Chapter 456
Mom starts laughing harder. “No, no. The horse speech came after she said all men were emotionally constipated p>
“Please stop,” I groan while hiding my face.
Lilly isn’t done. “And then there was the time she said she’d rather marry a cactus than give relationships a try p>
“In my defense, I was really serious,” I mumble.
They all burst into laughter; the sound fills the room so warmly that for a second, everything feels light. We’ve barely recovered when the door bursts open, the frame hitting the wall behind it.
“Mommy!” Nova rushes inside wearing a fluffy pink dress with matching bows tied into her hair.
She stops in front of me and gasps loudly and then says, “You look like the stars. Completely beautiful p>
A laugh escapes me immediately. “When did you learn to give compliments like that p>
Nova shrugs proudly before I pull her into my arms and tell her thank you.
Before she can say anything else, Nolan walks in carrying Val carefully in his arms. The second Val sees me, she immediately reaches toward me with little sounds bubbling from her mouth.
I carefully pull her into my arms beside Nova before opening my other arm toward Nolan.
“Hi Mom,” he says softly, leaning into me.
“Hi, baby,” I whisper before kissing his forehead.
Nova immediately points at her cheek. “I want one too p>
Laughing softly, I kiss her too.
Val bubbles happily against my chest and my heart aches with so much love it almost hurts.
She’s two years now and still delayed in so many things children her age should already be doing.
It breaks my heart sometimes, but the doctors explained it all to us. Being kidnapped after being born prematurely, the neglect, the malnourishment, the lack of proper care… all of it affected her development badly.
There were so many nights I thought we would lose her after bringing her home because her little body was so weak and she got sick constantly.
Sometimes I would stay awake the entire night just watching her breathe because I was terrified she’d stop… But my Val is so unbelievably strong and slowly, little by little, she keeps improving.
Maybe she’ll hit certain milestones later than other children; maybe she won’t, but none of that changes how deeply we love her. All I care about is that she’s healthy and happy and that she stays with us.
Nolan suddenly studies me carefully before reaching up and touching my cheek. “Dad doesn’t deserve you, but I’m still happy you became our mom p>
My breath catches and tears once again rush into my eyes. I blink quickly while trying to compose myself but it’s useless. His words undo me, especially knowing that they started calling me ‘Mom’ even before I decided to give Noah a chance.
Before I can tell him just how happy I am that he is my son, Aunt Harper storms into the room, clapping her hands excitedly.
“It’s time p>
She looks so ridiculously happy that Lilly immediately says, “Mom, anyone looking at you would think Sierra is your actual daughter p>
Aunt Harper waves her off dismissively. “Well, Andrew isn’t here, so she might as well be p>
Juliette blinks slowly. “I don’t think that’s how that works p>
“I don’t care; she’s ours now… Mine and Ivy. Right Ivy?” Aunt Harper says proudly.
Mom snorts. “I don’t remember us getting together and making a baby p>
Their bickering fades into the background as my thoughts drift. After everything Benji revealed, I needed answers about dad and with Aunt Harper’s help, I eventually found them.
My father did do those things. He really did destroy Jeffery’s life, but it wasn’t as simple as greed or cruelty.
According to the lawyer who worked with him back then, Dad knew he was dying. He knew the company was collapsing and he knew Uncle Gabe would leave her with nothing the second he died, because he had forced a marriage between him and Aunt Harpe and in his desperation to secure her future before he was gone, he made choices that destroyed another family.
I’m not justifying what he did, because his actions started a chain reaction that killed two innocent people, traumatized an innocent boy and nearly destroyed my life and that of Val, but at the same time, what Benji and his mother did in return was wrong too. They never got peace and in the end they died to and so did Casey.