Chapter 28
The Child Who Never Left Me Out
The room stayed silent.
The pup reached toward me again.
Sleepy eyes.
Messy hair.
Tiny fingers opening and closing impatiently.
“Auntie.”
My chest tightened painfully.
I stared.
He frowned immediately.
Like children do when adults take too long.
Then he stretched farther.
Wanting me.
Not Kael.
Me.
Selene looked surprised.
Kael looked stunned.
And suddenly—
something cracked open inside me.
Because in my head—
I had rewritten everything.
I told myself they became a family and I became unnecessary.
I told myself the pup preferred Kael.
Needed Kael.
Loved Kael more.
I told myself I became invisible.
But this child—
this tiny little person—
looked at me like I had always belonged.
I stepped forward slowly.
Selene careful
