She nods, satisfied with that answer.
I sink to the kitchen floor with my back against the cabinets. Her warm weight in my lap calms me in ways I’m still getting used to. I focus on the way she smells like strawberry soap and fabric softener.
For a few precious minutes, I don’t think about courtrooms or looming legal decisions. Instead, I think about breakfast and the morning school routines I’ve already learned. I think about packing lunches, tying shoes, and reminders to grab a jacket. And then I think about what life could look like a month from now.
Or six.
Or even a year.
I hope I’m here to be a part of it.
A few minutes later, Laiken appears in the doorway, barefoot and looking like he hasn’t slept at all. His gaze takes in the scene, and emotion flickers across his face. He doesn’t say anything at first. Just crouches in front of us and rests a hand on Elody’s back.
“Hey, bug.”
She gives him a sleepy smile without opening her eyes.
His gaze shifts, and he studies my face. “Are you okay?”
I hesitate. The easy answer would be yes. The honest one is so much harder.
“I’m scared.”
He nods, as if that makes perfect sense.
“I don’t want to be the reason this situation gets complicated,” I murmur. “Or a weapon they use against you.”
He reaches for my free hand, his thumb brushing slow circles against my skin. “You’re not a liability. You’re the reason everything finally makes sense.”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes.
“I choose this,” he adds, his voice low but unshakable. “I choose you.”
Elody sighs and nestles closer to my chest, the comforting sound breaking something open inside me.
“I don’t want to lose either of you,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “For the first time, I feel complete.”
His grip tightens around my hand. “That’s not going to happen.”
Later, as sunlight creeps through the windows, I move around the penthouse on autopilot. Elody’s backpack waits by the door, already packed and ready to go. A lunch note peeks out of the front pocket with a red heart and the words I love you.
I crouch to tuck it back inside. Ordinary things shouldn’t feel this fragile. But they do when someone else gets to make decisions that affect your life.
In the bathroom, I pause in front of the mirror and study my reflection. I might not look different, but I am. So much has changed in such a short period of time.
I smooth a hand over my stomach, then over the ring on my finger.
Whatever happens in that courtroom today, they don’t get to decide who I am to this family. That choice has already been made.
When Laiken takes my hand hours later as we head out the door, I don’t think about what I might lose. I focus on everything we have to gain. The life we’re building in quiet moments with ordinary mornings. The little girl who curled into my arms like she belonged there, and the man beside me who chose me with certainty and conviction.
And then I think about how fiercely I intend to fight for it all.
48
Laiken
I take my seat at the table beside my attorney and fold my hands together, forcing them to stay still. The polished surface is cool beneath my palms. Behind me, Kia sits with Oliver and Rina.
