CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
Kaia
Two days later, I was a nervous wreck. We’d get the test results today, and nothing distracted me—not classes, not another attempt at crocheting, not even Asher sitting on my bed.
His phone vibrated. My heart flipped as he grabbed it.
“Miguel.” His brow creased. “Third text he’s sent.”
I left my Spanish textbook on the desk. “What does he want?”
Asher tossed his phone aside with a sigh. “To make up for lost time, I guess.”
I sat beside him. He tugged my hand, pulling me closer until my head rested on his shoulder. “Do you want him in your life?”
“I do,” he said into my hair, burying his nose there. “He looked fucking miserable. Older. I thought I hadn’t moved on from Dad’s accident, but it’s worse for him. At least I’m not blaming myself.”
“Then answer. It won’t hurt to have another person who cares about you.”
He threw his head back, groaning. “I’m still mad at him for keeping quiet, but if he’d spoken right after Dad’s crash, I wouldn’t have moved to Stetbourg. I wouldn’t have you. I can’t imagine life without you anymore.”
I kissed his neck. A smile curved Asher’s lips. “So that’s what I need for a kiss? Say nice things to you?”
“And lose your clothes.” I straddled his legs. “You’re leaving again soon. I need something to remember you by.”
He traced my jaw with his thumb. “All of them?”
“The socks can stay.”
“No.” He snorted. “I’m not the one whose feet are ice.”
I gasped. “Rude! And you never even complained.”
“Never said it was bad.” He slid a hand to my ankle. “You’re warm in other places.” He tugged me forward until our chests met. “For example, here.”
His mouth captured mine, and for the first time all day, I stopped thinking about the test.
Asher parted my lips with his tongue. His phone buzzed behind me. He broke the kiss, groaning.
“Miguel?” I whispered as he reached for it.
He froze. “No, the lab. Want to read it together?”
I scrambled off his lap, dread rising like a lump in my throat. “Of course, Ash.”
He opened the email. I skimmed the text—and a sob tore from my chest.
“Russell Demeri is excluded as the biological father.”
***
I could’ve waited for my father at his house, but being surrounded by memories of Mom would make the conversation harder.
So would seeing Sharon.
His office felt safer.
I rapped my knuckles on the mahogany door.
“Come in,” he answered, his voice carrying that familiar edge of impatience.
As I stepped into the spacious, impersonal room, he rose from his chair.
“Kaia? What are you doing here?”
“We got the test results.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “Close the door.”
I pushed it open wider.
“Right. Wouldn’t want everyone to hear what kind of person you are. Strangers might lose respect.” I stepped up to his desk. “The test is negative.”
He gripped the desk’s edge, lips twitching in a smirk. “Good. At least we can put that nonsense to rest.”
It was—but hurt still swelled in my chest. “You know what isn’t good?
That you cheated on a woman who was devoted to you.
Even when Mom was sick, you went on your so-called business trips.
And she waited for you. She always made excuses—that you were busy, that she was lucky to stay home with me.
But she wasn’t. She was miserable because you were absent even when you were here.
You should’ve left her, given her a chance to be loved by someone.
She didn’t deserve the lies. Neither did Asher and I. ”
Color flared in his cheeks. “Don’t lecture me about marriage, Kaia. You know nothing. Your mother was weak. She lived to please everyone, and when she couldn’t anymore, she crumbled. That wasn’t my fault.”
My nails dug into my palms. “Christmas, Thanksgiving, every break—it was always just us. A family of two while you were with her.”
He leaned back with a scoff. “And yet you had a roof over your head. Clothes. School. A future. I provided everything that mattered. What else could you possibly want?”
“I wanted a dad.” My voice cracked before I steadied it. “Not someone who lied and disappeared.”
His jaw flexed, but the sneer never left his face. “You’re dramatic. Always have been. You talk about neglect, but look at you—college, friends, that boyfriend. You turned out fine. Stop pretending you were some abandoned child.”
“I wasn’t pretending.” My chest rose, unsteady. “I was surviving.”
The pen slammed against the desk, the crack making me flinch. “You think life is fair? Grow up. People make mistakes. People move on. Your mother’s been gone eight years. Nobody clings to grief that long unless they want pity.”
“I guess grief lasts longer when you actually loved the person.”
His eyes narrowed, cutting straight through me. “Careful. You’re starting to sound just like her.”
My stomach twisted, but I forced myself not to blink. “You didn’t love Mom. And you didn’t love me. That’s why it was so easy to neglect me once she was gone.”
“Neglect?” His laugh was sharp and ugly. “I gave you everything. Spoiled, ungrateful little girl—that’s all you’ve ever been.”
My throat burned. For a second, I almost let him win, let him make me feel small again. But not this time.
“No.” My fists trembled at my sides. “You gave me things. But I’ve never had a dad.” I paused. “Though now that I know you’re an even worse person than I thought, I’m sure I was better off without you.”
I turned and stormed out.
He didn’t stop me.
***
Asher crouched beside Mom’s grave, adjusting the roses he’d bought for her—her favorite.
She would’ve loved him. She would’ve been glad to see how deeply he loved me. His mother hadn’t cared about mine, but Asher did.
My father was wrong. I wasn’t clinging to grief. I was clinging to memories—afraid time would strip them away and I’d forget what it felt like to be loved by a parent.
Asher straightened. “The flowers look good. We’ll bring her some more when I get back from the next race.”
“Thank you, Ash.”
He wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind, letting me lean into him. “I’m sorry your father acted like an asshole. I hoped he’d at least apologize, but I guess he and my mother are cut from the same cloth.”
I lifted and dropped my shoulder. “I said everything I needed. He knows where to find me if he wants a relationship, but I’ll be fine either way.”
“You deserve better.”
“So do you.” I curled my hands around his wrists. “I can’t move past what he did. I can’t pretend nothing happened.”
“Then don’t.” Asher kissed my cheek. “Let’s surround ourselves with people who care about us.”
I looked one last time at Mom’s headstone. She’d deserved better, but she hadn’t lived to have it. I could. I didn’t need to keep begging for affection from someone who would never give it.
“I’m ready to put all of this behind me, Ash,” I said.
Another kiss brushed my cheek, tender and certain. “So am I, peque.”