Unspoken Rules (Rules 2)

“Then why? After everything she’s done, why do you still believe her? After she ran away with your twins and didn’t even bother to call when one of them died? Why are you choosing to trust her over me?” We’re both shouting at this point.

I know he has no idea how to answer that. So I say the first thing that runs through my mind before he can gather a response.

“How do you know that Jacob is even your son?”

Color depletes from his face.

It was impulsive, and yes, I didn’t watch my mouth, but in the end, I mean it. A few days ago, I would’ve never doubted that Jake is Haze’s. They’re so similar I was sure Jake had to have Adams blood. But today, I saw what Riley’s capable of. The girl could lie her way out of anything.

“I heard her on the phone with a friend earlier. She didn’t know that I was listening. She kept talking about not letting someone find out the truth. It sounded like she was hiding something from some guy. Have you ever considered that maybe she’s lying to you?”

Haze’s stunned. He stares at me in silence, his chest moving up and down rapidly. I know my words hit hard.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you’re a hundred percent certain that Jake’s yours.”

He tries to speak but fails. The truth is, he has no clue.

“He looks like me. You said it yourself.”

“So? He’s so young. It’s too early to tell. You just… you can’t really be that gullible, can you? She left town when she had no reason to. The whole world was on her side. Why would she do that unless she had something to hide?”

“Winter, stop.” He refuses to look at me.

“If she lied about me, then what’s to say she didn’t lie about this?”

“I said stop!” he snaps, his tone catching me off guard. Surprisingly, his anger doesn’t scare me. It just shows me that I’m getting under his skin. He’s angry because he knows there’s a chance I might be right, and the thought terrifies him.

“Even if she did lie about what happened on the beach, she wouldn’t lie about something like this. I can’t…” He runs a quick hand through his hair. “I can’t believe that she could be so cruel.”

“Well, I can.”

He flinches. I give the shock in his eyes a few seconds to dissipate. He reaches for my hand and traps it in his. For a split second, I think he’s going to tell me that he believes me and apologize. Then maybe we can at least try to fix this.

But he proceeds to break my heart instead.

“You have to understand… He’s my son. I don’t give a shit about never seeing Riley again. But I can’t abandon Jacob. Not again. If to see him, I have to see her, then I’ll see her every day. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You should never have to feel guilty for wanting to know your kid, Haze. And I’m not asking you to choose. I would never do that.”

I remove my hand from his grasp.

“But you have to.” Realization flashes in his gaze.

“Yes.” I look down, my throat hurting. “I have to choose because you can’t.”

“What does that mean?” He takes another step forward, and I turn my head, watching Kendrick pass through the kitchen with my stuff. He motions to our suitcases and walks out of the house. He’s going to pack the car.

“It means I have to go.” I turn away.

“Winter, wait, please…” he begs. “We can still make this work. We’ll find a way. We’ll—”

“Then what? What happens when she tries to tear us apart again and there’s nothing you can do about it because you’re terrified of losing your son? What happens the next time you don’t trust me? Haze… you didn’t even give me the benefit of the doubt,” I repeat as if saying it again will make him understand how much it hurt me. He asked me to give it to her but let me down when I needed him.

“I know and I’m a dumbass. I’m a fucking idiot for not listening to your side of the story. I’m sorry. I should have trusted you,” he says, the desperation in his voice torturing me.

“But you didn’t,” I murmur.

I know I can’t hide the truth anymore. The real reason behind it all. This isn’t about Riley lying. This isn’t even about him doubting me. It’s something else.