Chapter 519
Chapter 518:
He was hers. She knew it now — beyond doubt, beyond the DNA test locked in her desk drawer. She had carried him. Given birth to him. Lost him.
And now, impossibly, found him again.
“Ten minutes,” Justin called from the kitchen, where he was preparing something elaborate for their midnight toast. “Aaden, go wash your face. You’re covered in soot p>
“Don’t wanna.” But the boy was already rising, brushing Lego pieces from his knees. He paused in front of Carmen, studying her with an expression of intense concentration.
“Carmen p>
“Yes, buddy p>
“Can I ask you something?” He glanced toward the kitchen and lowered his voice. “Something important p>
𝘔𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗻𝗈𝘃el𝘴 𝗼n
“Of course p>
He drew a breath — a deep one that expanded his small chest to its limits. “In school, everyone has a mom. For show-and-tell, and parent day, and when they get hurt. I have Dad, and Grandpa Elbert, and Uncle Gaston, but—” He faltered, his lower lip trembling. “I don’t have a mom. Not a real one. Not one who lives with us p>
Carmen’s heart cracked open. She set down her glass and reached for him, but he stepped back, shaking his head.
“Wait. I need to ask first. Because it’s almost next year, and I thought…” He took another breath, and the words came out in a rush. “Can you be my mom? For real? Not just for pretend, or for school, or for Dad’s job. For real. Forever p>
The silence stretched. Carmen felt tears streaming down her face — hot and uncontrolled — and didn’t care. She opened her arms, and Aaden flew into them, his small body hitting her chest with the force of a promise kept.
“Yes,” she whispered into his hair. “Yes, baby. Forever. I’m your mom. I’ve always been your mom p>
He was crying too, she realized — small, hiccuping sobs that moved through his shoulders. She held him tighter, rocking gently, making the wordless sounds of comfort that rose from somewhere deeper than memory.
Justin stood in the doorway, a tray of champagne flutes forgotten in his hands. His eyes were bright and wet, fixed on them with an expression Carmen couldn’t fully read.
“Did you hear?” Aaden turned in her arms, still clinging to her neck. “Dad, did you hear? Carmen’s going to be my mom. For real p>
“I heard.” Justin’s voice came out rough. He set down the tray, crossed the room, and lowered himself onto the rug beside them. His arms came around them both, gathering them into a circle of warmth.
They stayed like that as the countdown began on the television, as the ball dropped in Times Square, as the new year arrived with fireworks and noise and the sound of a world starting over. A family — however strange its origin, however complicated its foundations — real in this moment.