Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Kia doesn’t flinch or look to me for guidance. She simply cups Elody’s cheek and holds her gaze. “Of course you can, sweetie.”
I’ve spent so long trying to protect my little girl, trying to give her stability and make sure she never feels abandoned again.
That’s when I realize Kia isn’t just stepping into our lives, she’s choosing us.
Elody beams, pure joy lighting up her face, before nestling against Kia’s stomach.
I freeze with the realization that this baby will be her sibling. I always wanted more kids. I wanted the noise and mess and too many shoes by the door. I wanted dinner conversations that overlapped and birthdays that felt like events instead of just another ordinary day. After Sarah left, I buried that longing and told myself that what I had was enough.
Wanting more felt ungrateful, and longing for a life I couldn’t have felt like tearing open a wound that never fully healed. So I packed the grief away and tried to forget about it.
And now, everything I secretly dreamed of is standing right in front of me.
My wife.
My daughter.
My unborn child.
Somehow, without planning or hoping for it, I built the family I thought I’d forfeited the right to want.
Kia’s gaze lifts to mine over Elody’s head, and within it, I recognize the same mix of awe and fear along with the understanding that what we’re building is bigger than either of us expected. Before I realize I’m on the move, I’m already crouching beside them. As soon as my hand settles at Kia’s waist, she leans into me. Her fingers slip over mine before giving them a squeeze.
“This is so much more than I could have hoped for,” she murmurs.
My thumb brushes her knuckles. “I promise, it’s only the beginning.”
Elody pops her head up, gaze bouncing between us. “So we’re a family now? A real one?”
“We’ve always been a family,” I tell her, voice rough with emotion. “We’re just adding to it.”
With a grin, she pivots abruptly in a way only a four-year-old can. “Can we play at the park? I want to go down the dragon slide.”
Kia laughs, the sound light and easy. “Absolutely. That sounds fun.”
“You’ll slide with me?” Elody asks, her excitement growing.
“Maybe once or twice.”
Elody pumps her fist. “Yay!”
When my phone buzzes, I slip the device free of my pocket and glance at it. My lawyer’s name lights up the screen. As tempting as it is to ignore the call and continue living in our little bubble, that’s not possible. Not when there’s so much at stake.
“Go on,” I say, flashing them a smile. “I’ll meet you there.”
My gaze stays locked on my girls as I answer. Mark dives straight into paperwork and timelines.
Elody waves. “Bye, Daddy! See you at the park!”
I watch as they head toward the elevator, my daughter tugging my wife along. Kia laughs as she fixes Elody’s scarf before pulling on her own jacket.
They look like a family.
Because they are.
I spent years holding the world together with control.
Now I have something worth letting go for.
Something I’ll fight like hell to protect.
39
Kia
Elody’s smaller hand is secured in mine as we walk out of the building and turn toward the park. She chatters nonstop about the dragon slide and how Daddy said he’ll meet us there soon. And how maybe he’ll push her really high on the swings if she asks politely.
I listen intently as the sound of her voice settles over me. For the first time in longer than I can remember, I’m not bracing for the fallout.
Everything feels steady.
It takes a moment to realize that this is exactly what normal feels like.
Sunlight filters through the bare tree branches lining the sidewalk, dappling the pavement with gold. Winter is right around the corner. There are dried leaves, a crisp breeze cutting between the buildings, and the faint scent of coffee and roasted nuts drifting from a nearby cart.
Elody squeezes my hand as she looks up at me, her ponytail bouncing. “I like our family,” she says casually, almost as if she’s commenting on her favorite color.
Happiness spreads through me because I feel it too, and it has everything to do with Laiken. The way he willingly opened his life to me. The way Elody slipped into my heart like she’d always belonged there. And the way he didn’t flinch when he found out about the baby. Instead of stepping back, he stepped forward without a second thought.
With him, choosing us was never a question.
I can’t stop thinking about the contrast—how the man who isn’t this baby’s biological father already loves this child with his whole heart, while the one who should have wanted it sees nothing but a mistake to erase.
Emotion rises in my throat. “I like it too.”
She beams, swinging our joined hands once, as if sealing the statement.
I swallow hard, blinking against the sting behind my eyes, only wanting to hold on to that feeling, when a flicker of unease crawls up my spine right before my name cuts through the bustle around us.