Mom, Don't Cry! Here comes a new Daddy! novel Chapter 77

Chapter 56-2

Chapter 56-2

Sabrina sinks against the wall, sliding down until she’s sitting on the floor.

The devastation on her face is almost too much to witness.

“Jake, I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t know-I didn’t realize how much this was hurting you

“Because I didn’t want you to know! You’re always so busy worrying about everything!/I didn’t want you to worry about me too!”

The words land like bombs.

I crouch beside Sabrina, putting my hand on her shoulder, as she shakes, sobbing, tears streaming

down her face.

“I was just trying to protect you,” she says. “I didn’t want you to get attached to someone who might leave-”

“But Mr. Jason won’t leave. He promised me!” Jake’s voice is raw, pleading. “But what if we lose

him because of you?”

Sabrina’s breath hitches.

“I’m going to tell Mr. Jason not to come to my conference,” Jake continues, his voice breaking. “Because you’ll just get mad anyway. I’ll be fine. I’ll just be the kid without a dad again. Like always.”

“No!” Sabrina scrambles to her feet. “No, baby, don’t do that. If you want Ethan there, then-”

“No, mom.” Jake sounds defeated. Tired. “You and I are a team, right? If you’re not happy, I won’t be happy. So if having Mr. Jason around doesn’t make you happy, I don’t want him either.”

Sabrina tries the door again, pulling on the handle desperately. “Jake, please. Open the door. Let’s

talk about this-”

But there’s no response. Just the sound of quiet crying on the other side.

I get a feeling of deja vu, like Jake isn’t really upset, but acting, almost like the night of the dinner when he convinced me to stay behind, using emotional blackmail to get what he wants.

But I can’t be sure. Because if this is an act, if Jake staged this whole thing just to get Sabrina to give Ethan a chance…then this kid is scarier than I thought.

I gently pull Sabrina away from the door. “Give him some time. He’ll come out when he’s ready.”

“I can’t just leave him in there crying-”

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DIO KIKA

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13

Chapter 56-2

“Yes, you can. Because right now, he needs space to process his feelings. And you need space fo figure out what you’re going to do about this.”

Sabrina looks at me, her face streaked with tears. “What am I going to do, Soph? How do I fix this?”

I meet her eyes, knowing my next words are going to hurt.

“You fix this by stopping being so terrified of getting hurt again that you’re hurting your son

instead.”

She flinches.

“Jake’s right, Sabrina. You’re so focused on protecting yourself, protecting Jake, from potential heartbreak that you can’t see what’s right in front of you. A man who’s crazy about you. A kid who desperately wants a father figure. A chance at real happiness.”

“But what if-”

“What if what? What if Ethan breaks your heart? What if he leaves? What if it doesn’t work out?” I grip her shoulders. “But those are all what-ifs, Sab. Are you going to stop living because of a future that may or may not happen?”

Sabrina’s face crumples completely.

“I’m just worried, Soph. I’m worried Jake might shatter completely if he tastes the love of a father and loses it in the end,” she whispers.

“Oh, Sabrina.” I pull her into a hug. “Even then, you have to give Ethan a chance. Because Jake deserves to have a father figure in his life who’ll make all his dreams come true.”

We stand there in the hallway, holding each other while Jake cries quietly in his room.

And I hope-pray-that Sabrina figures this out before it’s too late.

Because Jake…

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