Love, Honor, and Betray, Roby, Lawson [i have read the book a hundred times .txt] 📗

the most was that Curtis had even gone as far as hiring a specialist to decorate it. He’d actedas though his precious little Curtina was nothing short of royalty and that she deserved anything and everything his moneycould buy her. Which was interesting, because had Charlotte been the one making Curtina’s decorating decisions, she’d havefound her some cheap little cot to sleep on and maybe some small inexpensive dresser to dump her clothes into. She certainlywouldn’t have ordered her this classy armoire and canopy set she was looking at. But that was neither here nor there, becauseCurtis had done what he wanted to and hadn’t bothered asking her opinion.

Charlotte searched through the first few items inside Curtina’s closet and pulled out a black and white velvet dress and blackpatent-leather shoes. Then, she went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of white cotton panties and a pair of whitetights. Thankfully, though certainly against her wishes, Charlotte had already given Curtina a bath last night right beforeCurtis had put her to bed, and she needed to give her only a washup this morning.

When they finished in the bathroom, they came back into the bedroom and Charlotte kneeled onto the floor. “Come here so youcan get your underwear on, Curtina,” she said. Curtina rushed toward her with open arms and wrapped them around Charlotte’sneck.

“I love Mommy,” she said and Charlotte wished she’d stop calling her that. She did understand that Curtina was just a smalltoddler and was only calling her that because this was what she always heard Matthew calling her, but she still didn’t likeit. Although, since Matthew called her Mom, she wasn’t sure why Curtina didn’t just stick to that and drop this whole “Mommy”business.

The other thing that unnerved Charlotte was that Curtina was so happy all the time. The first couple of weeks after Tabitha’sdeath, she had spent most of it saying she wanted her mommy, but now she was adjusting very well to her new home and seemed to love it. Although, maybe it was because she’d alreadybeen spending quite a bit of time there, anyway, over the last year, and nothing was really all that new to her. She was comfortable,didn’t ask for Tabitha much at all anymore, and acted as though she belonged where she was.

Curtina held on to Charlotte and wouldn’t let go. Then, she started singing the way children tend to sing when they’re contentand having a good time.

“Just stop it, Curtina!” Charlotte said through gritted teeth, grabbing both of Curtina’s arms, moving them away from herand slightly shaking her. “Stop playing, so I can get you dressed and then get you out of my face.”

Curtina gazed at her with teary eyes, but thankfully her tears didn’t fall, because the last thing Charlotte needed was forCurtis to walk in and see how upset she was. He would have a fit if he knew Charlotte wasn’t showing Curtina the kind of lovehe thought she deserved, and she didn’t feel like dealing with that right now. Although the more she thought about the wayCurtis had slept with Tabitha behind her back, and had even allowed her to travel with him to many of his speaking engagements,the angrier she got. She was steaming and knew it was only a matter of time before she and Curtis had the blowup of a lifetime.She’d tried her best to avoid it, but she now knew it was inevitable.

Chapter 2

The choir sang its second selection, and Curtis sat at the far side of the pulpit thinking about his household situation. Heknew Charlotte was trying to hang in there, but whether she realized it or not, he wasn’t oblivious to what she was feeling.She smiled when she was supposed to and laughed when something was funny, but deep down he knew she was miserable. They’dbeen together for just over ten years now, and if he didn’t know anything else, he knew his wife and who she was. He knewshe wanted Curtina out of their lives for good.

Only thing was, though, sending Curtina away wasn’t an option, and he wished there was some way Charlotte could learn to loveher. He wished she could let bygones be bygones, and that she would soon accept Curtina as her daughter. Curtis had been prayingfor exactly that for more than a year but even more so over the last month since Tabitha’s passing. Part of him understoodwhy Charlotte wasn’t happy about them taking full custody of Curtina, but part of him didn’t because there was no denyingthat Charlotte had slept with his best friend, Aaron Malone, conceived a child with him, and then tried to pass her off asCurtis’s. She’d lied and schemed, and while Curtis had learned the truth about Marissa’s paternity, shortly after she wasborn, he’d never said a word to Charlotte. Charlotte had allowed a terrible thing to happen, and though Curtis had sometimesplayed this humiliating scenario over and over in his head, more often than Charlotte realized, he’d still forgiven her andcontinued loving her with all his heart. The reason: he always thought about his own previous misgivings and outside affairs,and that always humbled him. He thought about all the women he’d bedded, not to mention all the pain he’d caused his two eldestchildren, Alicia and Matthew. Even worse, he thought about the fact that he hadn’t actually met Matthew, his own biologicalson, for the first time or become a father to him until Matthew was seven—partly because Matthew had been conceived whileCurtis had still been married to his first wife, Tanya (Alicia’s mother), and partly because Charlotte’s father had demandedthat Curtis stay away from his daughter and grandson or else. Yes, Curtis thought about all that and so much more, but asfar as he was concerned, he’d done his thing, Charlotte had clearly done hers, and it was high time for both of them to movebeyond it.

Curtis listened as the choir continued singing and scanned the audience. Every seat had been taken, and the folding chairsthat had been placed