Chapter Sixty-Six Joshua
Chapter Sixty-Six
Joshua
Aurora had already fallen asleep, her head buried half under the blanket, hair spread across my pillow, one hand still resting where I’d been sitting before I stood up. Honey and Brownie were curled up on her legs, breathing in sync.
The apartment was quiet, city lights spilling through the window and painting her skin in soft gold. I stood there for a while, just watching.
Then I reached for my phone.
My dad’s number was still there, somewhere deep in my contacts list, under Jonathan Lockhart, untouched for years. I stared at the name for a long time, thumb hovering above it.
I thought about what Aurora said. About what my mum would’ve wanted. About the orphanage. About all the things I kept running from.
And maybe she was right. Maybe drowning in ghosts wasn’t the same as keeping them alive.
I opened a new message. For a minute, I didn’t even know what to type. There was so much I could say, and none of it felt right.
So, I kept it simple.
Me: I’ll take the role. We’ll talk soon.
I stared at it for a while, then hit send.
That was it. No apologies. No explanations. Just the truth.
Because this wasn’t for him.
I wasn’t doing it to make him proud or to fix what he broke. I was doing it for the woman who built all of this before either of us understood its worth, for the mother I only got five years with, and the girl who made me want to stop wasting every other year after her.
Aurora shifted in her sleep, murmuring something, her hand reaching across the bed. I slid back under the blanket, tucking her close.
One arm around her waist. One promise already made.
I’ll take it when he’s ready to let go.
After graduation, after he’s done pretending this empire is all he has left. For now, I’ll build something that’s mine, for my mum, for the kids, for Aurora.
And when the time comes, I’ll take it all.
On my own terms.