Chapter 3 - The Choice
Grant rubbed both hands over his face. "She's gone." Then, "We can fix this."
I nearly laughed. "Out of control?"
"I was angry."
"You told an eight-year-old you'd send her away."
"My daughter."
"You called her my daughter twenty minutes ago."
His face tightened. "I didn't mean it like that."
"Yes, you did."
Daniel opened his folder — no, Marshall — and placed the divorce petition on the table.
Grant stared at it. "You're really doing this? Tonight?"
"No," I said. "I decided weeks ago."
His head snapped up. "You were going to leave anyway?"
"I was preparing for the possibility."
He looked around the room. "Fine. Then leave."
"I will," I said. "I'm taking Maddie."
He blinked. "You're just walking out?"
"Yes."
He looked at my brothers. "So that's what this is. You called your little army to move you out?"
Cole looked at me. I nodded. He headed upstairs immediately. Owen followed. Preston closed his folder. Tobias went for boxes in the garage. Marshall stayed beside me.
Over the next forty minutes, my brothers packed only what Maddie and I needed. Clothes. Schoolbooks. Medication. Documents. Photographs. Her stuffed animals. Her favorite blanket. Nothing more.
Grant stood in the living room watching. At one point he said quietly, "You're actually leaving."
I zipped Maddie's overnight bag. "Yes."
"You don't have to."
"Maddie will never spend another night in this house wondering whether her father believes her."
May you like
We left before midnight. All five of my brothers came with us. Not as an army. Just as family.
For the first time in years, that was enough.
