Thick as Thieves (The Greystone Family: Stolen Hearts #3)

Chapter 38

38

Kellen

The paternity test.

Mick is staring daggers at me. I discussed it with him at the time and he told me not to do it. It wasn’t needed. It could be done at another time in the future, when and if it was needed. Don’t put the cart before the horse. But I never listened. We didn’t listen. And now it has cost me my life. The only life I was ever happy with.

I knew how special Evie was. How exceptionally brave she is. To take me on in the first place, then us both. To listen to the abuse on a daily basis. And carry on loving us.

I even congratulated myself at one point, thinking about the test, unread, locked in Himself’s safe. How all those words and insults shouted by paps were pointless, as we knew that the children were mine. I never doubted it for a second.

The stories that just kept coming, the horrible words written. The vitriol directed at Evie. Those are the reasons I did it. I know someone will come for my children. For my wife. The horrendous women I allowed to permeate the air with evil words and vile views. My own mother—the woman who tried to kill my wife and son years ago—was seduced by the lies, they were that compelling. All this was floating around in my head when I thought about that fucking test.

My wife at twenty five weeks pregnant. Pushed into the road, in an attempt to get rid of her and my sons. All this was at the forefront of my decision. Protection. Security. Jonno agreed with it. But then Jonno has always been overzealous with security when it comes to his sister.

But at no point, ever, in that whole decision process, was trust of her word a factor. At no point ever did I think those kids were not mine. James was mine from the minute I laid eyes on him. Those boys, when they were pulled from her body by my husband, were mine. The love that passed from those children to me that day, I couldn’t do the feeling justice with words. There are not enough of them, none too deep to describe what it felt like.

But the idea or thoughts of love and trust were never in play when I decided to do that test. It was all about my fear. My aim to protect, because I loved them.

Through my ego of knowing best—not consulting, not explaining my fear, bottling it up and not telling Evie my thoughts—I’ve broken my wife’s heart. I’ve ripped out my husbands. And mine has shrivelled and died. Without her, I’m a dry husk of a man.