Page 44 of Jinxed Hearts

That wipes the smile off my face. “Not right for me? How many drinks have you had? You’realwaystelling me how perfect Jacob is.”

“Heisperfect.” She shrugs. “Doesn’t mean he’s perfect for you. I have eyes. I see things.”

Her words hang like a storm cloud.

“I stayed with your father longer than I should have. Hoping he’d change and step up for us. I stayed foryou. And he left anyway. Best thing that happened. Now, I have fun with men. But I’m always the one who lets them go. I won’t lose myself again, and I don’t want that for you either.”

Memories I’ve buried creep in. The last image of my father on my thirteenth birthday. I hid in my closet as my parents screamed, my father’s voice echoing through the walls.I’m sick of hearing you complain about my drinking… I'm sick of all of this… I’m done!

The door slammed. Footsteps faded. Each step confirmed what I knew was coming. I waited for him to come back. I wished and prayed he still loved me. I was stupid. So stupid.

“Why? Why haven’t you told me any of this?” I ask, my voice cracking slightly. “I knew you were using men to avoid getting hurt, but is that really how you want to live? Never opening your heart?”

She smiles, unfazed, like she hasn’t just ripped open old wounds.

“And Jacob and I… he’s…” The words catch in my throat. What the hell is he?

“Wrong for you,” my mom says simply.

“No, Mom,” I snap. “He’s a great father and husband. And I’m not you.”

I swore I wouldn’t put my kids through the same shit. No absent father. No strange men paying the bills. No instability. No struggling to get by. I want more for them.

Her expression softens. “We’re not as different as you think,” she murmurs. “You’re strong. Independent. Always taking care of everyone around you. Maybe it’s time you take care of yourself.”

Her words twist in my chest, just as Jacob and the girls walk in, the smell of pizza trailing behind them.

“Daddy said we can have ice cream after dinner,” Lily cries out, bolting at me.

I lift her up and hug her tightly. “Okay, okay. I love you, you know that?” I kiss her all over. “Like I love you so, so much. More than ice cream and tacos.”

She scrunches her little nose. “I know, you say it all the time. Now go kiss Daddy instead.”

Right, because he's the only man I should be kissing.

That night, Lily’s already fast asleep in her bed. I lie beside Ava, her warm body pressed to mine, and the soft glow of the star lamp floating around us.

Ava looks at me with Jacob’s deep brown eyes. “Mommy?” Her voice is soft, hesitant. “Are you and Daddy happy?”

My heart twists as my fingers toy with my wedding ring. “Why do you ask, sweetie?”

She turns to face me, her brows raised. “You don’t really laugh like you used to. But you laugh more with us. And you kiss us so much, but not Daddy.”

Kids—brutally honest. No sugarcoating. Ava may only be eight. But sometimes she feels wiser than most adults I know. And she’s right. Jacob and I don’t laugh. We barely talk. Not like we used to.

Tears sting my eyes. “Sometimes grown-ups get busy. But that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped loving each other,” I whisper.

She studies me like she’s not buying it. “Are you happy, Mommy?”

I swallow hard. Why does everyone keep asking me that damn question?

I brush her hair from her face. Then I choose my words carefully. Kids soak in everything like a sponge. “I am happy… because I’m the luckiest mom and I have you. Now go to sleep.”

Within seconds, she’s out like a light in my arms. I wipe my eyes and wonder how on earth an eight-year-old can see the cracks in my marriage I keep ignoring.

My mind starts to drift in a million different directions, including to the men in my life. Jacob, Dylan, Ryan… my father. Maybe my mom’s onto something. Men complicate things. Life would be so much simpler if I used them like playthings, focused on my career and my daughters.

Then my phone lights up.