Chapter 13 - The Apartment
Daniel called the property manager.
Anna sat beside him.
The manager confirmed the application.
Submitted online.
Deposit not paid.
Move-in date requested for the first of next month.
Applicant name: Anna Mercer.
Emergency contact: Rachel Porter.
Rachel had never authorized it.
Daniel’s voice became dangerously calm.
“Who submitted the application?”
The manager hesitated.
“The contact email was Evelyn Mercer.”
Anna closed her eyes.
Daniel asked for copies.
The manager agreed.
When the call ended, Daniel stood silently.
Anna watched him.
“What are you thinking?”
“That I want to drive to her house.”
“Why?”
“To ask what she thought she was doing.”
“You know what she thought.”
Daniel looked at her.
“She thought she was saving you.”
Anna shook her head.
“No.”
“She thought she was saving the version of you she preferred.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
Anna continued.
“There’s a difference.”
He sat.
“You’re right.”
“Do you still want to confront her?”
“Yes.”
“Then do it.”
Daniel blinked.
“You don’t want me to wait?”
“I don’t want you to explode.”
“I won’t.”
“I know.”
Anna looked at the paperwork.
“But this has gone beyond something we can ignore.”
Daniel nodded.
They asked Michael to stay with the boys.
Anna went with Daniel.
He did not argue.
Evelyn opened the door.
She looked tired for the first time Anna could remember.
“Daniel.”
Then she saw Anna.
Her expression changed.
“Anna.”
Daniel held up the apartment application.
“What is this?”
Evelyn’s face went pale.
That answered enough.
“I never completed it.”
“That isn’t the point.”
“I was making sure she had somewhere to go.”
Anna spoke.
“I have somewhere to go.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“My home.”
Silence.
Anna continued.
“You decided I shouldn’t be in it.”
“I thought Daniel was going overseas.”
“He wasn’t.”
“I didn’t know that when I started.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Yes, you did.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You told Michael you knew I declined.”
She said nothing.
Daniel’s voice remained calm.
“Why?”
Evelyn finally sat.
The three of them stood in the elegant living room.
Family photographs covered the walls.
Daniel in uniform at twenty-two.
Daniel with his father.
Daniel at his wedding.
Anna noticed she appeared in fewer pictures as the years went on.
Evelyn spoke quietly.
“Your father made the same mistake.”
Daniel froze.
“What mistake?”
“He started choosing us.”
Anna stared.
Daniel looked confused.
“That was a mistake?”
Evelyn’s eyes filled.
“He left the service early.”
“I know.”
“He regretted it.”
Daniel shook his head.
“He told me he didn’t.”
“He lied.”
The room changed.
Evelyn continued.
“After he retired, he was angry.”
“At you?”
“At himself.”
She looked down.
“He had been offered command.”
Daniel’s expression shifted.
“He never told me.”
“He turned it down because I was sick.”
Anna sat slowly.
Evelyn continued.
“He stayed.”
“For me.”
“For you boys.”
“And for years, every time something went wrong, I wondered whether he thought about what he gave up.”
Daniel stared.
“So you decided I couldn’t make the same choice.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to remove my wife.”
“I tried to remove the pressure.”
Anna’s voice sharpened.
“I am not pressure.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Anna stood.
“You turned me into an obstacle.”
Evelyn’s eyes filled.
Anna continued.
“You didn’t ask what Daniel wanted.”
“You didn’t ask what I wanted.”
“You didn’t even ask what the boys needed.”
“I was afraid.”
Anna stared.
There it was.
Not strategy.
Fear.
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
“I watched your father become bitter.”
Daniel’s face softened slightly.
“That was his responsibility.”
“He blamed himself.”
“Then he should have talked to us.”
Evelyn looked away.
Daniel continued.
“You just repeated the same silence.”
She closed her eyes.
Anna watched him.
Daniel’s voice became quieter.
“You were so afraid I’d resent my family that you gave me a reason to resent you.”
Evelyn began crying.
Not dramatically.
Just quietly.
Anna felt no satisfaction.
Only exhaustion.
Evelyn looked at her.
“I am sorry.”
Anna remained still.
“For what?”
Evelyn blinked.
Anna continued.
“Be specific.”
Daniel looked at Anna.
He understood why.
Evelyn took a breath.
“I’m sorry I wrote the email.”
Anna waited.
“I’m sorry I spoke to Rachel.”
Another pause.
“I’m sorry I called General Holloway.”
Anna waited again.
Evelyn looked down.
“And I’m sorry I tried to arrange the apartment.”
Anna nodded slowly.
“Thank you.”
Evelyn looked hopeful.
Anna immediately continued.
“I am not ready to forgive you.”
The hope disappeared.
“I understand.”
“You don’t get private access to the boys for now.”
Evelyn’s face tightened.
“Anna.”
Daniel spoke.
“She’s right.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“For how long?”
Daniel answered.
“Until trust exists again.”
“That could take months.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn looked wounded.
Daniel did not change his answer.
Anna watched him.
This was what she had asked for.
Not promises.
Action.
They left twenty minutes later.
In the car, Daniel stared ahead.
Anna touched his arm.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He looked at her.
She smiled faintly.
“It would be weird if you were.”
Daniel laughed.
Then his eyes filled.
Anna had rarely seen him cry.
He wiped them quickly.
“My father was unhappy.”
“Sometimes.”
“I never knew.”
“Children usually don’t.”
Daniel looked toward her.
“I don’t want our boys learning about us twenty years later.”
Anna squeezed his arm.
“Then we tell the truth while it can still help.”
Daniel nodded.
His phone buzzed.
An email from Holloway.
Fort Carson transfer approved.
Report date: eight weeks.
Daniel showed Anna.
She stared at the screen.
Eight weeks.
The baby could arrive before then.
The hospital interview result had not come.
The house would need to be sold or rented.
Schools.
Doctors.
Packing.
Everything suddenly became real.
Anna looked at Daniel.
“Eight weeks.”
He nodded.
“Too fast?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to decline?”
Anna stared at him.
Then she smiled.
“No.”
Daniel blinked.
“No?”
“No.”
May you like
She leaned back in the seat.
“But this time, we plan it together.”
