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“The money. He felt like he needed to deceive me to get it. When all he would have had to do was ask,” I said.

He stared at me for a moment, then said, “You don’t seem upset.”

I didn’t answer, not immediately. Instead, I considered the question, knew the answer.

“I’m not. I’m just…sad,” I finally said.

“Why?”

“Because my father cares more about money than he ever cared about me. Because it’s hitting me now that I never really knew it was like to have a parent, except maybe a little bit with Carol. But otherwise, I’ve never had that. And I never will.”

Davit kissed me and then pulled back, staring at me, empathetic. I shook my head.

“No. It’s okay,” I said.

“It’s not. Family shouldn’t…”

“No, they shouldn’t. But if I’ve learned anything in my life, it’s that who is that your family isn’t necessarily who shares your blood.”

He nodded. “True.”

“And…” I said, before trailing off.

“What?”

“The trust. My dad. All of that. I don’t care about it. Don’t want to think about it.”

I stared at him, didn’t break his gaze as I clasped his hands and interlaced his fingers with mine.

“All I want to think about is our future,” I said in a quiet voice.

He didn’t speak. He just leaned over and kissed me.

* * *

Amethyst

“You haven’t likedany of them,” Davit said a few days later.

“I haven’t been that bad,” I said as I again shifted through the stack of résumés I had printed.

He’d had to buy a printer, because I had insisted on looking at every resume in hard copy.

“Certainly there’s somebody in there you like,” he said.

“No,” I responded.

And though I wouldn’t tell him, I was starting to get worried.

Really worried.

I had interviewed eleven candidates so far, and none had been the right fit. Maybe I was being a little Goldilocks, but the person I would allow into my home, trust with my baby, had to feel right.

“It’s okay,” he said, giving me a comforting smile. “We still have time.”

I patted my stomach. “Not too much,” I said.

“Well, we have one more today. The last name on Dr. Mueller’s list. After that, I’ll see if there are some other sources for candidates,” he said.