Chapter 4: The Secret Denise Had Been Hiding
Leon stared at his wife.
"What does that mean?""
Denise stood halfway up the staircase, one hand gripping the railing and the other holding her phone. Her expression had changed. The confidence she'd displayed all evening was gone.
Miles stood beside his father.
He didn't know what to expect anymore.
Denise glanced at him.
"Can we discuss this privately?""
Leon shook his head.
"No. You've already made him part of this. Whatever you're about to say concerns him, so he stays.""
Denise exhaled sharply.
"Fine.""
She walked back into the living room and placed her phone on the coffee table.
"There's been a problem with the weekends.""
"What problem?"" Leon asked.
"Your son's visits have become unpredictable.""
Miles frowned.
"They're not unpredictable. They're every other weekend.""
Denise ignored him.
"Sometimes he arrives earlier than expected. Sometimes he wants to stay an extra night. Sometimes his mother changes the arrangements.""
Leon looked at her.
"Claire has never changed the schedule without telling me.""
Denise folded her arms.
"Maybe she tells you. Maybe you just don't tell me.""
Leon shook his head.
"That's not an explanation.""
Denise picked up her phone again.
"Look.""
She opened a message conversation and held the screen toward him.
It showed several messages from Claire.
One read:
Can you confirm Miles is coming Friday at six?
Another read:
Please let me know if Sunday pickup needs to be adjusted.
Leon studied the screen.
"These are normal scheduling messages.""
"Exactly. Every weekend, another message. Another arrangement. Another reminder that your previous life is still controlling this household.""
Leon slowly lowered the phone.
"Denise, Claire is Miles's mother.""
"I know who she is.""
"Then why are you treating basic communication about our son like an inconvenience?""
Denise looked toward the staircase.
Tessa was still standing there.
"Can we not do this in front of the children?""
Leon replied quietly.
"Maybe we should have done it months ago.""
Miles shifted his weight.
"Can I ask something?""
Both adults turned.
"Of course," Leon said.
Miles looked at Denise.
"Did you tell Mom I couldn't come here anymore?""
Denise looked uncomfortable.
"I told her we needed to reconsider the arrangements.""
"When?""
"Several weeks ago.""
Miles frowned.
"Why didn't she tell me?""
"Because she probably didn't want to upset you.""
Leon reached for his phone.
"Let me see the messages.""
Denise hesitated.
Then she handed it over.
Leon scrolled through the conversation.
At first, everything seemed ordinary.
Then he stopped.
A message dated three weeks earlier caught his attention.
It was from Denise.
Maybe it's time Miles started spending his weekends elsewhere. Tessa needs stability, and having him around creates unnecessary tension.
Claire's response was immediate.
Leon is his father. Miles has a right to spend time with him.
Then came another message.
If Leon wants to maintain the marriage, perhaps he should consider what this arrangement is doing to our family.
Leon read it twice.
He looked up.
"You threatened our marriage over my son's visitation?""
Denise snatched the phone.
"That's not what I meant.""
"Then explain what you meant.""
"I was trying to make you understand that things couldn't continue like this.""
Leon rubbed his forehead.
"Did you tell me about this conversation?""
"No.""
"Why?""
"Because I knew you'd react exactly like this!""
Miles stared at the floor.
He could hear his heartbeat.
He wished Claire hadn't been brought into it. He wished Leon hadn't found the messages. He wished he'd never walked through the front door.
Tessa suddenly came down the remaining stairs.
"Mom, you told me Dad was going to send Miles away.""
Denise turned sharply.
"Tessa, please.""
"You said it was already decided.""
Leon looked at his wife.
"Already decided?""
Denise pressed her lips together.
Tessa continued.
"You told me that after the next visit, he wouldn't come back.""
Miles slowly lifted his head.
"What?""
Denise closed her eyes.
"I was trying to make things easier.""
"For whom?"" Leon asked.
She didn't answer.
Leon walked toward the window.
Outside, Miles's overnight bag had left a small mark on the porch where it had been dragged.
He stared at it through the glass.
Then he turned around.
"Denise, I need to ask you something, and I want an honest answer.""
She looked exhausted.
"What?""
"Have you been trying to make Miles stop coming here?""
Denise looked at him for several seconds.
Then she said, "I wanted you to have a normal family life.""
Leon stared at her.
"He is part of my normal family life.""
"He's not here every day!""
"That doesn't make him less my son.""
Denise shook her head.
"You don't understand what it's like for me.""
"Then help me understand.""
Her eyes filled with frustration.
"Every time he comes, everything changes. The schedule changes. The meals change.
Tessa has to share things. I have to think about another person's needs. I never get a weekend that belongs entirely to us.""
Leon looked at her in disbelief.
"You're describing parenthood.""
"I'm describing a situation I never agreed to!""
The room went silent.
Miles felt those words settle somewhere deep inside him.
Tessa looked at her mother.
"You didn't agree to having Miles?""
Denise immediately realized what she'd said.
"That's not what I meant.""
But Tessa was already crying.
"He's my brother.""
Leon moved toward his daughter.
"Tessa, sweetheart, go sit down.""
She shook her head.
"No. I want Mom to answer.""
Denise looked at her daughter, then at Miles.
Finally, she lowered her voice.
"I just wanted things to be different.""
Leon nodded slowly.
"Then we need to talk about what happens next.""
Denise picked up her phone.
"What happens next is that I need some space.""
She walked toward the kitchen.
A few seconds later, Leon heard the front door open.
He looked outside.
Denise was standing on the porch, speaking quietly into her phone.
Then he noticed something else.
Her screen was displaying a conversation with someone named Mark.
And the last message had been sent only minutes earlier.
Did you manage to get him out tonight?
Leon froze.
May you like
Who was Mark?
And why was Denise discussing getting his son out of the house with another man?
