Circle of Deception 2 by M. Skye

everything you’ve shared and decide if you are ready to throw in the towel. Whatever you choose, I’m here for you, we all are.”
    “Thank you,” Melia sobbed. “I was so mean to you, you must want to kill me.”
    “I had my back slap ready just in case you needed it, but I knew you would come around. Now, you think about your decision.”
    “I know what I have to do. My decision stands, I’m going through with the divorce, but I’m sorry to you. Matt still deserves my anger, but I was wrong to lash out at you.”
    “But, Melia...”
    “Maddie,” she held up her hand. “The discussion is over. Now go check on our brother and call me later. I want to know everything.”
     
    Maddie left the room and found Nathan waiting for her with a genuine smile. He wrapped his arms around her and walked her out to the car. As they ventured off to Gio’s, he reached over and rubbed her thigh. He had heard everything, and knew she needed silence for a while. He was content with that as long as he was able to be the one next to her. He was determined to prove Melia wrong, he would always be the man Maddie needed because he wasn’t going to take one second with her for granted.
    ***
    “Alex, I need you to get the helium tank before you come home today,” Meg called out from the bedroom.
    “I got it, babe, anything else you need?”
    “Nothing I can think of.”
    The days following the incident with Allison had started off good, but when Meg arrived to pick her up after a week of good behavior, she was back in her quiet mood, completely ignoring Meg. When they got home, she ran to Alex and showered all her affections on him, leaving Meg and Jordan out. Alex noticed the tension and was about to give Allison a piece of his mind, when Meg stopped him. She was hoping to have a one on one with Allison, but Jordan got fussy before she could accomplish it. The better part of her night was spent tending to him, and Allison fell asleep without her.
    Alex had tried several times to see where all the resistance was coming from, but she had no answers for him. The only thing he could get out of her was that she was sad. He had grown increasingly tired of her little fits, and with everything going on with Matt, he needed some peace. Things were starting to get to him, and he wanted to find the root of all the problems.
    “I can’t believe we’re still doing this. The way she has been showing her ass this past week should have canceled her party.”
    Meg sighed and settled her hands in her lap. “I thought about it, but it’s her first birthday with us. I didn’t want her to remember it in a bad way.”
    “Honestly, I’m not too concerned with how she remembers it right now. She has been acting out, and it’s taking everything in me not to spank her little ass. I don’t know what’s gotten into that child. She was fine after our last talk, but it seems like every time she comes home from school she gets worse.”
    “I know,” Meg huffed. “Do you think it’s me? It seems like the anger is mostly for me and Jordan.”
    “Baby, you’re good to her. Better than I would be right now, considering the major attitude you’ve been getting. I really think we should reconsider our stance on spankings because I have a belt with her name on it.”
    “We are going to figure this out. Until then, we need to keep a cool head. Her appointment with Dr. Steinfeld is next week, and maybe she can help us make some sense of all this.”
    “She better be able to because if Allison doesn’t straighten up soon, I’m whooping her ass. I can’t have this kind of behavior going on around here. We work too hard to make sure that she and Jordan have the best, and for her to disrespect us is not acceptable. She is old enough to know when she is doing something wrong.”
    “I know, I just hoped we wouldn’t have to go there with her. She was always such a good child before now.”
    “We knew this could happen once the baby was born, but it’s