Then Noah appeared in the doorway. “Mommy?”
Emily opened her arms.
He ran to her.
“I’m sorry I told Grandma it was another man.”
Emily pulled back slightly. “Why did you say that?”
“Daddy told me to. He said you shouldn’t know he was here.”
Emily began crying.
Noah looked terrified. “Please don’t be mad.”
She hugged him again.
“I’m not mad at you. Not even a little.”
“But I told a lie.”
“An adult asked you to keep something secret that frightened you. You can always tell Grandma or me when that happens.”
He buried his face against her shoulder.
“I just wanted to make you a cake.”
“I know, baby.”
Watching them, I felt angrier at Fabian than I had during the confrontation.
Not because he’d shouted at me.
Because he’d made a six-year-old believe he had to choose between obeying his father and telling his mother the truth.
