“Abel, you know I am at school, I have another exam in the next thirty minutes, and you know even if I decide to come right now it’s going to take me more than an hour to get to the school, she would have already freaked out.” She says and Abel groans in frustration.“Harmony, who do you expect me t
How did he manage to raise them on his own? It is my understanding that their mother was never a part of their lives. Now that I am thinking of the fact that he is a single dad to two twin toddlers, I think I get why he gets so grumpy most of the time. It just looks like it drains him. He did fumble
“I will get her, then we can go to the hospital to see her brother, then I can figure out what to do after that.” He says and I nod.“I thought you said you didn’t want her to go to the hospital.” He was so clear on that when he was telling his sister.“She won’t, you will stay with her in the car w
“Quinn could you please at least eat a couple of spoons?” I request and she shakes her head as she keeps playing with the food. I’m watching her do that with the spoon and the food is slowly getting cold. If she doesn’t eat I will have to feed her, because I don’t want her to go to bed hungry. I don
“How about we do this? If you finish your food, I will let you play on your tablet for a little longer before you go to bed.” I tell her and I can see her eyes light up in excitement. I can’t believe this little human is making me have to bribe her into eating when she is the one that needs the food
“Quinn, what did you do?” I ask and she looks away.“I ate most of it.” she blurts out and I shake my head.“No you didn’t.” the food in the trash bin would disagree with her. I don’t even know how I am supposed to handle this situation. She looks so innocent no one would even think she tried to tri
I am awoken by voices outside my room. I open my eyes my heart racing trying to mentally prepare myself for the intruders, but when my eyes land on my environment, I realize I’m not at my place, and this is definitely not the room I was told to sleep in. The little leg propped on my stomach is evide
“Hi princess,” He says as he walks towards her and I head for the door. I want to fly out of this place hoping I can do that without his sister seeing me because I feel like my being here was a big mistake. I should have just kept my mouth shut yesterday when he was all out of options because then I
“Abel, you are proposing…” The words tumble out of my mouth in disbelief, more of a statement than a question. He nods, and then, to my utter shock, he gets down on one knee. I feel the world around us blur and slow down, my pulse pounding in my ears.“Mildred Turina, will you marry me?” His voice w
She scoffs playfully, giving me that familiar look that says she’s still got it all under control. “I know how to take care of children, honey. We will be fine. You two go have fun.”Relief washes over me. Even though we’re leaving them in the best possible hands, the part of me that has grown attac
We’re heading to Abel’s lake house for a weekend getaway—just the two of us. He said he got the place a few years ago but rarely gets to use it. He has only taken the twins there a few times because the only time he gets enough time to spend with them without many distractions from work is during th
Epilogue"Come here,” I call her over, and she reluctantly pulls her fingers off her brother’s chubby cheeks, then walks back to where I am. I crouch down to be at her level, trying to mask the amusement I feel at her little pout.“If you keep harassing your brother, I will have him stay with me at
“Did I?”“You bitch!” I burst out laughing. He has definitely been holding that back.“I was busy dealing with a concussion to see anything, oh, and my mom has way more money than you, you know, and her money combined with the money my dad left me, which I just found out was a lot by the way, then A
“Mom, I…”“I should have taken you with me when he died, but I thought you were already a grown woman and you wouldn’t need me anymore, and I will never forgive myself for that because if I did, then you wouldn’t have ended up with an abusive man. I could have protected you from repeating the cycle.
"Abel, he is good for you," she repeats, this time more firmly. There’s a strange sadness in her eyes, as if she’s remembering all the times she wished someone had said those words to her. I nod, acknowledging her observation, but I don’t want to delve into a discussion about Abel with her. "I feel
"Are you ready to go home?" Abel asks, and I nod eagerly. The sterile scent of antiseptic clings to the air, making me desperate to leave this hospital room and everything it represents. My heart pounds with a need to escape—to feel the cool air outside, untainted by the trauma that haunts these wal
“Oh…”“I love you, and I would want you in my life and the twins too, but you need to accept that fact about me. I don’t even know if I can be a mother to your children or a stepmother. I just don’t know if I have it in me, even though I love them, and I love you,” I say, and I’m nervously waiting f