to believe about me, so I want to clarify something for you right now.” She pushes out a quivered breath. “Dylan, I never wanted to leave you and Chase. I was made to.”
My brows snap together. “What are you playing at here, Sarah?”
She shakes her head. “Absolutely nothing. Dylan, I won’t put the blame on anyone but myself. Ultimately, I’m the one that left without a fight. I abandoned you and Chase, and you have every right to hold that against me. I’m not looking for your
forgiveness...I don’t deserve it. But I do need you to know that I never once stopped loving you or your brother. The two of you were my sole reason for existing. You were my life.”
“If that’s true, why did you leave?” I question skeptically.
“I’m going to need a little more than five minutes here to fully explain, Dylan.”
I tighten my jaw, taking in a breath. “Fine.”
She nods and continues. “The first time I ever met your father was at an arts fundraiser. I was at the event in hopes of meeting some gallery owners. People that I might convince to look over my work, but the only way to get in was working as a server.” She brings her fingers to her mouth, letting out a chuckle at the memory. “God, I was ballsy back then...no inhibitions, but I was literally a starving artist. I think the last meal I’d eaten was two days before, so to me, a worst-case scenario was that I at least got to take home some table scraps.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you owned this place back then. How could you have this and no food to feed yourself?” I ask.
“Ah, yes! You were young, but I’m sure if you remember, this place back then was—”
“Colorful,” I interrupt.
Sarah smiles, letting out a chuckle. “That’s right. I attempted to make it more livable because it was a dump. I’m surprised the township didn’t make me tear it down. When it was left to me by my great aunt, it was falling apart. Honestly, it probably should have been condemned, but I needed a plave to live in, so I patchedworked it up as best I could and made do. When I think back, at the time I thought it couldn’t get any worse, but I was wrong. “ She leans in, resting her elbows on her knees. “That night at the findraiser, I met the most
charismatic man. He was poised, articulate, and the way he commanded everyone’s attention; well, you knew he was a man that you didn’t say no to.”
I let out a snicker. “And you didn’t.”
She looks to me, shaking her head. “No, I didn’t. It was a vicious cycle I never learned to break where he was concerned, at least not until it was too late. At first, it was wonderful, surreal almost. I mean, a gorgeous, obviously wealthy man wanted me. Like actively pursuing me, I thought I had fallen down a rabbit hole into some other world. He pulled out all the stops—extravagant dates, beautiful clothes, jewelry, but it was when I met his young boy that I knew I was done for. It had only been eight months when he asked me to marry him, and I said yes without even a sliver of hesitation because I knew if nothing else, there was no way I couldn’t be in this little person’s life.”
That woman she’s describing to me, that time she’s recalling, I remember it. It was one of the two times I can remember being truly happy—the second being the first time Velyn and I were together.
Feeling a sting at the back of my eyes, I stand from the chair and turn to look out the window. With my back still to her, I say, “But you still left.”
“I did.”
I turn back, hands now in my pockets, hiding my clenched fists. “Why?”
“Because if I hadn’t, you might never have known your brother.”
I sit back down. “What?”
“After Chase was born, your father changed. It’s almost like now, with the connection of sharing a biological child, he felt he had more control. He felt like it granted him certain permissions. The man I
