Page 88 of Daring Destiny

My chest tightens with a mixture of hope and fear. She’s giving me all I could expect. A chance. “We’ll take it slow and figure this out.”

We stand there for a moment looking at each other and she steps forward into my arms. God, I’ve missed her. Missed this. Even in the middle of all this chaos, Astrid’s the one person I want by my side and I’ll do anything to keep her here.

“I want to be at every doctor’s appointment.” I kiss her forehead. “For everything.”

She looks up at me, surprised. “Yes. Of course I want you to be with me for everything. Going forward, though, we have to be honest with each other, B. No. More.Secrets.”

“No more secrets,” I agree

I feel her hand slide into mine. “I missed you so much,” she whispers.

“Me too.” I lean down and kiss her and place my hand on her belly. “We’re going to be okay. One day you’ll hopefully forgive me for being such a dumbass.”

Astrid leans her head against my shoulder and my entire body relaxes. I only feel complete when she’s by my side.

“Jury’s still out.” She covers my hand with hers.

As we stand there, with the music from the reunion playing in the background, I make a silent promise to myself.

I’m going to be the partner she deserves, no matter what it takes.

I’ll be here for her. For our child. Unconditionally,

For the rest of our lives.

thirty-seven

Astrid

Two Months Later

IneverthoughtI’dbe back here.

Let alone be sitting here with no fucks to give and nothing to prove.

Brennan and I are in my parents’ living room. I’m about to face down the past I’ve spent most of my life trying to avoid. Everything seemed impossible before—family, stability, love. Now, it’s my real life. Except for one thing. This looming shadow of my past I need to confront and put behind me.

So, here we are, at the house I grew up in, surrounded by ghosts I thought I’d escaped.

Since the reunion, a lot has happened. My whole world has shifted. I’m five months pregnant now, with a nice little baby bump.

Once I got my IUD removed and the doctors confirmed our pregnancy was viable and normal, it felt like the universe was giving us the green light to move forward. To continue what we were building before things nearly imploded. Brennan and I closed on our house in Madison Park, with the incredible lake views. We’ve been diving into Reuniverse headfirst. His role at CognifyAI is almost nonexistent now, thanks to the agreement he brokered after his brutal legal battle. He’s free, and we’re knee-deep in making our own project come to life.

Best of all, we get to spend every waking moment together. For some couples, our dynamic wouldn’t work. For us, it’s heaven.

It helps we’ve been in counseling, both individually and together, trying to untangle the mess of our pasts so we can build a future. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. And today feels like a test of all the progress I’ve made.

I sit here, holding Brennan’s hand, about to ask my parents the questions I’ve been afraid to ask for as long as I can remember.

“Mom, Dad.” I feel the knots tighten in my stomach. “Thank you for having me over after all this time. I’m hoping to talk to you about my birth. I learned Mom is not my biological mother.”

My dad shifts uncomfortably in his chair and glances at my mom. She sits stiffly across from me with her normal, icy composure. Today it feels like a wall. A barrier I need to get through. Brennan’s thumb traces gentle circles over the back of my hand, reminding me he’s here. I’m not alone in this.

“We didn’t see the need to explain.” Mom’s voice is cold and sharp. “You were Jens’s daughter, so I raised you. That should have been enough.”

I take a breath. This is it. “Why didn’t you at least tell me? These are things I should have heard from you.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Brigitte waves her hand as if there’s a bad smell in the air.