Page 26 of Offside and Off-Limits (Love in Maple Falls #2)

He doesn’t remove it. “Hey, I know I wasn’t a hundred percent honest online, and I’m sorry about that. But you locked me out, Clars. I couldn’t get you to see sense. I needed to get through to you, and I knew you wouldn’t let Dwayne back in.”

I gawk at him. “I can’t believe you did this to me.”

“Can’t you see how romantic this is? It’s next level romantic, babe.

Warrior was my only option to show you that whatever has gone before, whatever mistakes we both made—and we did both make mistakes, babe—,” He looks at me pointedly, as though I had some part in what happened back then, as if me getting sick was somehow my mistake, and that I’m equally to blame for him leaving me for a woman I once counted as a friend.

“You can’t fight it, babe. You and me? We’re meant to be. ”

Finally, he falls into silence.

“I said, get your hand off of me,” I grind out, my tone low and firm.

He holds both hands in the air. “Okay. You win.”

I stare at him. “ Win ? You think this is me winning ?” I spring to my feet, suck in a breath, and square my shoulders, anger rushing through my veins. I look down at him. “You think that manipulating me through Warrior is just a means to an end? A way to work your way back into my affections?”

“Babe, come on. I had to do it. I had no choice. You barely even talk to me when I come to pick up the kids.”

I force myself to remain calm. The kids are only just down the hall, and I need to get my message through to him without alarming them. “You didn’t. If you wanted to work on our relationship, you should have done it honestly. Not by creating some fiction with which to lure me in.”

He rises to his feet. “But you fell for Warrior. You fell for me . ”

I shake my head, a bitter laugh bubbling out of me. “I was going online to end things with him just now.”

His features drop momentarily before he pulls them back into a smile. “No, you weren’t. You’re just saying that to make yourself look better. But babe, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m here, and I want you back.”

“Stop. Just stop talking.” I suck in air, my heart hammering. “What you did wasn't romantic. It was manipulation. You took my genuine concern for someone on the same health journey as me, hiding behind it like a coward.”

“Babe—”

I raise my hand to stop any more diatribe from spilling from his mouth.

I’ve had enough.

“After you left, it took me a long time to trust again. I trusted Warrior, but it was a lie. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

“But you can trust me. I'm Warrior. Warrior is me.”

I cross my arms and glare at him, my resolve strengthening with every fast beat of my heart. “You don't get to waltz back into my life through deception.”

“You're making a bigger deal of that part than you should. It was a means to an end. That’s all.”

“And the fact that you don't see what you did?

That's enough to tell me that I could never be with you again, let alone all the other stuff.

I've built a good life for myself and our kids, and I've done it on my own. And now?” My throat heats, and I fight to control the tears threatening my eyes.

“Now I'm falling for someone else, someone who accepts me as me, all of me. He sees my chronic fatigue as a part of me, not something to run from.”

His whole demeanor turns stormy. “What? Who is this guy?”

I ignore his question. Cade has nothing to do with how I feel about Dwayne and the way he’s treated me.

Instead, I press on with what I want to say. “We're done, you and me. We were done the day you left. You will always be Hannah and Benny’s father, and I can only hope you can find it in yourself to take that role more seriously than you have in the past. Now, I want you to leave.”

“You're making a mistake. No one can give you what I gave you.”

“You're right,” I say, and watch as his features lift in momentary optimism.

“No one can give me the level of heartache and abandonment that you did. No one.” I move past him, heading toward the door, which I pull open, allowing the cold in.

“I'll see you next weekend when you come to pick the kids up,” I say firmly.

“This isn't over,” he grinds out before he steps out onto the stoop.

“That's where you're wrong, Dwayne. This is over.” And with a deep level of satisfaction, I swing the door closed on him, both literally and metaphorically, before I lock it and lean back against it, my heart hammering against my ribs like it's trying to escape my chest.

The wood is solid and reassuring against my spine—much like my newfound backbone.

Who knew I had it in me? All these years, I thought confrontation was my kryptonite, it turns out, I just needed the right kind of righteous fury to discover I've got a spine made of pure titanium.

The irony isn't lost on me that Dwayne just got schooled by the woman he once convinced she was too weak to handle real life.

The same woman who used to apologize for having chronic fatigue, as if getting sick was some personal failing that required constant penance.

I push myself off the door and walk slowly to the living room window.

I watch Dwayne’s retreating figure disappear down the path and into his car, his tires squealing as he beats a hasty retreat.

He's probably going to spend the next hour trying to figure out what went wrong with his grand romantic gesture.

And I guess he's about to discover that catfishing your ex-wife isn't exactly the love story women dream of .

"Mommy?" Hannah’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Is Daddy coming back?”

Suddenly exhausted, I turn toward my daughter. “Maybe next weekend, sweetheart. But you know what?”

“What?”

“We're going to be just fine.”

And the beautiful thing is, I know it to be true.