Chapter 40
Chapter 49
That’s what Dve been giving every time I get
get that question–when people find out I don’t have a husband but have two kids.
javan were here, he would proudly say, “I am their father. He was always like that
hatevery time he wasn’t around, the only answer I could give to those who asked was silence.
made peace with
And people would take the hist. They would glance at me walk curiosity, perhaps with sympathy, and then let the topic die. I had m
But i sam… he couldn’t take the hint when he repeated his question.
“Where is the father, Ma
The question hang in the air between us, heavier than the silence that followed.
I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to stay in control–to be aware of my emotions and actions.
Every part of ine wanted to lash out, to scream at him for having the audacity to ask about the father of my children.
I know I shouldn’t
Nolyet.
Sot when I had spent
spent the last seven years living this facade.
Not when I was Mia Miller.
So, I forced a neutral expression. “I don’t think it’s part of my job to answer that, Sir”
His eyes remained fixed on the road, not sparing me a glance. “Oh! I’m sorry. Is it a sensitive topic?”
It is, bastard
Yes, Sir”
Liam exhaled slowly, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel. T’m just curious I want to know what kind of man would leave behind two incredible kids like Rylie and Ryker”
I clenched my fists in my lap, naili digging into my palms. The pain helped keep me grounded and helped me ignore the brewing anger.
“Fine. Since you’re curious, let me indulge your curiosity, Sir. Their father! He’s gone.”
I watched for Liam’s reaction. I saw how his jaw tensed, the flicker in his eyes that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
“He abandoned them. Abandoned us.” I continued, each word making my chest constrict with pain: “The moment he found out I was pregnant, he told me to get rid of them. Said they would ruin his life. That I was ruining his life.”
It wasn’t your exact words. Liam. But it’s what you made me believe,
“I begged him.” I whispered, unable to hide the pain in my voice. “Not for me. For my baby. I told him I would do it alone if I had to, that I didn’t need anything frog hinu. But he looked at me like I was nothing. Like they were nothing.”
Lies after les
This is what I’m good at.
Though isn’t this the same thing you ti
told
me back then?
“You know what the worst part is. Sir?”
Chapter 49
I wanted to tell these lies. So that when the truth finally came out, you would know how you fucking ruined me. How you made me hate myself
“I believed him,” 1 admitted, my voice harely above a whisper. “I actually considered it”
Liam exhaled harshly, his grip on the wheel tightening until his knuckles turned white. “Considered what?
You said you already believe I’m not your ex–wife, so what’s with this reaction!
Tamiled bitterly “To abort my child. To get rid of them. Because that man made me feel so alone… so helpless, I was scared. He abandoned me. Something must have been wrong with me. How could I raise a child when there was something wrong with me! How could I love my own chuld when I couldn’t even get love from their father?”
I swallowed hard, my voice breaking. “And how could I love them when they remind me of a love I couldn’t hold? A love that ruined me!”
Hlet out a shaky breath and shook my head. “But I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to be like that man. I refused to be like him. So I chose them. I chose my angels and that was the best decision I have ever made in my life.
But one of them didn’t choose me. She had to leave me behind.
“He’s a fool. A coward”
I nodded, smiling as I simply wiped the tears that had left my eyes. “He is
A fool. A coward. A man who once held my heart in his hands and crushed it without hesitation.
That’s
́s you, Liam Anderson.
“And you’re a good person, a good n
mother. Rylie and Ryker are lucky to have you as their mom,”
Lucky? Were they? Had I truly been the mother they deserved
“Was 12” I said without realizing I had uttered it loudly enough for Liam to hear it.
“What do you mean?“
“Because I don’t know if I was enough for them. There were nights I stayed up wondering if I was doing things right. There were days I doubted myself, days when I looked at them and feared that one day, they’d see me the way he did. That they’d think I wasn’t enough.”
Mis, get a grip‘
I sighed, swallowing the Junip in my throat, realizing I shouldn’t let this man see how weak I was.
“Where are we–”
“They would never think that,” Liam said, cutting me off before 1 could change the topic. “Not Rylie. Not Ryker. You gave them life, Mia. You fought for them when no one else did. That makes you more than enough. That makes you everything.”
I don’t believe you. I would never believe you
But instead of saying that. I smiled: “Thank you.”
Damn you.
I cleared my throat and avoided his gaze. “Where are we?”
My eyebrows furrowed when I glanced outside and saw a flower shop. What caught my attention was the are beside it.
Are we on a flower farm!
Before I could stop myself, I opened the door and went out.
What are we doing here!
nand
1 heard Liam step out of the car, following me. I didn’t turn to look at him. My eyes remained fixed on the sight before me–the flower shop tlik arch leading to the field beyond it. The faint scent of blooms drifted through the air, carried by the wind.
1:
Liam came to stand beside me. I found this place on the way. I figured I’d check it out”
I turned to face him “Check it out for what?” I asked casually.
2/4
Chapter 49
“Yeah, for the hotel. We’ll need a reliable flower supplier. It only makes sense to look into potential sources early on
I nodded. Twee. You want to source flowers for the hotel
That as I uudied his face, my suspicions were confirmed.
He was testing me again.
He was still prying, still trying to pull apart the layers I had so carefully built.
After all, it was a flower farm where our paths had first crossed years ago.
Where Camilliana–the woman I used to be–had once lived.
“Why?” he asked.
“What do you mean, why, Sir!”
“You seem surprised;
I smiled, trying not to scoff at him. I just didn’t take you for someone who would personally look for a to be interested in things like this”
a flower supplier. You don’t seem like the type
He nodded, smiling. “Well, I actually don’t like flowers. I never really understood why people get so attached to them. They don’t last. No matter how beautiful they are, they wither.”
He sighed. But Camille used to say that just because something doesn’t last forever doesn’t mean it isn’t worth loving. That flowers might wither. but while they’re here, they bring happiness. No matter how short their bloom, they deserve to be cherished”
I swallowed hard, wanting to make him stop talking about her.
About me…
But I couldn’t find my voice before he continued.
“She grew up surrounded by flowers. She could talk about them for hours. She had this light in her eyes when she did… like nothing else mattered.”
I turned my face away from him, pretending to examine the flower shop ahead. I didn’t want to hear this. I couldn’t hear this. Because the way he spoke… the way his voice softened, the way his lips curved into something so close to longing–he looked like a man in love,
And I hated it.
Because that’s not true.
“She sounds like a romantic,” I said, turning toward the flower shop, hoping he would stop. But he didn’t.
“She was in every sense of the word. She believed in love forever, in all the things I thought were illusions. But with her, it never felt like an illusion.
It felt real
My chest tightened painfully. No. Stop.
“I don’t think I ever told her,” he murmured, more to himself than to me. “Not the way I should have”
“Told her what?” I asked, stopping in my tracks.
I turned around, forcing a smile even as I fought the u
urge to clench my fists and dig my nails into my palms.
Liar’s eyes met mine then. He looked at me like seeing ghosts, standing before someone he had long lost but never forgotten.
“That I loved her…”
You’re a liart
You said it was never hert She was just a substitutet
1 was just a substitute! You never loved me!
You ‘killed‘ ine. How dare you say this now!
I wanted to scream those words, but I smiles at him sympathetically instead
3/4
Chapter 19
“Too fund she’s not here to hear you say that. She’s lucky to be loved by someone like you.
A be, of course
I wasn’t lucky at all. I was a fool—to love you, to believe in you.
If not for my children. I would have regretted every moment I spent with you.
So, before he could see the truth in my eyes, I turned away and stepped into the flower shop.
