Chapter 41 Later that Evening

After tucking the kids to bed, Hailey went to her room. She reached for her phone on the nightstand and dialed Debbie. It rang for a while before Debbie answered.

“Hi,” Hailey’s gentle voice said.

“Did you call me by mistake?” Debbie asked.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“It’s been a week since we last talked. I miss you,” Hailey admitted.

“Seemed to me like you needed space. I told you to reach out if you needed anything.”

Hailey sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “This past week has been the hardest.”

“How?” Debbie asked.

“I don’t know. I feel like a zombie with no idea what’s going on in my life. I’ve been using work to distract myself, but that’s not working anymore. I feel so lost.”

“I’m glad you called, but you know the solution, right? You’ve intentionally been choosing unhappiness over happiness.”

Hailey said nothing.

“Or are you back with Ty?”

“I can’t seem to give Ty what he wants. And I don’t know how the twins would feel if I got serious with him. They think Mommy and Daddy are supposed to be together, not Mommy and someone else. I don’t love Ty. It would be unfair to keep him tied to me.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Hailey whispered. “I’m thinking of going to see Cole tomorrow.”

“For good, or otherwise?” Debbie asked, sounding casual, trying to hide her excitement.

“The kids keep asking about him, and I’m tired of lying about his absence. I just want to see him so we can schedule convenient times for them to meet, and keep the media out of it.”

“I’m glad you’re doing that.”

“I know. I just hope I don’t regret it.”

“That’s not a good thing to say. Cole is their father and always will be. Even though he was married and had other children, that’s still not enough reason to keep them apart.”

“No, you’re wrong. I’m just concerned about their safety.”

“You need to learn to trust Cole. The last thing he’d want is to put you and the kids in danger.”

“This isn’t about Cole; it’s about the evil people around. I don’t think I could live with myself if anything happened to them.”

“Think positively. Everything will be fine.”

“I hope,” Hailey mumbled.

“I hope you don’t change your mind about tomorrow.”

“No, I won’t. I promised Ollie and Enzo they’d meet their father by the weekend, so I need to follow through.”

“I’m glad you thought things through. Don’t let jealousy blind you to reality.”

“Jealousy?”

“Don’t tell me you weren’t when Vanessa and her mother came over.”

“It was almost inevitable. They sounded so sincere. Maybe I was a little jealous, but I was mostly disappointed. It felt like all of Cole’s apologies were fake.”

“At that point, I should have known better, since I knew what my stepmother and stepsister were like. But it was so much information; my head was a mess.”

“It’s fine. You needn’t blame yourself. Better late than never.”

“Yeah! And I don’t know how, but I hope Vanessa and her mother stay out of my life forever. As long as they see me as a threat, I feel I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I understand your concern, but they should be your least priority right now. There’s nothing you can’t overcome if you join forces with Cole. Just tell him about your insecurities. He’s a man; he’ll handle everything.”

“I think I finally lost my best friend to Cole. Look at you taking his side.”

Debbie chuckled. “That’s not it. I just want you to be happy.”

“And you think he’s going to make me happy?”

“Maybe, maybe not. What matters is you’re doing the right thing, and that gives me great joy.”

“I’m glad we spoke,” Hailey mumbled.

“Me too. I missed you,” Debbie admitted.

“Jess came to see me at the office a few days ago.”

“Jess? Who’s that?”

“Cole’s lawyer and best friend.”

“She brought the divorce papers?” The fear was evident in Debbie’s voice.

“No. She came to talk to me behind Cole’s back. She said Cole has moved on because I’m too selfish.”

“That makes me want to give up on seeing him.”

“You shouldn’t think that way.”

“In the end, we’re all human and get exhausted. If he’s really over you, you’d have gotten the divorce papers by now. Sometimes, showing someone you love them is simply adhering to their demands. You always made it clear you wanted to be left alone. That’s what happened.”

“I messed up a lot, didn’t I?”

“Maybe you went overboard a bit, but I still think your reaction was normal. What matters is you’re making amends.”

“The two friends talked a bit longer before deciding to call it a night.”

Hailey changed into her pajamas and got into bed.

She hadn’t slept long when her door burst open, followed by the crying voice of one of the twins.

“Mommy! Mommy!” Hailey opened her eyes, sat up, and switched on the lamp on her nightstand.

Ollie’s tear-streaked face appeared. He was already by her bedside.

Hailey’s heart pounded. “What is it, baby? Did you have a bad dream?”

“Enzo is sick again. He’s not waking up.” More tears rolled down Ollie’s cheek.