Chapter 7 - The House on the Lake
Three months later.
Spring had arrived in Quebec, thawing the ice over Lake Memphremagog. Our new home—a beautiful two-story wooden house with a wide porch overlooking the water—was filled with the smell of fresh cedar and warm maple syrup.
I sat on the porch, wrapped in a cozy knit sweater, sipping my morning coffee while watching Maya and Lily run across the green lawn with a golden retriever puppy my father had adopted for them.
Maya’s cheeks were rosy, her laughter ringing out clear and bright over the water. Lily was holding a stick, trying to teach the puppy how to sit.
For the past ninety days, my life had transformed completely. I had officially launched my own interior design agency in Montreal—Laurent Design—and business was already booming. Clients loved the European elegance mixed with North American practicality. But more importantly, I had my life back. I had my dignity back.
My phone rang on the wooden table. I glanced at the screen. An unknown international number from France.
I picked it up calmly. "Hello?"
Silence on the other end for three seconds. Then, a ragged, familiar voice.
"Chloé?"
It was Antoine. But he didn't sound like the arrogant, wealthy businessman who had sneered at me in the lawyer's office. His voice was raspy, broken, exhausted.
"Antoine," I said, my tone as cool as the lake water. "How did you get this number?"
"It doesn't matter," he pleaded, his voice trembling. "Chloé, please... don't hang up. I’m begging you. Just give me five minutes."
"You have two minutes, Antoine. I’m having coffee with my daughters."
A choked sob came through the receiver. "How are they? How are Maya and Lily?"
"They are thriving," I replied truthfully. "They love their new school. They have friends who care about them. And they are living in a home where nobody measures their worth by their gender."
"Chloé, I’m so sorry..." Antoine broke down, weeping openly into the phone. "I was insane... I was out of my mind! Victoria lied to me! The baby wasn't mine! It was Axel’s! She was using me!"
"I know," I said quietly.
Antoine gasped. "You... you knew?"
"I didn't know about Axel, Antoine," I clarified smoothly. "I just knew that a man who trades his children for a promise of a son is a weak, hollow man. Victoria didn't ruin your life, Antoine. You did that all by yourself."
"Please, Chloé!" he sobbed hysterically. "Let me see them! I'll fly to Canada tomorrow! I’ll buy a house near you! I'll pay whatever you want! Just let me be their father again!"
I stood up from my chair, walking to the edge of the porch, watching Maya patiently teach Lily how to tie her shoes on the grass.
"You can't buy your way back into a life you threw in the trash, Antoine," I said, my voice firm, unyielding, and absolute. "Do you remember what you told me at 10:17 AM on the day of our divorce?"
Silence fell over the line.
"You said: 'Keep the girls, Chloé. I’ve got a son on the way now.'"
"I was wrong! God forgive me, I was so wrong!" he cried.
"I am keeping them, Antoine," I said softly. "Forever. Have a nice life."
May you like
I hung up the phone. I didn't block the number this time. I didn't need to. I simply opened the settings, tapped Delete Contact, and placed the phone back on the table.
He was a stranger now. Just a ghost from a past life that had no power over my present.
