Page 135 of Broken Destiny

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 feeldifferently 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 checkedinto 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.