"Of course, you don't. One more thing, honey, I love that dress. You look beautiful," she says. I look at my blue gown and smile. Clay sent it to me when I told her about the party, and I'm just glad that she sent something this beautiful. At least I don't feel out of place, and I look like most of
Abel's eyes sweep the room, then lock onto me. He gazes at me for a moment before turning his attention back to Lilith, who appears to be discussing something that makes him uncomfortable. I didn't expect him to show up, and to be honest, I was hoping he wouldn't. It's clear that he intends to ignor
"Mom, I don't think it's a good idea to talk to him now; let me find out on my own who the judge is, then I'll let you know," I tell her. She shakes her head and takes a sip of her drink. I don't know why, but I have a feeling she is enjoying this. She knows I'll be uncomfortable with him meeting he
"I mean, my daughter here thinks you broke up with her, and if it had something to do with the custody of your children, I think that's quite unfair to her given she had nothing to do with that."There, she said it. She hit the nail on the head. Just the one thing I have been desperately waiting for
I want to leave this party before my mom gets the idea of introducing me to any more of her friends, or even worse, tries to make things more awkward between me and Abel. She just made me agree to take him for dinner at her place when I had already made it clear with her that we were no longer toget
I walk down the hallway, and I can't seem to see anyone. My heart is beating so fast right now, and I just hope, really hope, it was just my delusions and he didn't somehow make it to this party. I could say that it's impossible for him to make it to this party because there's no way my mom would in
"How are you two doing?" I ask her referring to her and the baby on the way, and she smiles."I get heavier every day," She says and I nod. "So what did you tell him?" Ellis asks on the other end of the screen, and I shrug my shoulders. "That there was no 'us' because he shut that down so fast the
"Ellis, what are you talking about?" "Don't tell me you know he was being threatened by his baby mama?" I shake my head. "I didn't." Now that she has mentioned it, it's kind of making sense to me. I wouldn't have believed her or him even if he told me that a few days ago. But given that I have me
“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