Chapter 608

Chapter 607:

Justin stopped pacing. He looked at her, his heart swelling with a deep, unguarded respect. She was right. Their first priority was not the press or the public. It was the small boy sleeping upstairs.

“We’ll do it this weekend,” he said, his voice firm with resolve. “And after that — one interview. Together. With someone we trust p>

“Diane Sawyer,” Carmen said without hesitation. “She’s respected. She’s a mother. She won’t turn it into a circus p>

Justin nodded, a small, relieved smile touching his lips. “Diane Sawyer it is p>

He sat beside her and took her hand. The air between them was no longer weighted with the ghosts of the past. It was filled instead with the solid, shared purpose of the future — two people who had survived the same storm, now standing on the same side of it, ready to face whatever came next together.

The following Saturday, sunlight poured through the large windows of the townhouse living room. Aaden sat on the floor, meticulously constructing a complex Lego castle, his small hands sorting bricks with focused precision. The atmosphere was deliberately calm, though a current of nervous energy ran just beneath the surface.

Justin and Carmen sat on the floor with him, adding a block here and there, keeping their movements easy and unhurried. Finally, Carmen drew a slow breath.

“Aaden, honey,” she began, her voice soft. “Can we pause for a minute? Your dad and I have something very important to tell you p>

Aaden looked up, his brow furrowed, a Lego knight clutched in his hand. “Is it about the new puppy p>

у𝗼𝗎𝗋 𝗱аil𝗒 𝗱о𝗌𝗲 о𝖿 𝗇о𝗏𝖾𝗹𝗌 𝗼n.соm

Justin let out a quiet laugh — just enough to ease the tension in the room. “Not yet, buddy. This is about us. About our family p>

They told him the story, simplifying the complicated parts and keeping the core truths clear and gentle. They spoke of a car accident, a sickness in Carmen’s brain that had made her forget, and a man who had tried to keep them apart. They didn’t use words like amnesia or blackmail. They used words like lost and found.

“For a long time,” Carmen said, her voice trembling slightly as she held her son’s gaze, “a piece of my heart was missing. And that piece was you. I just couldn’t remember where I had put it. But my heart never stopped loving you, even when my brain was confused p>

Aaden listened with an expression that was serious and still. He didn’t look frightened or shocked. He looked thoughtful — as though the words were simply confirming something he had already understood in some quiet, wordless place inside himself. He looked from Carmen’s face to Justin’s, then back again.

He reached out and placed his small hand against her cheek. “So you’re not going to forget again?” he asked, his voice carrying the clear, direct concern only a child can manage.

“Never,” Carmen whispered. The tears came then, spilling freely down her face. She pulled him into her arms and held on. “I will never, ever let you go again p>