AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"But he gave us everything we needed," she explained, shooting a smile over to my father. "Paid for the rest of your father’s treatment—he should be out of the wheelchair by the end of the year, that’s what the doctors are saying. And Allen and Nora graduate college soon, too."
I turned to Paulo, my jaw hanging open.
"You … You paid for all of that?" I asked, hardly able to believe what I was hearing. He nodded.
"I know how worried you were about providing for them," he explained. "And I didn’t want you to have to worry about it. It’s only cash, after all."
I could hardly speak, the lump in my throat was so prominent. I couldn’t believe he would do this for me, for my family. I knew he cared for me, but this … this was beyond anything I could have asked for, or even imagined, in my wildest dreams.
"Thank you," I murmured to him, reaching over to squeeze his hand. I knew those words didn’t even come close to expressing how grateful I really was for everything he had done for me, how far he had gone to support me, but it was the closest thing I could think of. He planted a kiss against my temple.
"You never have to thank me," he told me, and he smiled, then gently directed my attention back to my family in front of me.
"I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten!" I exclaimed to Allen as I suddenly looked over at my baby brother and saw just how tall and lanky he had gotten. When I had left, he had barely been thirteen, but now, he was a full-grown man.
"It’s been a long time," he pointed out, and I felt a pang of sadness, hearing those words come out of his mouth.
"It has," I agreed, a little sadly. "We’ve … We’ve got a lot to catch up on."
"Then I guess we should get to it as soon as we can," my father added, ever the optimist.
"Cheers to that," Nora agreed, lifting her glass, and we all leaned in to tap them against each other. The sound of the glasses clinking against each other filled my heart with the kind of joy I hadn’t realized I had been missing up until this point. I had been so fearful, so scared that my family wouldn’t accept me after so many years away from them. I had thought I wasn’t worthy of it, not after all that had happened.
But now, surrounded by the people I had missed so much, I didn’t feel that shame and that doubt, that urge to hide myself from them. No, I knew they saw me for who I was—who I had been before I had been pulled into this dark world. And all I wanted now was to celebrate that, and the life that lay ahead of me now that they were back.
The conversation flowed with ease between us, and I snuggled in next to Paulo, his arm around my shoulders. I felt so safe with him there, knowing he had organized all of this, knowing he had taken away the one source of fear I had left with my family, not being able to provide for them. He had covered every angle, provided in every way he could.
And I would never find the words to tell him how grateful I was for that.
But I would spend the rest of my life trying.
Epilogue – Selina
"Thank you!” I told the waitress, nearly giddy with excitement as she brought us out our dessert; a ridiculously decadent chocolate cake, laden with sprinkles and frosting thick enough to wade in.
"We’re celebrating," Paulo told her. "Selina here just graduated."
"Congratulations," the waitress told me, and I felt my cheeks flush.
"Paulo, you don’t have to tell everyone." I laughed as she headed back to the kitchen.
"No, I don’t have to," he agreed. "But I want to."
I giggled, shaking my head at him.
"You’re lucky I’m not easily embarrassed," I teased him. "Otherwise, I would hate your guts."
"I think I can handle that," he shot back, nudging his knee against mine affectionately under the table. I reached for my fork and cut myself off a corner of the cake, taking a bite of the delicious chocolatey goodness.
I hadn’t been able to get Paulo to stop boasting about my graduation all day; practically every person we had encountered, he’d wanted to tell them that I officially had my degree—with honors, no less. Myself, I couldn’t really believe it. The last few years had been crazy, but I had done it, I had really done it. I was well on my way to becoming a psychologist, specializing in trauma therapy, especially for those who’d suffered through sex trafficking. Applying my intimate understanding of that world, I knew I could provide the kind of help and support these women needed.
But, for now, I was just enjoying the excitement of having completed my studies. I was taking a few weeks off to go visit my family across the state; they’d insisted that Paulo and I come down for a little while, so they could celebrate my achievements.
Everything seemed like a big deal for my family now, given how long we had been apart. There was so much I had missed out on, and all of us wanted to make up for that lost time. Every single event, every birthday, every Christmas since we had gotten back in touch, it had been the most glorious thing. I hadn’t shared the details of everything I had been through with my parents and siblings, knowing it might be too much for them to take, and not wanting to burden them with more than they could handle. What mattered to me, anyway, was that they could see me for the person I was now, and they seemed to like that person a whole hell of a lot.
My father was up and out of his wheelchair, and his doctors had told us that his survival rate was increasing with each passing month he didn’t suffer a re-occurrence of his illness; Paulo had been paying for the best treatment and ongoing support in the country, and even if something did happen again, I knew my father would have everything he needed to get through it.
My siblings and I had grown closer than ever, and my relationship with Nora in particular had blossomed now we were both adults. She had moved to Bianco to pursue her career in fashion design, and we saw each other every week for a coffee and catch-up. I loved hearing about all the normal stuff going on in her life, the dates, the friends, the work drama. I would have listened to a million stories about the smallest details of her world as long as it meant I got to be a part of her life. There was so much I had missed, but it made me savor every moment of time we got together as a result. That had to count for something.
