Mom, Don't Cry! Here comes a new Daddy! novel Chapter 65

Chapter 45-2

Chapter 45-2

1 start to protest, but she holds up a hand.

Cla

“Before you argue, hear me out. You have your house back, yes. But Dustin and Jessica have thirty days to vacate. That’s a whole month, Sabrina. And knowing those two, they’ll drag it out until the last possible second just to be spiteful.”

The words catch in my throat.

Because she’s right.

They are exactly the kind of people to do that.

“Fine.”

“Perfect!” Sophia jumps into action, as if she had been waiting for that cue.

“Jesus.” She wrinkles her nose. “How did you survive three days in here?”

“Only God knows.” I start gathering Jake’s dinosaurs, shoving them into his backpack. “I kept telling myself it was temporary. That we’d find our own place soon. But honestly? I was starting to lose

hope.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.” She opens my suitcase, efficiently folding

clothes. “You have your house back. Your job starts Monday. And you have full custody of Jake. Everything worked out.”

“Thanks to you.” I pause, holding one of Jake’s drawings. “And thanks to Ethan.”

Sophia’s hands still. “So you’re not mad at him anymore?”

“I don’t know.” I sink onto the bed, suddenly exhausted. “He lied to me. Manipulated me. But he also

helped me win custody. Gave Jake a voice when I was too scared to let him speak. How am I

supposed to feel about that?”

“However you feel is valid.” Sophia sits beside me. “But for what it’s worth? Ethan Hale didn’t have to do any of this. God! I can’t believe he hid his true identity from me! I’m so going to get him back for this. But going back to the topic, he could’ve walked away after you told him to leave you alone. But he didn’t. He stayed. And he did it knowing you might never forgive him.”

“Why though? What does he get out of this?”

“Maybe he actually cares about you.” Sophia bumps my shoulder.

I give her a look that asks if she’s out of her mind.

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Chapter 45-2

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“Crazy concept, I know. A hot and rich man like Ethan Hale shouldn’t be short on women. But then, again, he’s a billionaire. What kind of woman hasn’t he seen before? He must be in search of a genuine and true love. I say, give him a chance. And if he screws up, I’ll help you bury the body. What do you say, deal?”

I roll my eyes. “No deal.”

Typical Sophia.

Leave it to her to come up with an entire plot for why and what reason a man like Ethan Hale would be interested in a divorcee, not to mention, a single mom.

But Ethan’s face in the courtroom flashes before my eyes. The way he stood up without hesitation. The confidence in his voice when he told the judge Jake wanted to speak.

He didn’t have to do that. He could’ve refused Jake when he reached out to him and stayed out of

this mess.

But he didn’t.

“I owe him this time,” I say finally.

“So thank him.” Sophia grins. “Invite him to dinner. Nothing fancy. Just a thank you for helping me keep my son kind of thing.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea-”

“Why not? You said yourself you need to thank him. And Jake adores him. Might as well make it a family thing.” She pauses. “Unless you’re worried it’ll be awkward because you still have feelings

for him?”

My face heats up. “I don’t have feelings for him, Soph.”

“Yeah…right. That’s why you’re blushing like a teenager.”

“Shut up.” I throw a shirt at her. But I’m smiling despite myself. “Fine. I’ll think about it. But first, we need to finish packing and pick up Jake. He’s probably wondering what’s taking so long.”

“That guy’s going to be stoked when he finds out he gets to stay with his mom forever. His dad can go screw himself.”

“Probably shouldn’t phrase it like that to a five-year-old.”

“Fine. I’ll say ‘your dad can go kick rocks.’ Better?”

“Marginally.”

“But seriously, Sab, you’ve got a heart of steel. I can’t imagine ever sleeping in a place like this. Do

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you know eighty-one percent of hotel surfaces have been found to contain fecal bacteria? Fecal Do you know what that means? Poop bacteria! And let’s not even mention the bed bugs.”

“Eww, Soph. Did you have to bring that up?”

!

“Sorry. That just kinda slipped out. I promise it wasn’t intentional.”

Aha. Something tells me she did it absolutely on purpose.

To snuff out any last thoughts of me bringing Jake to this place again, I wouldn’t put it past her to bring up unsavory descriptions about how many people contract unmentionable diseases from

using hotel restrooms.

Slightly daunted by the notion that she might actually just do that, I speed up my hands.

We finish gathering everything in half an hour. When all’s loaded in Sophia’s car, I take one last look at the hotel room that’s been our home for the past few days.

It was horrible and depressing and everything I never wanted for Jake.

But we survived it.

And now we’re moving forward to something better.

The check-out process is quick. The front desk clerk barely looks at me as she processes my

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