Chapter 18

When the sound of the door closing echoed, Isaiah finally came to his senses. He hurriedly knocked on the door Esme had just shut. "Essie, I know you can hear me. Please, let me explain, okay? I didn't mean to hide this from you. It happened because she took advantage of me when I was drunk and climbed into my bed. "I wanted to deal with her immediately, but then my parents called, pressuring me about having children. I couldn't bear for you to go through that… So I—just—" The rest of his words seemed to catch in his throat as they were too humiliating to say aloud. But they both understood. Esme leaned against the other side of the door as her eyes filled with disdain. He couldn't bear for her to go through childbirth, but he could bear to hurt her instead? The pain in her heart had been far worse than anything physical. The day she learned of his infidelity, she had been so heartbroken she could barely breathe. She had rarely been to the hospital under his careful care, but her