38. Jiya
JIYA
Aweek had passed since Caleb left after hurling those cruel words at me, yet the ache inside my chest had not eased.
I buried myself in work at the restaurant, the cafés, and the city construction project, but my thoughts kept drifting back to him.
Everything reminded me of Caleb—the docks, the village, my home, the restaurant, even my children.
I had survived heartbreak before, but this was more brutal and agonizing than anything I had ever endured, my broken heart refusing to heal.
Standing in front of Cole’s grave on Friday morning, I told him everything.
“I’m sure you already know,” I said softly. “You know my side of the story. You know the truth. How in God’s name could he think those things about me? Did he not know me at all? After spending so much time together, how could he say such... such horrible things?”
Tears rolled down my cheeks again as the memory resurfaced. I wiped them away with the back of my hand, sniffling.
“I guess I’m not meant to have love in my life,” I whispered with a tired sigh. “Every time I love, I lose. I should have figured that out by now.”
I bent down and pressed a gentle kiss against the cool stone, just as I always did before leaving.
“See you again in a couple of days. Give my love to Eva and Chloe.”
Fourteen months had passed since his death, yet I still missed him.
He had never searched for proof or questioned my worth. He had simply believed me.
Why couldn’t Caleb be like that? Why did he have to believe his mother instead of me?
Later that afternoon, I sat in the office at the restaurant, hunched over my desk, struggling to swallow a sob.
Jack walked in and took a seat in the empty chair beside me.
“What’s wrong, Jiya?” he asked gently.
“Just wondering how I ended up back at square one in my life,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
“What do you mean?” He frowned. “Did something happen between you and Caleb?”
I slowly unfolded the events of the last couple of weeks, recounting everything that had happened. As I neared the end of the story, my chin began to tremble. I blinked back the tears threatening to fall.
“To sum it up,” I said, pausing to steady my breathing, “I’m just not destined for love to last.”
I lowered my eyes and stared at my empty hands.
“That’s not true, and I don’t want you believing that,” Jack said firmly. “Look at me.”
I lifted my gaze and met his.
“You need to tell him the truth.”
“But—”
“No buts, Jiya,” he interrupted sternly. “Stop sitting here and drowning in this pain. Caleb needs to know the truth. He will feel differently if he hears the whole story and not just half of it—his mother’s half. You have the evidence. You have proof.”
“That’s true... I do,” I said slowly, feeling a flicker of strength returning to my chest.
“Go and fight for him,” Jack continued, placing his hands firmly on my shoulders.
“Fight for the love of your life. Fight for happiness. Fight for your children, especially your daughter, who has a right to know her father. You have been through worse and come out stronger every time. This is just another storm, and you will survive.”
“You’re right,” I said, rising to my feet. “You’re absolutely right.”
“That’s my girl,” he said with a proud smile. “Now get off your tushie and go get your man.”
I wrapped my arms around him, grateful beyond words to have him in my life.
Driving back to the house, I walked straight into the kitchen where Geeta and the children were gathered.
I planted my feet firmly on the floor and pushed the sleeves of my blouse up.
“Pack up,” I announced. “We’re going to Vancouver.”
“Vancouver, Didi?” Geeta asked, her brows furrowed.
“Yes.”
“But why?” she asked.
“To get something back.”
“What?” Lucas asked, standing up from the couch.
“My heart.”
I checked into the hotel with Geeta and the children on Friday evening before stopping by Jack and Maureen’s house to drop Milo and Oreo off for the weekend.
The second the dogs realized where we were, they bounded toward Jack and Maureen, tails swaying happily behind them.
“You two behave yourselves, okay?” I said softly, scratching behind their ears before kissing the tops of their heads. “Mama will be back soon.”
Milo whined quietly while Oreo licked my cheek.
“Don’t worry,” Maureen said warmly. “We’ll spoil them rotten while you’re gone.”
Jack stepped forward and squeezed my shoulder gently.
