Page 34 of The Fiancé Hoax

“I’m sorry to bring up a sore subject.”

“No, I’m fine talking about it.” I shrugged. “It’s just a shame the girls don’t have a better mother. They deserve so much more.”

“Absolutely.”

I leaned back on the sofa, thinking of the past few years. “Gen and I were never meant to be. And she was never really cut out to be a mother.”

“How long have you two been divorced?”

“A little over five years. Our marriage lasted four years. It was a mistake from the start.”

“How so?”

“She’s… not who I thought she was at first.” I sipped my wine. “When we first met, it went well enough. We were dating for a few weeks.”

Felicity looked down and shifted in her seat.

“And no, I’m not a womanizer. When I was younger, I had a bit of a wild streak. I dated a lot, but I gave all that up when I met Gen. And now that I have my daughters, a date is a rare event. She made that remark earlier about my women because she wanted to hurt me. And make things awkward for you.”

She nodded, studying me.

“Anyway, after a few dates with Gen, I saw another side of her. Her true self. At first, I noticed the shitty way she treated waiters. Then I saw how she used people in her life. She’d betray friends or family members to get ahead. She’s a social climber, and she wants a glamorous life without a day of work. So I broke it off. But she called me two weeks later and wanted to get back together. She was pregnant with Eva.”

Felicity’s eyes grew wide.

“She was excited to have the baby,” I continued. “I wanted my kid to have a decent shot at life. Something told me it wasn’t a good idea for a child to grow up with Gen alone. And I thought maybe Gen would change for the better.” I laughed at that last part.

“So you did the right thing.”

“Yeah. I married her.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Neither of us were happy together. I told her I wanted a divorce, and she soon wound up pregnant with Lily.”

Felicity’s jaw dropped. “Wow.”

“Don’t get me wrong. My girls are the best thing that ever happened to me. I’d do it all over again for them.”

“I know.”

“Anyway, after Lily, I stopped sleeping with Gen. Obviously.” I chuckled. “I asked Gen to move out when Lily was two. Gen was miserable being tied down, and she agreed. She never wanted to take the girls with her. The divorce was settled soon after that.” I swirled the wine in my glass. “The girls have always lived here with me. Gen officially has joint custody, though she rarely wants to see them.”

Felicity’s jaw tightened. “So why is she filing for full custody now?”

“She spent her divorce settlement on cruises and clothes and whatever new man she was with at the moment.” I shrugged. “She wants child support, so she filed for full custody.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Her real name’s Jennifer Bard, by the way,” I added.

Felicity lifted her eyebrows. “Oh?”

“Yeah. She had it changed legally before I met her. That should’ve been my first clue she was fake. All she cared about was climbing the social ladder.” I laughed bitterly. “I was such a fool to trust her.”

“People make mistakes,” Felicity said gently. “You’re being hard on yourself.”

“Well, in any case, I think it’s obvious she just wants the money, not the girls.”

“Yes, it’s obvious to me.”

“But maybe not to Judge Graves.”