24. Jiya
JIYA
Iwatched Caleb walk toward his car and away from me, and a long sigh slipped from my lips.
I did not want the evening to end. Having him stay for dinner and sit together with us as a family brought back memories of the past I had convinced myself I had forgotten and never wanted to return to, yet a part of me ached for that same past to come back to life.
As I stood there watching him walk away—from his daughter, from Lucas, whom he had once called his son, and from me, the woman he had once wanted to marry—I found myself questioning why I was feeling this way.
I had chosen to leave him and stay away from him because he had cheated on me.
I had every reason to shut him out of my heart completely.
I should not be yearning for him, or missing the comfort of his presence.
After everything he had done, I should have been indifferent by now. I should have stopped caring long ago.
But I could not.
I never truly had, even though I’d tried with everything inside me to convince myself otherwise.
The past had been forgiven in silence, yet it had never been erased from memory.
A gentle breeze swept across the porch, brushing against my skin, while the wind chimes Cole had hung himself tinkled softly nearby.
My gaze drifted toward them as the memory surfaced.
Cole had been watching me as we sat on the porch sipping chai while the dogs ran around with their toys.
“Can I ask you something?” he had asked, leaning back in his chair.
I’d laughed softly. “You always do.”
“What does your name mean? I’ve always wanted to know.”
It was the same question Caleb had asked me earlier that evening.
After I told him, Cole had smiled and said, “That makes sense, because that’s exactly what you are. You’re the heart of this family.”
The memory lingered for a moment, wrapping around me before slowly fading back into the present.
The evening replayed in my mind, and I chewed on a fingernail.
I did not want my children to grow attached to Caleb, only to have him disappear from their lives, this time because of another woman. And most of all, I could not allow my own heart to walk down that road once more.
Why am I even thinking about Caleb?
I was Cole’s wife.
I was Cole’s widow.
The food in my stomach turned, and the back of my throat hurt.
Cole was still everywhere—in this house, in our children’s laughter, in the life we had built together. He had loved me without suspicion or conditions, accepting every part of me without question.
I miss you, Cole.
Slowly, I closed the door behind me.
I set the security alarm, and then turned toward the hallway and walked upstairs to my bedroom, carrying my thoughts with me into the silence of the night.
I had grown used to seeing Caleb in the office for meetings every three or four days. Bi-weekly site inspections were taking place to make sure the construction timeline was being followed.
To make sure Liam did not accidentally slip out any information, I walked into his office one day with a clear purpose in mind.
“I need to speak to you,” I said in a serious tone.
I knew that sooner or later, he might say something to Caleb without realizing the consequences, and I did not want to be caught off guard. My pulse quickened as the words gathered at the edge of my tongue.
“Caleb is Emma’s—”
“Father.”
My muscles went weak as I stared at Liam, trying to understand how he could know something I had guarded so carefully for years.
“Cole told me,” Liam revealed. “But I didn’t piece it together until recently.”
I let out a long breath, my shoulders dropping.
“I wouldn’t have told him anything, Jiya, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he continued. “It is your decision whether you want to or not. I would never say anything.”
He walked toward me and placed his hands firmly on my shoulders.
“I am your family,” he said. “I know you have your reasons why you don’t want to tell him. I will support you and be there for you regardless of what you decide.”
My shoulders relaxed under his touch as gratitude filled my chest.
“Thank you, Liam. I appreciate it.”
We embraced each other.
“Liam?” I asked quietly.
“Hmm,” he replied, still holding me.
“How would you feel if you had a child and you weren’t told about it?”
The question had been sitting on my mind ever since Caleb had come back into my life.
Liam pulled back and looked at me.
“I wouldn’t like it, to be honest. It would have upset me because I have a right to know my child. However,” he paused. “I would have also wanted to listen to the explanation behind it, and that would have helped me understand why that step was taken in the first place.”
I nodded slowly, absorbing his answer. “Thanks,” I said softly.
“Anytime.”
His answer settled heavily inside my chest because it was exactly what I had feared he would say.
I left his office and continued my meetings with Caleb, reassured that I did not have anything to worry about through Liam.
Caleb had started coming over regularly after apologizing. What began with a weekend lunch and a dinner after work slowly turned into more visits. Each visit felt surprisingly natural, as though he had quietly slipped back into our lives without permission.
I found myself wondering whether his family knew, especially Eleanor.
My arch-nemesis.
She had despised me from the moment she learned Caleb and I were together, questioning my worth and scrutinizing everything I did.
The rest of his family had been different. Randall, especially, had always treated me with warmth and respect, and I often caught myself wondering how he was doing… how all of them were doing… and whether they realized they were now in business with me.
Maybe Caleb had told them.
Or maybe they already knew and wanted nothing to do with me after what had happened with Jeremy and the children.
I could not blame them for that.
Lucas, however, enjoyed having Caleb around, and so did Emma, who eagerly took out all her dolls and played tea party with him the same way she used to do with Cole.
One night, during Caleb’s fourth dinner with us, he looked at Emma across the table and asked gently, “Do you miss your dad?”
My food got stuck in my throat, my body tensing. I was always careful to remain present when Caleb was around the children, making sure conversations stayed safe and predictable. I never wanted questions to open doors I was not ready to walk through.
“I miss Dada,” Emma said softly. “Mama say he lives here.” She placed her small hand against her chest. “He gave me dolly for my burfday... Mia.”
“He was a good Dad,” Lucas added quietly. “Actually, he was a great Dad. He took us hiking, and he was always there for all my games and school plays.”
“You miss him a lot, huh?” Caleb asked, turning toward him.
“Yes, very much,” Lucas replied, twirling his pasta slowly around his fork. “I miss him every day.”
Lucas’s face crumpled, tears rolling down his cheeks. The sound of his uneven breathing broke my heart. Emotion lodged thickly in my throat as I pushed my chair back, already moving to comfort him, but before I could reach him, Caleb rose from his seat.
“Hey, hey,” he said softly, walking over to Lucas and kneeling beside him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad, buddy. I’m so sorry.”
Lucas sniffled.
“It’s alright to miss him,” Caleb continued gently. “It’s completely normal. There’s one important thing you always have to remember.”
“What?” Lucas asked, his voice trembling.
“You can always keep him right in here,” Caleb said, pointing to his heart. “Just like Emma said. He’s always watching over you, every day, every minute. And he always will.”
“Really?”
“I swear.”
“Mama misses him, too,” Lucas said tearfully. “She always talks to his picture. She misses him more than us, but she doesn’t say it.”
My breath caught in my throat.
How does he know that I talk to his picture?
“I bet she does,” Caleb said quietly, glancing at me before turning back to Lucas. “From everything you’ve told me, I think he was.”
Lucas nodded slowly.
“No sad, Lucas,” Emma said, reaching her arms out toward him from her highchair. “No sad.”
Caleb lifted Emma from her seat and placed her on the floor. She toddled over to Lucas and wrapped her arms around him, and he hugged her back.
“You come,” Emma said, turning toward Caleb.
I watched the three of them embrace, my hand instinctively pressing against my breastbone. A faint sting gathered behind my eyes as I took in the sight before me.
This was a family moment.
A moment I knew would stay with me forever.
A moment I would hold in my memory long after this night had passed.
A moment that honoured Cole, even in his absence.
“Mama, Geeta,” Emma called out. “Come too.”
Laughing through the emotion, we joined them, and soon all of us were wrapped together in a group hug—an unexpected blend of grief, love, and healing—creating a memory that felt both tender and sacred.