“Fight for your happiness this time, sweetheart,” he said with a knowing smile. “And don’t give up halfway and come back here.”
I laughed softly. “I’ll try.”
“No,” Jack said firmly. “You’ll do it.”
Maureen hugged me tightly before pulling back.
“Good luck, honey. Everything’s going to work out the way it’s supposed to.”
Their faith in me steadied something shaky inside my chest. After one last goodbye to the dogs and a tight hug from Jack and Maureen, I headed back toward the car with the children and Geeta.
I informed Elle that I was coming to the city and made plans to meet her and her family the next day.
The following afternoon, the children and Karl were splashing in the pool when Elle and I joined them. With rubber ducky floaters strapped to Emma’s arms, I spun her gently through the water while my daughter giggled happily.
“Again, Mama. Again,” she squealed, flapping her feet in the water in her floral pink swimsuit.
“Mama!” Lucas yelled from the other side. “Look at me.”
I turned and watched him swim the short length of the pool with Noah. He was a good swimmer and loved the water.
Elle held her daughter, Quinn, who was now a year and a half and splashing happily. She passed her to Karl.
“Take her and Emma to the kiddie pool, please. Jiji and I need to talk.”
“Sure, honey,” Karl replied, already reaching for the girls.
Elle and I climbed out of the pool and sat on the sun lounge chairs. After ordering drinks for the children and for ourselves, we leaned back and soaked in the warmth of the afternoon sun.
“So you’ve finally decided to tell Caleb about his daughter?” Elle asked, sipping her Mai Tai.
“Kinda,” I replied.
“What do you mean, kinda?” She removed her sunglasses and placed them on top of her head. “I thought you wanted him back.”
“I still love him, but I don’t want him back because we share a child. I want him to choose me, knowing the truth about everything.”
I sat upright and faced her.
“So you plan to expose his mother, tell him how you feel, then tell him about Emma and stop the wedding?” Elle rubbed her chin.
“Something like that... maybe not in that order,” I admitted with a sigh. “I haven’t figured everything out yet.”
“Well, you’ve got only a week from today,” Elle said, placing her hand gently on my knee. “You need to figure it out.”
“I know.”
I did not need a countdown.
I needed a plan, and fast.
“Jiji,” Elle said softly, offering a reassuring smile. “Let me know how I can help.”
There was going to be a cocktail party that evening at his parents’ house, and I knew I had to be there. Caleb needed to see that I was not giving up on us this time.
Fate had brought us back into each other’s lives, and I was hell-bent on fighting for us this time.
“I need a dress for the cocktail party tonight,” I said, leaning forward, my heartbeat picking up speed.
“Karl!” Elle called out. “Jiya and I need to head out. We’ll be back in two hours.”
After quickly drying off and changing out of our swimsuits, Elle and I headed to the boutiques downtown.
A couple of hours later, I walked back into my hotel room with a new dress and shoes, ready to meet Caleb and turn his world upside down.
After spending some time with the children, I made sure they had their dinner and then put on a movie for them while I got ready. Emma settled onto the bed with Mia tucked beneath one arm, completely absorbed in the movie within minutes.
By the time I finished, it was 7 p.m., and I stood at the doorway, smoothing down the fabric of my dress.
“What do you think?” I asked, strutting playfully in front of my children and Geeta like a model on a runway.
“Pwetty, pwetty Mama,” Emma said, clapping her hands.
“Oh, Mama,” Lucas added with a grin. “God help all the men wherever you’re going tonight.”
“Didi, you look beautiful,” Geeta said, standing up to hug me.
“Thank you,” I replied, smiling at all of them.
“Alright, guys,” I said, pointing playfully at the television. “Once the movie is done, what are you going to do?”
“Sleep!” both children answered in unison.
“Good,” I said, bending down to kiss each of them. “I’ll be back before you know it. Love you both.”
Tonight was either going to fix everything… or destroy what little hope I had left.
With one last look at them, I grabbed my purse and headed out the door to the waiting Uber outside.