After she died, I was alone. My parents had new families, and I didn’t fit into either one. If you hadn’t been there…
I feel a gentle touch on my hand and I look up. Elias is there, smiling at me like the father I never had—the father I wish I’d had.
But, in a way, I guess I did.
“Maia was the light of my world,” Elias says, his voice just on the wrong side of steady. “And you were the light of her world. Now…”
We both glance at my belly.
“Now,” he concludes with a watery smile, “you’re going to meet the light of your world, too.”
We hug goodbye. I’m still fighting the urge not to bawl like a child by the time Elias says, with one foot out the door, “You let me know if you need anything, you hear?” He side-eyes the bodyguards as he says it, which makes me suppress a snort. Eighty-yea
