The Rejected Wife: Chapter 57

‘Serene!’ My heart slams into my rib cage. My pulse rate shoots through the roof. I have just enough time to take in the flash of comprehension, followed by terror, on Tyler’s features. A look I’ll never forget. The next second, he lowers me to the floor and races through the door. I follow him, running into the garden. I scan the grass that slopes down to the boundary wall separating the property from the rest of Primrose Hill, the trees that line the space near the walls, the garden shed…but don’t see her.

‘Where is she?’ I pant. ‘Serene?’ I call out.

There’s another scream, and this time, it’s clear the sound comes from the space behind the garden shed.

Tyler takes off in that direction, and I follow. By the time I reach the shed, he’s disappeared behind it. I round the side of the shed into the space between the shed and the wall and careen to a halt.

Serene’s standing there, her back to us. And a few feet away, facing her, is Lauren. She’s at the far side of the shed. She holds up her hands, palms facing us. ‘Please don’t scream, Serene. I only wanted to see you.’

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Serene turns and rushes past Tyler, throwing herself into my arms. I scoop her up and cradle her close. ‘There, honey. Don’t worry. We’re right here. Everything’s going to be okay.’

Ahead of me, Tyler’s shoulders seem to swell. He seems to be getting bigger, broader, as if he’s going to jump out of his skin like The Incredible Hulk. Anger radiates off of him. I sense his patience has snapped. That he’s regretting not putting her behind bars, so she wouldn’t come face-to-face with our daughter without warning again. Or perhaps, he’s thinking he should have upped the security even more? How did she get in, anyway?

It’s not like the security from the Davenport’s security agency isn’t exceptional. And he mentioned to me that his uncle Quentin, who runs the agency, assured him he’d put the best men on the job. Lauren must have been very determined and resourceful to have found her way onto the grounds.

‘How dare you come here and scare my daughter?’ he growls. His voice is tightly leashed, like a whip ready to flick out, and even a touch will be enough to draw blood.

I can’t help but be grateful I’m not at the receiving end of it.

Lauren winces. Some of the fight seems to go out of her. She lowers her chin. ‘I’m sorry. I know it’s wrong. I know I shouldn’t have come here.’

‘No, you shouldn’t have,’ he snaps.

She locks her fingers together. ‘I needed to see my—to see Serene.’

Serene stirs and peers out from under her eyes and over her shoulder. She sucks on her thumb, a clear sign she’s upset. But she’s not crying. She seems curious.

‘Are you okay, baby?’ I ask softly.

She nods without looking away from Lauren.

There’s no recognition in her eyes. The shock that she faced after being hurt and falling into the pool wiped most of her memories of that day. The doctor told us it wasn’t unusual, given what she’s been through.

The details might come back in time, when she’s ready. It might also happen that she never remembers.

But seeing a stranger who she wasn’t expecting must have upset her…again. Which is why Serene must have screamed.

She’s so young, and she’s been through a lot already. I’d be lying if I said that I don’t want to shield her from further shock and tell Tyler I agree with him. That I don’t want her to meet Lauren again. But Lauren is a part of her past. Part of Serene’s history. She should know that she was conceived via a surrogate. That it was Lauren who gave birth to her. When she’s ready to know about it.

And perhaps, I remember what it felt like to be on the other side of that door from Serene. How it felt like my heart was breaking when I had to walk away from her. And how it feels now, like I’ve been given an unexpected reward with her being back in my life.

How I felt so grateful to the universe and so immensely lucky that I have her in my life. A miracle I still don’t think I deserve. How my entire being resonates when I’m with Serene. How I’ll never take for granted the fact that I have her in my life. And how I sense Lauren’s pain—I can’t claim to understand the complexity of the feelings that led her to wanting to give up Serene and then changing her mind. But I see the regret on her features. The desperation. The helplessness that led her to seek out Serene again and again.

But she can’t be allowed to shock Serene like this again. Which means, it’s best to have this conversation with her and come to an understanding. If a restraining order doesn’t stop her, there’s nothing to say she’s not going to try to see Serene again, despite all the legalities we throw at her. Instinct tells me the soft touch here will work better, for all of us.

Tyler’s biceps twitch. He curls his fingers into fists at his sides. He’s wearing a T-shirt that exposes his forearms, and the veins stand out in relief. His entire body is an ancient pillar of stone guarding the entry to a sacred space. He looks threatening and ferocious, every inch of him a protective barricade. Under the rage thrumming off him and saturating the air with menace, Lauren seems to shrink in size.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause her any distress.’ Her chin quivers.

‘You broke the restraining order. I’m going to sue the hell out of you. I’m going to make sure you lose everything, you⁠—’

‘Tyler,’ I murmur.

He freezes, taking a deep breath. I sense him gathering himself, then he shoots me a glare over his shoulder. Those heterochromatic eyes blaze at me. I’m not at the receiving end of that rage; nevertheless, it makes me flinch. His face still wears the remnants of the paint and the stickers Serene stuck on him. The paint is smeared because some of it is on my cheeks. I flush slightly, but not in embarrassment. More because it feels like a badge of honor to be linked to my husband and my daughter in this way. It marks us out as a unit. A tribe. I love the feeling.

And when I look at Lauren, I see the bleakness on her face. How much of an outsider she feels. How much of an outsider she always will be. And a part of me curses my soft heart, but I cannot, in good faith, allow Tyler to go through with the retributions he’s lined up for her in his head.

‘I think we should go in and talk, honey,’ I say softly.

His gaze is piercing as he holds mine. Once more, we communicate without words on that wavelength which connects only the two of us. He blinks. Once. Twice. Some of the anger seems to fade. Once again, he understands what I’m trying to tell him. He doesn’t seem too pleased about it but gives me a jerk of his chin.

Then, he turns to Lauren. ‘I don’t want anything to do with you. I don’t want you in our lives. But my wife thinks otherwise.’ He rolls his shoulders, seeming to force more of the rigidity from his muscles. ‘You’d better come in.’