"Mommy… if Uncle Ax... I mean, Daddy Axel knew about me, so why didn't he stay with us? Why does he only show up when I'm hurt?"
Her chest tightened.
She had prepared herself for this moment countless times, yet hearing the words come from his little mouth, paired with those wide, innocent eyes brimming with curiosity instead of anger, made her heart ache in ways she wasn't ready for.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
The truth was too heavy, too cruel.
She couldn't tell him about the years of hatred that had been ingrained within her heart and mind. About William Walters' ultimatum. About how Axel Knight's very name had been a curse in her family. She couldn't tell him she had been thrown out—disowned—because she chose to keep him.
If her innocent son ever learned the truth, she knew exactly what would happen. He would blame himself. He would carry guilt he never deserved.
No. She would carry that burden for him, no matter how much it cost her.
