emptiness in her eyes caused my chest to tighten because they used to be so full of life. Something had drained the life right out of her. I needed the answers she held off in giving me. The not knowing caused my head to pound and my anger to start to drift to the surface again. She was stalling for a reason, only I couldn’t handle it any longer.
“Why are you here, Mackenzie?” I demanded, refusing to hear anything other than her reasoning behind her presence in the one place I didn’t want her to be.
She peered over at me and opened her mouth only to close it just as fast as she opened it. If she didn’t answer me soon, I’d snap. I wasn’t going to play this drag it out of her game. Not tonight.
She reached into the purse that sat on the floor, the one I didn’t even see her bring in and sit down, and pulled out a manila envelope. She looked down at the envelope and caressed it with one hand almost as if she was scared with the contents, then handed it over to me. Reluctantly, I took it from her almost too afraid to find out what it held.
“What’s this?” I asked without even bothering to open it. I didn’t want to play games with her any longer. I wanted her to tell me what the hell was going on. Give me answers that I deserved.
“It contains legal documents for you to look over and sign. The gist of what it states is that I am fully relinquishing my parental rights to Grace and handing you sole custody of our daughter,” she revealed, and just when the last word left her mouth, she bit her trembling lip as more tears escaped.
What the ever loving hell was going on here?
This wasn’t the woman I knew. There was no way in hell I’d ever think she’d leave let alone sign her rights away.
“You’re giving our daughter up?” I choked out, refusing to believe what I just heard. It was different when I just thought she was leaving. Part of me always thought she’d return when she got her head on straight. The legality of what the manila envelope that felt like it was burning my hand contained made this situation even more confusing and painful than I’d ever thought possible.
“I have to do this. I know you don’t understand, but you will someday. One day when I have the courage to tell you the full story. It’s not about loving her or you. I’ve loved you since we were teenagers. That’s never wavered. I’ve loved her ever since I knew she was growing beneath my heart. Even more so when I heard her first cry. But I have to go,” she revealed, causing tears of my own to well up in my eyes.
She was right; I didn’t understand, but from the looks of things I wouldn’t any time soon.
“Once you sign the documents, there are instructions in the envelope on how to return them to my lawyer. He’ll file them with the court system. We’ll have to go in front of the judge to make it official and then it will be finalized,” she explained. The more she spoke of what would occur, the more her voice wavered and trembled with the amount of emotion she held inside.
She moved closer to me on the couch until our legs touched. Reaching up, her fingers grazed my cheek sending chills through my body.
“I will always love you, Weston. Never doubt that. Please don’t hate me for leaving. I know I don’t have the right to ask you that, but I need to know you won’t so I can make it through all of this. I never wanted this to happen. I wanted us to work through it all and make it out on top. I always pictured a bigger family, but that just wasn’t in the cards. I know I have no right to ask anything else from you, but please let my daughter know that her mommy loved her and that it killed her to go. When she gets older, I’d love it if you told her the good qualities about me. Tell her that I didn’t want to go but had to go. Promise me these two things, I’m begging you.”
I didn’t know what to say. Confusion seeped through my brain as I tried to understand what the hell had happened from
“Why are you here, Mackenzie?” I demanded, refusing to hear anything other than her reasoning behind her presence in the one place I didn’t want her to be.
She peered over at me and opened her mouth only to close it just as fast as she opened it. If she didn’t answer me soon, I’d snap. I wasn’t going to play this drag it out of her game. Not tonight.
She reached into the purse that sat on the floor, the one I didn’t even see her bring in and sit down, and pulled out a manila envelope. She looked down at the envelope and caressed it with one hand almost as if she was scared with the contents, then handed it over to me. Reluctantly, I took it from her almost too afraid to find out what it held.
“What’s this?” I asked without even bothering to open it. I didn’t want to play games with her any longer. I wanted her to tell me what the hell was going on. Give me answers that I deserved.
“It contains legal documents for you to look over and sign. The gist of what it states is that I am fully relinquishing my parental rights to Grace and handing you sole custody of our daughter,” she revealed, and just when the last word left her mouth, she bit her trembling lip as more tears escaped.
What the ever loving hell was going on here?
This wasn’t the woman I knew. There was no way in hell I’d ever think she’d leave let alone sign her rights away.
“You’re giving our daughter up?” I choked out, refusing to believe what I just heard. It was different when I just thought she was leaving. Part of me always thought she’d return when she got her head on straight. The legality of what the manila envelope that felt like it was burning my hand contained made this situation even more confusing and painful than I’d ever thought possible.
“I have to do this. I know you don’t understand, but you will someday. One day when I have the courage to tell you the full story. It’s not about loving her or you. I’ve loved you since we were teenagers. That’s never wavered. I’ve loved her ever since I knew she was growing beneath my heart. Even more so when I heard her first cry. But I have to go,” she revealed, causing tears of my own to well up in my eyes.
She was right; I didn’t understand, but from the looks of things I wouldn’t any time soon.
“Once you sign the documents, there are instructions in the envelope on how to return them to my lawyer. He’ll file them with the court system. We’ll have to go in front of the judge to make it official and then it will be finalized,” she explained. The more she spoke of what would occur, the more her voice wavered and trembled with the amount of emotion she held inside.
She moved closer to me on the couch until our legs touched. Reaching up, her fingers grazed my cheek sending chills through my body.
“I will always love you, Weston. Never doubt that. Please don’t hate me for leaving. I know I don’t have the right to ask you that, but I need to know you won’t so I can make it through all of this. I never wanted this to happen. I wanted us to work through it all and make it out on top. I always pictured a bigger family, but that just wasn’t in the cards. I know I have no right to ask anything else from you, but please let my daughter know that her mommy loved her and that it killed her to go. When she gets older, I’d love it if you told her the good qualities about me. Tell her that I didn’t want to go but had to go. Promise me these two things, I’m begging you.”
I didn’t know what to say. Confusion seeped through my brain as I tried to understand what the hell had happened from
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