Chapter 59 CHAPTER 59
Broken Bonds
The morning sun poured into the house Tessa had moved the children into, its golden warmth filling every corner. From the outside, it was the picture of peace—wide balconies, freshly painted walls, polished floors that gleamed like mirrors. But inside, that peace was nowhere to be found.
Tessa stood in the middle of the hallway, hands pressed against her temples as she tried to keep her voice steady. Jamal and Kamal had already stormed into their shared room and slammed the door. Beauty sat on the stairs with her arms folded tight across her chest, glaring down at Tessa with those fierce, unblinking eyes. Pretty trailed after her, tears brimming as she muttered, “I want to go home.”
Home.
The word stabbed Tessa in the chest. This was supposed to be home now. She had fought for this, endured years of separation, clawed her way through the courts, and endured every accusation flung at her just to reclaim her children. And now that she finally had them, they treated her like a stranger.
“Kids, listen,” she said, forcing her voice into a calm, maternal tone. “This place is for us. It’s safe. It’s ours. No more chaos, no more shouting. We can finally live as a family again.”
No response. Only Jamal’s muffled voice from behind the closed door: “You’re not my family. And there was no shouting at our daddy’s house.”
Tessa’s heart sank.
Pretty wiped her nose with her sleeve. “I want Daddy,” she whispered.
That one landed hardest of all.
The day dragged forward with mischief at every corner. Jamal and Kamal refused to eat breakfast. Instead, they snuck into the kitchen and poured an entire box of cereal onto the floor, crunching it beneath their sneakers as though daring Tessa to clean it up. Beauty deliberately spilled orange juice across the white couch, her eyes locked on Tessa the whole time, testing how far she could push. Pretty was quieter, but the silence carried its own weight; she refused to touch the food, refused to look Tessa in the eye, and carried Chloe’s old scarf around her shoulders as though it were a shield.
By afternoon, the walls of the house felt like they were closing in on Tessa. She stormed into the backyard, her phone clutched tight in her hand. Her chest heaved as she pressed a hand against the glass table, trying to steady herself.
“These kids…” she muttered under her breath, shaking her head. “After everything I’ve done for them…”
The sound of the front gate creaking open cut her thoughts short.
She turned, and there he was.
Ares.
He looked wrecked. His shirt was untucked, his jaw shadowed with stubble, his eyes bloodshot. The smell of whiskey clung to him, even carried faintly by the morning breeze. He wasn’t here as the proud, commanding man who once ruled over every room he walked into. He was just a father—broken, desperate, raw.
“Tessa,” he said hoarsely. His voice cracked in a way that startled even him.
She stiffened, stepping in front of the sliding door as though to block his path. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to see them.” His eyes darted past her shoulder, toward the house. “Please, Tessa. Just five minutes. Let me see my kids.”
Her lips pressed into a hard line. “No. The court’s decision is final. They’re with me now. They aren’t your kids. You had your chance.”
Ares flinched at her words as if she had struck him. “My chance? I raised them! From their first cries to their first steps—every scraped knee, every nightmare—I was there. Don’t you dare say I had my chance.”
Tessa’s jaw tightened. She hated how his voice still carried the weight of truth. He had been there. He had been the one they ran to when they were scared. But she wasn’t about to let him guilt her now.
“They need stability,” she said sharply. “They need their mother. And that’s me. Not you, not Chloe. Me.”
Her words hung in the air like a hammer striking stone.
Inside the house, a shadow flickered past the upstairs window. One of the kids was watching, listening.
Ares’s face hardened. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, staring at her with fire in his eyes. “You can shut me out, Tessa. You can spit your venom all day. But you can’t erase me from their hearts. You’ll see. No matter what the court says, no matter what you say they’ll always come back to me.”
Her throat tightened, but she didn’t flinch. She turned her back on him and slid the glass door closed. The click of the lock echoed like a final word.
That evening, as the sun slipped below the horizon, Ares found himself standing outside the iron gates of the county prison.
The whiskey still burned in his veins, but his hands trembled now for an entirely different reason. He had never imagined he would walk into a place like this, not for Chloe. Not for her.
He checked in, went through the security checks, handed over his wallet and watch. The guard led him through a series of clanging doors and echoing corridors until he reached the visiting room.
She was already there.
Chloe sat on the other side of the glass partition, dressed in a pale orange jumpsuit that swallowed her frame. Her hair had lost its gloss, falling limp around her face. She looked smaller somehow, fragile, though her eyes still sparked with that sharp, unyielding fire he knew so well.
When she saw him, her lips parted. For a moment, no words came. Then she whispered, “Thank you. Thank you for coming.”
Ares lowered himself into the chair slowly, staring at her through the scratched glass. His hand twitched toward the phone on the wall. He lifted it.
She mirrored him, pressing the receiver to her ear.
“I didn’t know if you would,” Chloe said, her voice cracking. “After everything… I thought you hated me.”
Ares’s jaw clenched. He leaned back, the weight of a hundred memories crashing down on him, the children’s first day at school, the chaos, the lies, the betrayal, and finally, the sentencing.
“I’m still angry with you,” he said bluntly, his voice low. “You put yourself in this position, Chloe. You made enemies out of everyone. You…” He trailed off, staring down at the cold, scratched metal table. “You left me no choice but to watch you fall.”
Her lips trembled. “So why are you here?”
His eyes lifted, locking with hers. For a long moment, silence stretched between them. Finally, he exhaled and said, “Because no matter how angry I am…I will do my best for you. I won’t abandon you.”
A single tear slid down Chloe’s cheek. She pressed her palm against the glass. On instinct, Ares lifted his hand and placed it opposite hers, their palms touching through the cold barrier.
Neither spoke again.
When the guard finally called time, Ares stood. His legs felt heavy, but his resolve steadied him.
As he walked out of the prison, the night air hit him like a tidal wave. He drew in a deep breath, tasting the bitterness of the world around him.