Adrian looked at me in shock.

I rolled my eyes. ‘What did you expect?’

Without another word, he grabbed his already packed bag and left.

Payton went off to have a shower while I finished tidying up the kitchen and then I snuggled up with her in my marital bed while she cried herself to sleep.

She wasn’t the only one in tears.

5

The following morning Saxon still wasn’t talking to us. Well, I assumed the silent treatment he gave me as he shoved six Weet-Bix down his throat before hurrying out the door would apply to his father as well, if he were actually here. Then again, if Adrian was still here, Saxon wouldn’t be in a rare strop. A fresh bout of rage engulfed me, and I wondered how long this would last—which of my men would cave first?

I zipped up Payton’s lunch bag and hollered down the hallway. ‘Sweetheart. Time to get up!’ Usually she rose long before me but I guessed the previous evening’s turmoil had exhausted her.

‘Coming, Mum.’

A few minutes later she padded into the kitchen in bare feet and perched herself on a stool at the breakfast bar. I pushed a plate of Vegemite toast and a glass of milk towards her. ‘Morning, gorgeous.’

She made a face at the toast. ‘Can I stay home from school? I feel sick.’

Instinctively, I put my hand out to feel her forehead. ‘What’s wrong? Do you have a tummy ache?’

‘I just feel sore, in here,’ she said, pointing to her chest and confirming what I already suspected.

‘Oh sweetheart.’ I walked around the counter and pulled her into a hug. ‘I know exactly how you feel.’

Part of me welcomed the idea of my girl staying home to keep me company—we could watch movies on the couch and drown our sorrows with ice-cream and chocolate—but would that be the best thing for her? At school, she’d be so busy she hopefully wouldn’t have time to dwell on her broken family. Also, if she stayed home, I’d be forced to be strong for her, when simply dragging myself out of bed and into the shower had been difficult enough. If it wasn’t for my kids, I’d probably have drunk my weight in wine last night and be nursing a severe hangover today.

This was all happening so fast. Yesterday morning I’d been a married mother of two. Now, here I was, facing divorce, single-parenthood, and all the hardships that came with it. I needed a few hours to myself to get my head straight, but what did Payton need?

Damn Adrian for putting me in this quandary.

I was about to relent when my phone beeped with a text from Hayley: Will be at your place by 10 to bitch about my bastard brother!

I stifled my first smile in twenty-four hours—Hayley could always make me laugh even in the most dire situations.