Chapter 45
Kia
Laiken’s lawyer’s office is polished in the way only high-powered law offices are, with neutral colors, framed degrees, and muted artwork chosen to impress without being distracting. There’s nothing personal here. Everything about the space is designed to keep emotion out of the room.
It doesn’t work.
Collin sits across from me, his knee bouncing beneath the conference table. He looks the same as he did when I’d catch sight of him around campus. Same handsome face and tousled black hair that used to make my pulse stutter.
Now, it does nothing for me.
Laiken sits beside me, close enough that our arms touch. He isn’t looming or posturing. He’s simply there for support. His presence is a steady line drawn between the past and everything that comes next.
A future waiting to unfold.
Mark clears his throat and slides the paperwork across the table toward my ex and his attorney.
“This document terminates parental rights,” he says evenly.
“Once signed, there’s no legal claim or recourse.
No visitation or decision-making authority.
It also includes a confidentiality clause,” he adds.
“You’re agreeing not to discuss or disclose anything related to the child or these proceedings. ”
Collin snorts. “Yeah, I know what it says.”
It’s almost laughable that I once had a crush on this guy and thought he was someone I could trust. Someone who might love me back. I couldn’t have been more wrong. He never cared about me, and, as hard as it is to admit, he never really saw me.
My gaze drops to the table, landing on a faint scratch in the wood. I press my palm to my stomach. Not to protect, but to remind myself of the reason I’m here.
For my baby and the future I couldn’t have imagined without the man by my side.
Mark looks at Collin again. “You’re sure about this?”
“I don’t want a kid,” Collin says flatly. “I never did.”
The words don’t hurt or sting the way they once would have. They simply confirm what I already knew. He was never the right man for me.
The pen pauses in his hand, and fear sparks within.
What if he doesn’t sign?
What if he decides to drag this out?
My body braces just as he signs the first page.
Then the second and third.
Each stroke eases the tightness inside my chest.
When Mark gathers the papers with a nod, the finality of it settles in. “That’s it.”
Silence stretches around the table. Collin is the first to stand, his chair scraping against the floor. He doesn’t bother looking at me until his hand is already on the doorknob. For a split second, I think he might apologize, or maybe sneer.
Instead, he simply shrugs. “Good luck,” he says, like we’re ending a conversation that never mattered.
And then he’s gone, disappearing into the corridor. It’s only when the door clicks shut behind him that my tense muscles loosen.
Laiken’s hand closes over mine on the table and his thumb brushes my knuckles before settling on the band that now circles my finger.
“Paper or not,” he says, “this baby is mine.”
I turn to him, taking a moment to study the man who’s now my husband. There’s nothing performative in his expression or his words. He’s just stating the truth. A simple fact.
And it means everything. Especially when one man couldn’t walk away fast enough… and this one is choosing to stay of his own volition.
Mark rises to his feet. “I’ll file everything this afternoon and then send copies to you.”
“Thank you,” I manage.
It’s only when we’re finally alone in the room that I can breathe again. It’s as if my lungs have been waiting for permission to expand. A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Collin is out of my life.
For good.
It truly feels like the first day of the rest of my life. And I get to face it with this man. The one who chose me when it would’ve been so much easier to walk away.
Outside the office, late afternoon light spills across the sidewalk. The world keeps moving as cars pass and people laugh, completely unaware that something monumental just ended.
And something even more amazing began.
Laiken stops beside me. Unconsciously, my palm finds my stomach. His hand mirrors the motion, settling over mine. For the first time, I let myself mourn. Not for Collin, but for the version of my life I once imagined. The one where love was simple and didn’t require so much courage.
And then I let it go.
“For once,” I whisper, surprised by my own certainty, “the future feels steady.”
Laiken leans down and presses a kiss to my temple. “That’s because it is.”
I close my eyes and breathe him in. There’s no more waiting for the bottom to drop out.
That chapter is finished.
And the next one—ours—is only just beginning.