Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“He’s perfect,” Harper says as I nurse our first child.
It’s amazing to have three people doting on him. Three parents. This is going to be a fun ride. I can tell already.
Having a baby is one of life’s greatest treasures. It saddens me to think there are parents out there, like my mother, who abuse and abandon their children. It makes no sense to me. I don’t understand how a person can be so broken and hold so much anger in their heart that they could hurt something so innocent.
Dante leans in and presses his lips to my forehead.
“I’m proud of you. Thank you for giving me a son.” His whispered words fill my heart with pride, happiness, and love. Then he turns to Harper and says, “And I can’t wait for our second child.”
Her smile is bright as she looks between Dante and me. We didn’t plan who would have the first child, it just happened to be me. Life only affords us so many choices, the rest is decided by chance and fate.
“Thank you,” I say to Dante, then turning to Harper, I repeat, “Thank you.”
“For what?” she asks me.
“For loving me,” I whisper as I try to swallow back the tears that are threatening to spill. “I’ve never felt true love before. I’ve never known what it’s like to be loved unconditionally until now, and it’s amazing.”
“I’ll always love you, little raindrop,” Dante tells me, and his eyes shimmer with a sparkling light I haven’t seen in a long while. “There is nothing in this world I want more than for us to finally have the life we deserve. No more pain and heartache. No more fear. We’ll move forward and build our lives together.”
There are moments when Dante’s tenderness leaves me speechless. And this is one of those times. I know he’ll be a wonderful father.
“And I’ll always love you too, sweets,” Harper tells me.
The overwhelming emotion taking hold of me is one I never thought was possible—it’s true happiness.
There were many times over the years, while I was locked away, I wanted to die. I wished the Reaper would pay me a visit, but he never came. Now I know why. I was meant to be here with these two amazing souls.
We’ve all walked through fire. We’ve been to Hell and back, and we’ve chosen to love anyway.
I look down at my son, our son, and as he wraps his tiny fingers around my thumb, my chest feels as if it’s about to explode. I didn’t think I could feel pure love like this. I love Dante and Harper, but that’s a different kind of love. With this tiny human in my arms, I feel a deeper, more profound connection. I know I would kill for him. And I’d do it with a smile on my face.
This is my family now. And no one can ever take it away from me. I’ve overcome, moved forward, and now I’m healing. It isn’t an overnight process, but with the love of Dante, Harper, and the sweet little boy in my arms, I know I’ll be okay.
I never believed escape was an option.
But I made it out. I survived.
And I’ve found love.
EPILOGUE - DANTE
FIVE YEARS LATER
A father.
I’m a father.
There have been so many times over the years when I’ve thought about Malcolm and wondered how he turned out to be so evil. As I watch Devon, our little boy, running around the garden with Milo the golden retriever chasing after him, I smile. His blue eyes are an exact match to mine. His little sister, Harley, is sitting on the blanket with Rayne and Harper.
We’ve been lucky enough to create a family. One that’s filled with love and happiness. There have been smiles, laughs, and squeals of excitement over the past few years. These are sounds I’m not used to. Growing up, I was accustomed to crying, screaming, and pain.
Making my way outside, I stop behind Harper and Rayne. They’re lounging at the pool while Devon is throwing the tennis ball for Milo. As the dog races for the toy, my son joins him and soon they’re off to the edge of the property, fighting over who gets to keep the ball.
Allowing Devon his independence and freedom, so his confidence grows, isn’t something that’s come naturally to me. It’s taken a few years for me not to lose my shit each time he wants to play outside.
I will always be protective of the ones I love, it’s in my nature, but with every job we complete, I know there’s one less bastard out in the world who can harm my family. I doubt we’ll ever be able to overcome all the evil out there, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to keep on trying.
“Dad!” Devon calls to me.