The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 87

But she wasn’t that woman anymore. She no longer wanted to watch. More importantly, her children couldn’t be around the smell of smoke.

After another moment of silence, she repeated, “Is there anything else?” Her tone was laced with a deliberate distance, making it clear she had no desire to speak with him.

Jamie slowly put the cigarette away. He looked at her, his gaze dim, and after a few hesitant movements of his lips, he forced out the words, “Did you ever love me?”

Suzie was baffled by the question. Why was he asking this now? She felt like he had asked before, but she was immune to his chaotic words. They no longer stirred even the slightest flutter in her heart.

“No,” she replied in a perfectly flat tone.

Without looking at his reaction or waiting for a response, she added, “You were willing to kill your own children. Does someone like you even deserve to talk about love?”

Her words made Jamie’s head snap up. He gripped her shoulders, his hands trembling. “Suzie! What are you talking about? My children?”

But just as the words left his lips, a slow, chilling laugh escaped him. The sound was cold enough to make her skin prickle.

“My children?” he repeated, his voice dripping with mockery. “Suzie, can you say that with a clear conscience? Have I ever slept with you? Have I ever even touched you? Have I ever seen you naked? Do I know anything about your body beyond what anyone can see?”

Suzie cleared her throat, which was raspy from suppressed sobs. She fought back the tears threatening to fall and roared in a low voice, “Jamie, you are a complete and utter bastard! You don't remember? Then go ask Martha! Ask her if you ever slept with me!”

As soon as the words were out, she gave him a hard shove, careful not to harm her stomach. She took a step to leave, then stopped abruptly. She turned back and pointed a finger at his nose. “If you dare stop me again, I will go to the press with everything—your marriage, your divorce, and how you murdered your own children. I’ll drag everything into the open and make sure your name is everywhere for all the wrong reasons.”

Filled with fury and finality, Suzie turned and walked away without a backward glance.

This time, Jamie didn't stop her. His fingers trembled slightly as he once again pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it, the motion heavy and deliberate. The flare of the lighter illuminated his weary face. He watched her defiant back recede into the distance and took a long, harsh drag, his eyes filled with a storm of complex emotions as the smoke swirled around him.