Then silently stepped aside.
Elon spent the next hour sitting on the floor with Sophie.
He tapped the bottoms of her socks.
“Boop, boop, boop.”
She kicked happily.
I watched from the kitchen doorway.
It was a strange feeling.
Seeing the man who’d broken my heart making our daughter laugh.
I still loved him.
That was the difficult truth.
But loving him didn’t mean I had to excuse what he’d done.
When it was time to leave, Elon looked at me.
“Maddie, I meant what I said in those messages.”
I nodded.
“Maybe you did.”
He swallowed.
“I really am sorry.”
I looked directly at him.
“But you also meant what you said to Sierra. You told her you hated me. You promised her a future.”
His eyes filled.
“I know.”
“And I don’t know which version of you I can trust anymore.”
He looked down.
