Risking Fate (Mitchell Family #4)(50)
Author: Jennifer Foor

She’s never going to forgive me. I deserve all of this, for cheating on you, and for lying to my wife. I made my life this way. I never should a have let myself feel so happy. Nothing lasts forever.

Miranda loves you, Ty. No matter how angry and hurt she is, I know she loves you. Listen, I will text you and let you know she’s here safe. If she say’s it’s okay, I will have Bella call you. I can’t promise she will be reasonable, but I will try my best.

Does this mean you believe me?

Heather is an ignorant bitch who has only wanted one guy since high school. I think she’s capable of doing everything you said. As far as the cheating, well, I know you never got bent out of shape like you are now over me and I know how much you obsess over your wife. There’s no way I could believe that you would be willing to lose that.

I just lost it. Of all the people in the world, Van was the last person that I ever thought would be on my side. She’d forgiven me and I needed that so much. I wasn’t that person anymore and I needed my wife to know that. I wasn’t going to give up. I couldn’t.

Thank you, Van. It means so much right now.

I’ll call you soon. Please stay home tonight. Don’t do anything stupid. We love you, Ty.

Love you guys too.

I hung up the phone and tried Miranda one more time, hoping to just hear her voice.

Chapter 19

Miranda

Why is it that when your life is at a breaking point, every freaking song on the radio relates to it. If I heard one more sad song, I was going to rip the radio out of the dash and toss it out on the road.

After Bella’s million questions about her father, I ended up turning off my phone. I didn’t want her to hear it ringing and know that I had lied to her. It was bad enough that she was going to hate me for taking her away from her father. It broke my heart for her. Ty may have been a cheater, but he was a good father.

I wanted to hate him, but doing that made me hurt more. I couldn’t stop thinking about all of those moments where his love overpowered mine. He’d fought so hard to prove to me, without a doubt, that he wasn’t the same person he used to be. I trusted him so much and yet he’d done exactly what he said he wouldn’t do. How could he go through with that, knowing I was at home waiting for him? He was out f**king the town whore, while I sat at our house, barefoot and pregnant.

Cliché!

I hated what we’d become. I hadn’t just lost my husband, I’d lost my best friend. I wanted to call Van and tell her what went down, but I just couldn’t talk about it, on account of it making it real. I kept thinking I was going to wake up and be okay. Ty was going to be next to me, holding me tight and telling me that it was all in my mind.

I’d been driving for two hours, before I had to stop and relieve my bladder. Unfortunately, I had to wake up Bella to do it. She looked around in her groggy little body and climbed out of the car. “Mommy? Where are we?”

“I have to go potty. Do you need to go?”

She nodded and held my hand as we walked into the public restroom. She let me go first and I waited in the stall for her to take her turn. While she moved her legs back and forth she cocked her head to the side and looked at me. “Why are you still sad, Mommy?”

“I’m not sad. I’m just anxious to see our family. Are you excited?”

She shrugged. “I wish Daddy came too. We never go to Kentucky without Daddy. I just want him to be with us.”

I brushed her hair with my hand. “I know you do, Sweetie. I know you do.”

God, could this hurt anymore? How much more could I take?

Bella finished and we got back in the car. Of course, since she was awake, she insisted on getting something to eat. I stopped at a drive thru and ordered for her. I knew I should eat something, but I would just throw it up. We still had a few hours to drive and I hated that it was already so dark.

Once I got Bella’s food situated, I grabbed my phone and turned it on. Right away the voicemail notifications lit up. I knew who the calls were from and I started to just hit the delete button, but something made me listen. I just wanted to hear his voice.

My shaky hands hit the button to listen to the first message and the tears were already falling down my face.

Hey, Baby, it’s me, your totally awesome, madly in love, husband. I was calling to hear your pretty voice and your southern twang, but got your voicemail instead. Miranda, I love you so much. I can’t even explain how happy you make me. You’ve given me more than I could have ever asked for. There isn’t a second out of the day, where I am not grateful for the life we have. I love you with all of my heart. I love the family we’ve made and look forward to our beautiful future together.

Can’t you just see it? Can’t you see us with gray hair, sitting at those late night football games. I’ll be the dad with one eye on my football playing sons, and the other on our daughter, who if she looks anything like you, I will need to carry a gun to fight off all of those horny teenage boys.

God, I am so glad I have you, Baby. I’m almost to Izzy’s school, so I gotta go. I missed you today and I can’t wait to kiss those lips and see your pretty smile.

I love you.

I dropped the phone to the floor, unable to even breathe. Ty had left me that message before he knew what happened. He didn’t even know that Heather had paid me a visit. His words were too fresh in my head. I picked up the phone and hit repeat.

After the third time, Bella had started to cry in the backseat. She couldn’t hear her father, or what I was doing, she just knew I was devastated about something.

I couldn’t listen anymore and turned my phone back off. That message was from the Ty that I loved with my whole heart. That was the Ty that would lay down and die before someone hurt me. Knowing there was a secret part of him that wasn’t that man, stabbed through every ounce of love I had for him.

He said we’d be forever and our love would never die, but all along I wasn’t enough for him. He was just waiting for an opportunity to be with that f**king whore again. I wished she was dead. She ruined my life and walked out of my house laughing at what she’d done. What kind of person does that?

“Mommy, can I please call Daddy now?”

No! Please stop asking. You’re making me crazy!

Reluctantly, I dialed Ty’s number and handed Bella my phone. “It’s ringing. Listen, I don’t want Daddy knowin’ I’m sad, so just tell him I can’t talk while I’m drivin’. Okay?”

She didn’t get to answer before I heard her talking. “Hi, Daddy.”