Free Close to Heart by T. J. Kline

the bedroom and closing the door behind her as she rubbed at her lower back. She was beginning to worry she might have overexerted herself a bit. As she started to punch in Franklin’s office number, she paused, feeling apprehensive. It had been a long time since she’d talked to Franklin without Elijah looking over her shoulder. She smiled broadly, realizing that she didn’t need to hide their friendship any longer, a fact that brought her immeasurable relief.
    Franklin was one of the smartest people she’d ever known, but more than anything else, he was one of the only people she completely trusted. He’d always had her best interest at heart, even when other people wanted to stroke her ego at the height of her career or impress Elijah. Franklin had always told her what she needed to hear, not necessarily what she wanted to hear, even after Elijah forbid her to associate with him. That made all the difference to her now.
    “Hey, Aly!” Franklin answered. “Elijah doesn’t cut you enough slack to give me a call. To what do I owe the honor?”
    He might be teasing, but he was too close to the truth. She’d known Franklin since getting her first job, a dish soap commercial, when he’d still been a law student. He’d stuck by her, even after Elijah had fired him as their attorney, and had been trying to convince her for years that Elijah wasn’t the man he pretended to be. She must have believed him at some level, enough to sneak behind Elijah’s back to get back in touch with Franklin last year, a few months before she got pregnant. She wished now that she would have listened to him sooner.
    “You were right about Elijah. He kicked me out, Franklin. Lillian Byrne told me they’ve been having an affair for the last four years. When I told him he had to stop sleeping around or give me a divorce, he told me to leave.”
    The words spilled from her like poison she had to purge. She hadn’t told anyone about Elijah’s cheating. Getting it out, in spite of the ache it caused to actually say the words, felt like releasing an abscess—painful relief.
    “That son of a bitch !” Franklin spit the words into the receiver. “He’d be nothing without you. Please tell me you made him sign a prenup like you promised me you would.”
    Alyssa didn’t say anything. She couldn’t explain to Franklin how even the suggestion of a prenuptial agreement had been enough to send Elijah into a tailspin of accusations that she didn’t love him enough to trust him. He’d pointed out how he hadn’t asked her to sign one. Of course, he had just begun his career as an agent and barely had a dime to his name. In the end, to prove how much faith she had in him, to prove her love and trust in him, she’d torn up the document. She’d been so naïve.
    Her silence gave him the only answer he needed. “Aw, Aly!”
    “I need to know what I can do now, at least when it comes to taking care of the baby.” She didn’t want to talk about all the mistakes she had made in her marriage. She needed to look forward, not behind.
    She glanced toward the door and lowered her voice. She didn’t want Justin to overhear her side of the conversation. She would explain the situation to him once she and Franklin had laid out her options and had made some decisions about her future.
    “I guess that depends on what you’re hoping to accomplish. Now that you’re divorcing that no-good bastard, you’ll want to ask for alimony and child support, but—”
    It hurt to hear it put so bluntly, but it also made her realize how much Elijah had changed her over the past six years. She was afraid to ask Elijah for anything, even though she deserved both. When had she turned into a weak, insecure coward? Where was the young woman who’d loaded up her car and set off alone to build her dream career, the woman who hadn’t taken no for an answer? When had she begun to hide inside herself, letting Elijah’s demands dictate her destiny? Why was she still