felt as though half of his life was wrapped up in whatever happened with his ex-wife while the other half was wrapped in Skylar.
His chest rose and fell steadily as he tried to keep himself composed.
“Samantha Yeager was my first love,” Hayden said, his voice soft. “We’d been an item since middle school, and we were madly in love. Have you ever heard that saying, ‘The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long’? Well, that was me and Sam. We were like, Romeo and Juliet…we burned too hot, too fast, but we loved each other. We got married as soon as we had our diplomas. We were amazingly happy. We had just gotten out of high school and were about to sign a lease on a new apartment in Raleigh when Sam found out she was pregnant. For her, it was like her entire world stopped, and for me…well, for me it was like my entire world had finally come into focus.” He grinned widely at the memory. I loved the way that his entire being lit up when he mentioned his daughter.
“So what happened?” I asked.
I watched as he ran his hands nervously through his hair, his eyes closing as he struggled to keep from getting either mad or emotional—I wasn’t sure which.
“She was adamant on not keeping the baby, and I refused to go along with that.” His voice was sad and distant, like he still couldn’t believe what he was saying. “She was furious and she threatened to divorce me, and I told her she could do whatever she wanted except abort the baby. She left me for three months and virtually dropped off the face of the planet. I couldn’t find her, no matter what I did. All I could think about was my child, and how he or she deserved so much better.” He paused, shaking his head. “I was so furious with her, but I promised myself that if she came back to me, I would give her another chance, because I loved her that much. One day, I got home from work to find a very pregnant Samantha sitting on my front porch. We went to a counselor and we worked things out, then one night…one night we had a really rough argument, during which time she told me she was seeing someone else. She told me that she didn’t love me anymore and that she wanted a divorce. As soon as the baby was born, she would move out, and she’d grant me full custody, because she wasn’t ready to be a mom.”
I reached for his face and made a move to pull back, but he took hold of my hand and held it against his cheek, closing his eyes. He leaned into my touch, then continued talking.
“God, Mich, she was so happy while she was pregnant.” A sad smile formed on his face. “We went to all the appointments together, we decorated the nursery, planned a baby shower, and she never mentioned the other guy again. She was the girl I loved all over again and fuck me because I fell even harder for her.” Hayden stood up, bracing his hands on the back of the couch as he tried to find his breath. “When she went into labor, I told her how much I loved her. She told me that she loved me, too, but she was still leaving. I tried to beg her, I tried to plead with her and make her see reason, but she wouldn’t give. So I stood there, holding her hand as she gave birth to our daughter. When Skylar Rose was born, I forgot all about Samantha Yeager and what I thought we had. In that moment, holding my newborn daughter, I finally saw what love was for the very first time. I took her home with me and I gave Sam everything that she wanted in terms of the divorce—which was virtually nothing except her freedom from marriage and motherhood. I was granted full custody of Sky, and my only terms were that Sam had to see her at least two days a week, one weekend a month, and we share holidays. She agreed, and we parted ways. She takes Skylar every Wednesday and Thursday and the last weekend of the month unless we’ve already got plans.”
My heart hurt for this wonderful man and all that he’d been through. He loved his daughter more than anyone else, and
His chest rose and fell steadily as he tried to keep himself composed.
“Samantha Yeager was my first love,” Hayden said, his voice soft. “We’d been an item since middle school, and we were madly in love. Have you ever heard that saying, ‘The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long’? Well, that was me and Sam. We were like, Romeo and Juliet…we burned too hot, too fast, but we loved each other. We got married as soon as we had our diplomas. We were amazingly happy. We had just gotten out of high school and were about to sign a lease on a new apartment in Raleigh when Sam found out she was pregnant. For her, it was like her entire world stopped, and for me…well, for me it was like my entire world had finally come into focus.” He grinned widely at the memory. I loved the way that his entire being lit up when he mentioned his daughter.
“So what happened?” I asked.
I watched as he ran his hands nervously through his hair, his eyes closing as he struggled to keep from getting either mad or emotional—I wasn’t sure which.
“She was adamant on not keeping the baby, and I refused to go along with that.” His voice was sad and distant, like he still couldn’t believe what he was saying. “She was furious and she threatened to divorce me, and I told her she could do whatever she wanted except abort the baby. She left me for three months and virtually dropped off the face of the planet. I couldn’t find her, no matter what I did. All I could think about was my child, and how he or she deserved so much better.” He paused, shaking his head. “I was so furious with her, but I promised myself that if she came back to me, I would give her another chance, because I loved her that much. One day, I got home from work to find a very pregnant Samantha sitting on my front porch. We went to a counselor and we worked things out, then one night…one night we had a really rough argument, during which time she told me she was seeing someone else. She told me that she didn’t love me anymore and that she wanted a divorce. As soon as the baby was born, she would move out, and she’d grant me full custody, because she wasn’t ready to be a mom.”
I reached for his face and made a move to pull back, but he took hold of my hand and held it against his cheek, closing his eyes. He leaned into my touch, then continued talking.
“God, Mich, she was so happy while she was pregnant.” A sad smile formed on his face. “We went to all the appointments together, we decorated the nursery, planned a baby shower, and she never mentioned the other guy again. She was the girl I loved all over again and fuck me because I fell even harder for her.” Hayden stood up, bracing his hands on the back of the couch as he tried to find his breath. “When she went into labor, I told her how much I loved her. She told me that she loved me, too, but she was still leaving. I tried to beg her, I tried to plead with her and make her see reason, but she wouldn’t give. So I stood there, holding her hand as she gave birth to our daughter. When Skylar Rose was born, I forgot all about Samantha Yeager and what I thought we had. In that moment, holding my newborn daughter, I finally saw what love was for the very first time. I took her home with me and I gave Sam everything that she wanted in terms of the divorce—which was virtually nothing except her freedom from marriage and motherhood. I was granted full custody of Sky, and my only terms were that Sam had to see her at least two days a week, one weekend a month, and we share holidays. She agreed, and we parted ways. She takes Skylar every Wednesday and Thursday and the last weekend of the month unless we’ve already got plans.”
My heart hurt for this wonderful man and all that he’d been through. He loved his daughter more than anyone else, and
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