Chapter 8 The Warning
Three months later, Molly was working at Anderson Industries.
She had redesigned the entire office on the second floor. She had painted the walls soft colors. She had bought comfortable furniture. She had created spaces where employees could relax and think and be human instead of just working like machines.
The other employees loved it.
Sean loved it.
He would come by her office—the small space he had given her to work from—and just watch her work. She would be concentrating so hard that she didn't notice him.
One day, she did notice him.
"Stop watching me," she said without looking up. "It's creepy."
"I can't help it," Sean said. "I like looking at you."
Molly finally looked at him. "Don't say things like that."
"Why not? It's true."
"Because you're confusing me," Molly said. "You're being nice and you're being present and you're being a good father to them. And I don't know how to feel about that because I'm also angry at you. And I can't be both."
Sean sat down in the chair across from her desk. "You can be both," he said. "People are complicated. We can feel love and anger at the same time."
"That's not helpful," Molly said.
"I know."
He was quiet for a moment. Then he said: "Can I ask you something? That night six years ago. Do you remember all of it?"
Molly's face went red. "No. I remember parts. I remember that I was lonely and you were kind and..." She stopped.
"And?" Sean asked gently.
"And you made me feel like I was worth something," Molly whispered. "Like I wasn't a mistake. Like I was beautiful."
Sean reached across the desk and took her hand. She didn't pull away.
"You were worth something," he said. "You are worth something. You're the most remarkable woman I've ever met. You raised three children alone. You survived being disowned by your entire family. You came back to the city that rejected you and built a new life. How are you not remarkable?"
Molly pulled her hand away and stood up. "This is not appropriate. You're my boss."
"I know," Sean said. "I'm sorry."
\---
That night, Molly received a phone call.
It was from a woman named Diana May.
"Hello, Molly," Diana said. Her voice was sweet and poisonous like honey mixed with snake venom. "I heard you're working at Anderson Industries. How interesting."
"Diana," Molly said coldly. "How did you get this number?"
"I have my ways. I also heard that you're living with your three... children. How are they? I imagine they look just like their father."
Molly's heart started beating very fast. "What do you want?"
"I want to warn you," Diana said. "You think Sean Anderson is a good man. You think he's changed. But he hasn't. Do you know what he did to our father's company when our father wouldn't support him? He destroyed it. Ruined it. Made our father have a heart attack."
"You're lying," Molly said.
"Am I? Ask him about it. Ask him about the Westbrook Group. Ask him what he did to that company."
"I don't care about—"
"You should care," Diana interrupted. "Because I'm also going to tell you that Sean Anderson has a reputation. He uses women and throws them away. He's been engaged three times and broken every engagement because he gets bored with the women. You're not special, Molly. You never were."
"Why are you telling me this?" Molly asked.
"Because I'm trying to help you," Diana said, and she sounded almost sincere. "I'm trying to warn you before he destroys you and your children like he destroys everyone else. He's a cold, cruel man who doesn't know how to love. The only reason he's interested in you now is because of the children. Once the novelty wears off, he'll leave you too."
Molly hung up the phone.
But Diana's words were already planted inside her mind like a poison seed.
\---
The next day, Molly researched everything about Sean Anderson.
She found articles about his business deals. Some of them were ruthless. He had taken over smaller companies and shut them down. He had fired thousands of people. He had made money while other people lost their homes.
She found articles about his personal life. He had been engaged to a woman named Catherine. The engagement had ended when Catherine said she couldn't marry him because he was "emotionally unavailable."
He had been engaged to another woman named Laura. Laura said in an interview that Sean had asked her to marry him as a business decision, not a romantic one.
There was a pattern.
Sean was a man who used people and forgot them.
Just like he had used Molly and forgotten her.
When he came to pick up the children on Wednesday, Molly met him at the door.
"I need to talk to you," she said. "Alone."
They went to the small park across the street.
"I did some research," Molly said. "I read about what you did to other companies. I read about the women you've been engaged to. I read about how you break people."
"Molly—" Sean started.
"Was Diana right?" Molly interrupted. "Are you just interested in the children because you feel guilty? Or are you planning to hurt us all in the end?"
"No," Sean said. "That's not—"
"How do I know?" Molly demanded. "How do I know that you're not going to hurt my children? How do I know that six months from now you won't get bored with being a father and just disappear again?"
Sean was quiet for a long time.
Finally, he said: "You don't know. You just have to trust me. And I know that's hard because I've given you no reason to trust me. But I'm asking you to try."
"I can't," Molly said. "I can't risk my children on hope and wishes. I can't risk my heart on someone who breaks people."
"Okay," Sean said. "Then let me prove it to you. Give me one year. Just one year to show you that I'm serious. That I'm not going to hurt you. That I'm not going to leave."
"And if you hurt us?" Molly asked.
"Then I'll accept whatever consequences you decide. I'll lose the children. I'll lose my visitation rights. I'll let you walk away and never contact you again."
Sean stepped closer to her.
"But I won't hurt you, Molly. I promise. Because I love you."
The words hu
ng in the air between them.
And Molly realized that she was in very deep trouble.
Because she was starting to believe him.