Chapter 8
Cleo POV ?
The week went by in a blur: work, school runs, homework, dinner, bedtime. Then we did it all again the next day. On the surface, everything seemed normal.
Inside, nothing felt normal.
Every quiet moment, my thoughts drifted back to the clubhouse, to Maria, Graves. To the photograph still tucked inside my bedside drawer.
I must have looked at it a hundred times. Studying her smile, her eyes. Trying to find answers in a picture taken nearly thirty years ago, but finding none.
Then there was Graves, the man who believed he was my father. He had spent twenty-eight years looking for me.
I wanted to dismiss it, to tell myself it couldn’t be true, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw those green eyes.
My eyes, and the doubt became harder to ignore.
By Sunday morning, I knew one thing: I needed answers. Not all of them, just enough to breathe again.
The kids were excited about the park. Tommy had talked about seeing Lola all morning. Skylar pretended she wasn’t excited.
I knew better. She’d spent longer choosing a sweater than I had getting myself ready.
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By twelve forty-five, we were already there. The park was busy with children laughing, dogs barking, and families enjoying the sunshine. It felt normal. Safe. Exactly what I needed.
Tommy spotted them first.
“Mom!”
I looked up. Graves and Stella were walking towards us, Lola skipping between them. The second Tommy saw her, he took off running.
“Lola!”
“Tommy!”
They collided in the middle of the grass before racing towards the swings. I couldn’t stop my smile. Kids really were resilient, unlike the adults.
My stomach twisted as Graves approached. He looked just as nervous as I felt. Beside him, Stella offered me a warm smile, and before I could react, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.
The hug caught me completely off guard. It was gentle, comforting, motherly. Something I’d never really experienced. For a second, I froze. Then slowly, I hugged her back.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The emotion in her voice surprised me. When she stepped back, her eyes looked suspiciously bright, then she smiled at Skylar.
“Think you could help me with double trouble?”
Skylar blinked. “Me?”
Stella nodded seriously. “Absolutely.”
She pointed towards Tommy and Lola, who were already climbing the frame.
“I need someone responsible.”
A tiny smile appeared on Skylar’s face, one I hadn’t seen much lately. She glanced at me, questioning, I nodded.
“It’s okay.” I said softly. She straightened immediately, trying very hard to look grown-up.
“I can help.” Skylar said seriously. I bit my lip to stop the smile.
“I knew I could count on you.” Stella said with a smile.
The pride that flashed across Skylar’s face nearly broke me. Stella didn’t treat her like a child, she treated her like she mattered.
Within moments, Stella and Skylar were walking after Tommy and Lola.
Leaving me alone with Graves. Silence settled between us. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just uncertain. Two strangers trying to figure out where they stood.
Then I noticed his hands. Clenched. Tense. Nervous.
Without thinking, I reached across and squeezed one gently. Not a hug, not acceptance, just an acknowledgement.
I’m here.
His eyes widened slightly, then he smiled. It was a real smile, the first one I’d seen from him that wasn’t weighed down by fear.
“Thank you.” He said with a unsure smile.
I wasn’t entirely sure what he was thanking me for. Showing up, maybe. Giving him a chance. Maybe both.
We started walking slowly along the path. After a moment, Graves cleared his throat.
“I’ll answer any question you have,” he said quietly. “As truthfully as I can.”
I smiled faintly, then looked ahead. “Before I ask anything…” His eyebrows lifted. I couldn’t help the tiny smile that followed. “Please let me finish.”
Recognition flickered across his face, his own words from a week ago. He nodded.
“Okay.”
For a moment, I didn’t know where to begin. How did you summarise twenty?eight years? How did you explain an entire life?
Finally, I took a breath.
“I was put into foster care when I was young.”
Graves went completely still.
“I don’t remember much before that.” My gaze stayed fixed ahead, on the path, the trees, anywhere but his face. “All I was ever told was that I wasn’t wanted.”
The words felt just as ugly now as they had then.
“My mother died from an overdose.”
Silence. Heavy. Painful.
“The only reason I know her name was Maria is that I overheard a social worker talking when I was eleven.”
Beside me, Graves stumbled, actually stumbled. As if the words had physically hit him. I kept talking because if I stopped, I wasn’t sure I’d start again.
“I wasn’t abused.” His shoulders sagged slightly.
“But I never belonged anywhere either.” That hurt more somehow.
“I moved around a lot.”
Moving from house to house, family to family. It was always temporary. I was always somebody else’s child.
“Then, when I was fourteen, I got placed in a home for foster kids.” A small smile touched my lips.
“That’s where I met Wade.”
I saw Graves glance at me, listening. Really listening.
“We went to the same school. Same classes. Same everything.” I laughed softly. “He was my best friend first.” The memory warmed something inside me.
“His dad had alcoholism.” My smile faded. “He knocked Wade around whenever he felt like it.”
Graves’ jaw tightened.
“We didn’t have much,” I said quietly. “But we had each other.”
After that, the words came more easily. “When we were sixteen, we started dating. When we turned eighteen, we got married, then Skylar came along.” I smiled towards where she walked with Stella.
“Four years later, we had Tommy.” For a moment, it felt nice, remembering the good parts.
“Wade worked as a mechanic. I finished my teaching degree online. We worked hard. We made it work.” But then the ache returned.
“Then one day he was gone.” My voice cracked. “A car accident.” Those words never got any easier to say. Graves stayed silent, giving me space.
“A month later, the calls started.” The letters. The final notices. The threats.
“The bank. The debt collectors. The people Wade owed money to.” Confusion crossed his face. I swallowed. “That’s when I found out.”
Graves looked at me shocked for a moment. “Found out what?”
“Wade had a gambling problem.” The words still felt foreign. “I didn’t know.” The shame lingered, not because Wade had done it, but because I hadn’t seen it.
“I found out after he died.” I looked down at my hands. “We lost the house.” The admission hurt.
“We lost almost everything.”
Graves looked devastated, not judgmental. It was as if every difficult moment of my life somehow wounded him personally.
“Wade wasn’t a bad person,” I said quickly. “He was a good father. A good husband. He just… made some mistakes.”
Graves nodded, accepting it, respecting it. Silence settled again. Then I stopped walking and turned towards him.
“You said Maria loved me.” Emotion tightened my throat. “I don’t know how to believe that.”
Pain flickered across his face, not because I accused him, but because he understood.
“She gave me away.” The words cracked. “If she loved me… why didn’t she keep me?”
Graves closed his eyes briefly. Pain etched across his features. “I don’t know.” The honesty hurt, but I appreciated it.
“I don’t know why she didn’t come to me,” he said quietly. “I don’t know why she left.” His jaw tightened.
“If I’d known where you were…”
A tear slipped down my cheek. Graves noticed immediately and looked heartbroken.
“You would’ve had me,” he said firmly. “You would’ve had a home.”
Another tear followed.
“I can’t change the past, sweetheart.” His own eyes were shining now.
“But if you’ll let me…” His voice cracked. “If you’ll let me, I’ll be your father now.”
The words stole the air from my lungs, not because they were dramatic, but because they were simple.
Honest.
Real.
“You deserve a family, Cleo.”
For the first time in my life, I wasn’t entirely sure I had to face everything alone.
And that terrified me almost as much as it comforted me.