I grabbed my phone and called him. But the call went straight to voicemail. I called again. Nothing.
‘Unbelievable,’ I muttered to myself. My hands were shaking as I crouched on the edge of the couch. This wasn’t just selfish – it was a betrayal.
I knew I couldn’t leave Emma and her little brother Liam alone, so I called my mum.
‘Hey, can you come over? I need to take care of something.’
‘Kate, what’s going on? You seem upset.’
‘I’ll explain later. Can you just come over as soon as possible?’
‘Honey, you’re scaring me,’ Mum’s voice cracked with concern. ‘Did something happen to Max?’
‘Mum, please,’ I choked back tears. ‘I need you to be here. Now.’
She didn’t ask any more questions, and ten minutes later she was at my door.
‘Kate, what’s wrong?’ – She asked, stepping inside.
I shook my head and grabbed my purse. ‘I can’t… I don’t have time to explain right now. I’ll call you when I’m on the road.’
‘Kate, wait,’ she caught my arm. ‘Whatever happens, be careful. Think about the kids.’
‘I am thinking about the kids,’ I whispered fiercely. ‘That’s exactly why I need to go.’
Without waiting for her response, I grabbed my car keys and headed for the exit.
The drive to the venue felt surreal. A thousand thoughts were running through my head. Why would Max do this? Why cheat on me, abandon my kids, and steal my car? What was so important about this wedding that he couldn’t stay away?
On the way out, one thought struck me like lightning. The guest list. I’d helped Emily put it together a few weeks ago. I quickly dialled the venue manager’s number.
‘Hi, this is Kate. I need you to do me a favour. Just a quick question – has a man named Max arrived yet?’
The manager hesitated for a moment. ‘No, I don’t think so. Not yet.’
‘Good,’ I said. ‘Listen carefully…under no circumstances should you let him in. He’s not invited, and it’s very important that he doesn’t get any further than the door.’
There was a pause at the other end. ‘Well… of course. Consider it settled.’
‘Thank you,’ I sighed. ‘And Sarah? If he asks who blocked him… make sure he knows it was me.’
I hung up the phone and pulled into the car park of the wedding venue about ten minutes later.
Max was standing at the entrance, pacing like a madman. His phone was pressed to his ear, and he was shouting loud enough for me to hear him through the car window.
I lingered in the car for a moment, watching him. He looked pissed off, and for once I didn’t feel sorry for him.
My phone buzzed and his name popped up on the screen.
‘Is that you!’ – he shouted as soon as I answered. ‘YOU’RE THE ONE WHO DID THIS TO ME?’
I couldn’t help but smirk. ‘What’s wrong, Max? Is something keeping you from sneaking into a wedding you didn’t want to go to?’
‘Are you serious?’ – he barked. ‘Let me in, Kate!’
‘No way.’
‘You’re just being ridiculous, Kate!’
‘No, Max. You stole my car, abandoned our children, and lied to me. It’s ridiculous that you think like I’m going to let you get away with this.’
‘Kate, please,’ his voice cracked. ‘You don’t realise what’s at stake here!’
‘What’s at stake? Our marriage is at stake, Max. Our family. And you just gave it all up for…what?’
Before he could answer, I hung up the phone and got out of the car. As I headed towards him, a confused looking Emily appeared at the front door.
‘Max?’ – She called out, her voice unsure.
He turned to her and his whole demeanour changed. ‘Emily! Finally. Look, I just…’
‘What are you doing here?’ – She asked, interrupting him.
‘You called me,’ he said, softening his tone. ‘You said you were nervous, so I came over.’
Emily blinked dazedly. ‘I… I called you this afternoon. Look, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t think you’d actually come.’
‘So that makes two of us,’ I said, stepping over the threshold.
Emily’s eyes widened. ‘Kate… I didn’t…’
‘What’s going on?’ I asked, crossing my arms.
She looked between me and Max, clearly panicked. ‘I swear, I didn’t mean for this to happen.’
‘You didn’t mean for WHAT to happen, Emily?’
Her shoulders slumped and she let out a shuddering sigh. ‘Max and I…we were connected. Years ago. Before you two were together.’
I felt like the ground had gone from under my feet.
‘It’s not what you think,’ Max said quickly.
‘Really?’ snapped back at me. ‘So you didn’t just abandon your family to run up to your ex’s wedding?’
‘Kate, it’s not like that!’ – He said, his voice sounding desperate.
‘Then what does it look like, Max?’ I demanded, tears welling up in my eyes. ‘Because the way I see it, you chose HER over our children!’
But Emily wasn’t done yet. ‘I don’t know why he’s here,’ she admitted. ‘I called him this afternoon because I was nervous. I just wanted to apologise – for leaving him, for everything – before I started a new life with a new husband. But no sooner had I finished talking than the call cut off or something. I couldn’t hear him anymore. I tried calling back, but my calls went straight to voicemail. I never asked him to come over.’