Chapter 6 - HENRY ASKED THE QUESTION SHE FEARED
Children know when adults are lying.
Not the details.
The shape.
Three days after the birthday, Henry found Evelyn in the kitchen making toast she never ate.
“Is Daddy mad at us?”
She turned.
“No.”
“Then why is he at a hotel?”
Evelyn’s throat tightened.
Preston had moved out after Samuel formally restricted him from using the mansion as if nothing happened.
She crouched.
“Daddy and I are having grown-up problems.”
“Because he missed my cake?”
“Not because of you.”
Henry looked suspicious.
“He promised.”
“I know.”
“Did I do something?”
Evelyn pulled him close.
“No. Never.”
He leaned back.
“Does Daddy still love me?”
That question hurt more than Brooke’s photograph.
Evelyn answered carefully.
“Yes. But loving someone doesn’t always mean making good choices.”
Henry frowned.
“That’s dumb.”
Evelyn almost laughed through tears.
“Yes.”
“Can he come to my soccer game?”
“If he behaves like your dad and not like someone fighting with me.”
Henry accepted that.
Children often understand boundaries faster than adults.
Preston did attend.
He sat on the opposite side of the field.
He did not approach Evelyn.
Henry scored no goals.
He still ran to both parents afterward.
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Evelyn refused to make her son choose sides in a war he did not start.
That decision became important later.
