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Renee had lost at least ten pounds and was down on the tank in every way possible. I was concerned as a doctor, and while wine was the last thing she should be having, if it got her to eat as well—so be it. Now we knew and could take better care of her, get her the help she needed.

“Neither of you is wrong as you recognized,” she said once she seemed done eating, mostly just picking while finishing that second bottle of wine. “You were a bit harsh and maybe didn’t handle it the best, but neither did he.”

“He didn’t?” I checked.

“No, he needs to stop acting like your past with Tommy is ruining your relationship. It’s not, and he was the one who pushed for everything when you admitted you weren’t sure you were ready.

Instead of his ‘So this is about Tommy,’ the correct and healthy way for him to respond is ‘What happened that is making you have such a knee-jerk reaction?’

“You’re hundreds of years old. You haven’t only been with Tommy, and I’m very sure you’ve had strong feelings for other men.

You’ve lived more , and that comes with more baggage and pain.

The pup needs to handle that better because you don’t pick on his shit.

And he’s got a lot of shit for one so young.

But he wasn’t wrong or bad, he just needs to be better too. ”

“Okay, yeah, that makes perfect sense,” I accepted.

“What happened that made you have such a knee-jerk reaction, Ellie?” she asked gently after a few quiet minutes while I finished my plate.

I sighed and told her, glad when she gave me a pitying look. Not because I liked being pitied, but… It made me feel valid. Like what I’d gone through in that same office even was a real wound.

She promised I was doing much better than I thought, especially with all the chaos and ass-kicking I’d been doing. She snorted as she finished the bottle. “I had something as basic as a cheating mate and tore up my whole house because it felt like a lie now and I’m the head of mental health.”

Renee definitely wasn’t okay.

I was thrilled when the calvary arrived, Carla bringing more wine and mochi donuts because everything was better with donuts according to her. She wasn’t wrong.

And they were damn good donuts.

Jackie asked for access to everything—home security cameras, her phone with the evidence of his cheating… Because the idiot was stupid enough to taunt her over text and voice messages.

Wow, he really thought Renee didn’t have it in her to fight.

Maybe that was true, but she had us, and while I might not be the best at mental and emotional health, I was a warrior.

I’d always had to be to survive my life, and I was glad my life had been rough, so I had the battle armor ready for times like this.

Alexis was always ready for battle too and she even came prepared, announcing she had a tail put on Renee’s husband.

She handed that all off to Jackie who didn’t do fieldwork anymore because of her own messy divorce and custody hearings.

That had all been settled, but her ex-husband was always hovering watching for one little slip-up after he’d been embarrassed.

And we’d gotten a sexist, asshole judge in serious trouble.

With all of the help and needing to answer questions, Renee stopped drinking and realized this was what needed to happen to protect their kids. She was still wounded… Until Jackie found a smoking gun for that “perfect father” image Renee’s mate said would make things difficult for her.

Namely that he’d been taking their kids to daycare three times a week and Renee hadn’t known . She’d heard them talk about playtime and this person or that, but her husband had said it was a playgroup or a class he was there for with the children.

He wasn’t. It was a full and licensed daycare that required physicals and medical appointments to be admitted. Her children had gone to see other doctors and she hadn’t fucking known.

Gone was the wounded woman who was betrayed, and instead the momma bear emerged ready to bring down the hammer. I watched her completely change, pulling out her phone and letting out a slow breath.

“Hey Dad, it’s Renee,” she said quietly. “I need a favor and for you to document everything without asking me too many questions. I’m still in shock, but I have help now, and—we have to protect the kids.”

“Anything, girlie boo,” the man on the other line said instantly. “You just tell us who hurt you and we’ll handle him.”

Renee looked around at us. “You don’t need to get your hands dirty, Dad.

We’re going to do it legally so it sticks.

” She let out another slow breath. “My mate has been cheating on me and is threatening to take the kids—never let me see them if I divorce him. I was considering letting him win because I can’t lose them and it was killing me, but now I know he’s not the dad he’s said. ”

The man snorted. “I could have told you that, Renee. Bastard hasn’t called here once since they came to stay.

Your mom’s called him a few times with the kids on the line and he’s rushed them off.

They keep asking what they’ve done that he’s mad and doesn’t want to spend time with them.

I think there’s something more going on.

I was going to call but then South America. ”

That was a while ago now. I could hear the regret in his voice. He was a good dad who hadn’t wanted to be the one to hurt his daughter.

What would it be like to have a dad like that? I shook myself out of my thoughts, focused on the now.

“Let me talk to him,” Jackie said. “There is a way to document everything—the courts look for certain things. I have experience beyond my own divorce.”

Renee nodded and introduced her before handing the phone over. I was shocked at what she asked for and thought phone records might be over the top… But it would show their father hadn’t called Renee’s parents the whole time they were staying there.

And it had been months now. Wow.

Okay, this was really a battle now.

Much better than Renee having to stay with a horrible man like that for her kids.