Fractured Affections (The Affections Series Book 1) by Elizabeth Wills

happiness in my hands; it’s in my control.
    I hope that tonight we can go and have fun with the boys and break free from the chains of our past. After his explosive episode the other night, he is obviously tortured by what happened. It’s time for him to find happiness, too. He deserves a love and a family, like I have found with Dalton.
    I move to the brown leather sofa, across from the desk and lie back. Our dog, Bear, comes over to rest his head on my stomach. I slowly stroke the soft brown fur between his eyes and stare at my phone, willing it to ring or alert me that I have received a text. I know Dalton is probably in the middle of work, but I worry when I don’t hear from him. After fighting with myself about whether or not to disturb him, I decide to call through Facetime. Not only do I miss his voice, but I miss his face and his beautiful blue eyes that always crinkle slightly when he smiles.
    The phone rings a few times before he answers, and his face appears on the small screen. He looks at me and there it is. That smile that I have been longing to see, but it’s overshadowed by the dark circles that wrap around his eyes. He looks so pale. My eyes widen as I take him in. “Dalton, are you doing alright? You look terrible. Have you been sleeping at all?”
    “Well thanks, Rea,” he says, as he bends his head down and looks away from the camera of his phone.
    “Dalton, look at me. You know I’m not trying to be rude. I’m concerned. If this job is too much, then you need to find someone else to take it over and come home.” I run my finger along the screen wishing I could reach through and touch his skin.
    “It’s alright, Rea. I just had a stomach bug or something, baby. I’ll be okay. I know I look terrible, but you don’t need to worry. I just want you to focus on staying positive with me gone, for the boys.”
    I don’t respond right away, I only stare at my husband and how terrible he looks. I hate that I’m not with him to take care of him. “If you need me, maybe I can come visit you for a weekend. I know it’s far-fetched, but maybe my mom could come stay with the boys for a weekend, and I can fly out to see you.”
    He shakes his head. “No, my sweet Rea. Stay with the boys. They don’t need both of us gone.”
    “Dalt- “He cuts me off before I can say more.
    “Listen, I talked to Striker earlier. He said that you agreed to let him take you and the boys to ride go carts.”
    “Yeah, I did. I thought the boys would like that.”
    “I think it’s great. How are you feeling about it, though?” Dalton asks with a concerned look plastered on his face.
    “I’m okay with it, I guess. We’ve had a few bad moments, but I really feel like it’s time to move on. I have to forgive the things that happened in the past. It’s not doing me any good to hold on to it. I know how close you guys were, and I want that for you again.”
    His eyes crinkle again as a proud smile touches his lips. “I’m proud of you, baby. Striker was a big part of both of our lives. I hope you can accept him back into yours, also.”
    I roll my eyes at his comment. While I do want to fix things with Striker, it will never be the same. Even before we started dating, I never only felt friendly toward him. I had always wanted more.
    “I don’t want to accept him back into my life. That time has passed. I would rather start fresh and build a relationship based on the fact that I’m his cousin’s wife.”
    “He was one of your closest friends growing up, how can you write off all those years?” He raises his eyebrows and watches me intently, waiting for my answer. I don’t know how to respond. I don’t want to worry Dalton and make it seem like my lack of trying comes from some deep-rooted feelings for Striker. While it is hard to spend time with Striker because he has always held a piece of my heart, it has always been my goal to never reveal it to Dalton.
    “It’s…I don’t know, Dalt. Can you just let