Page 157 of Broken Destiny

She had knelt in the mud, wiped noses, kissed scraped knees, and laughed until her sides hurt. She had made chaos feel like home.

And somewhere along the way, I had started to believe that kind of life was possible for me too… with her and her children.

Now it felt like a dream I had woken up from too late.

How did everything that happened over the past weeks with Jiya and the children lead here… to so much pain and hurt?

Dropping the children back at the hotel that afternoon, I parked the car and stepped out slowly, the weight of the impending goodbye pressing down on me.

I walked around to their side and knelt in front of them.

“I’m gonna miss you both,” I said, pulling them into a tight embrace and kissing each of them on the cheek.

I meant every word.

In that second, I made a decision.

I wouldn’t continue working on the project anymore. I would hand it off to one of the managers at headquarters and remove myself completely. Distance was the only way to protect what remained of my sanity.

“Will you never come to see us again?” Lucas asked softly.

I swallowed hard before answering. “I don’t think it will be possible, buddy. You guys will go back to the Island, and I’ll be here with my family.”

“Come see us,” Emma said, reaching up to touch my face with her chubby little hands.

I wished I could promise her that I would. I wished I could lie. But I had already made too many promises in my life that I couldn’t keep.

“I can’t promise you,” I said. “But if I’m ever around the area, I’ll pop in.”

I hugged them again, holding on just a second longer, as if trying to imprint their presence into my memory.

Then I straightened and watched them walk into the hotel lobby, their small figures disappearing.

The glass doors slid shut behind them.

A hollow ache spread through my chest as I watched them disappear.

For the first time, it felt like goodbye.

The realization hit me with brutal force, stealing the air from my lungs and leaving me standing there, motionless, my heart broken into a million pieces.

43

JIYA

My phone kept buzzing with messages from Geeta while I was having lunch with Harper. He had taken me to Granville Island.

“It’ll take your mind off things,” he had said to me in the car while driving there.

Beautiful views, artisan vendors, and quaint shops made it a charming spot, but sightseeing was the last thing on my mind. My thoughts stayed fixed on the hotel, on Caleb, on everything that could go wrong.

I silently prayed that Lucas wouldn’t mention Harper spending the night at the hotel. Even though nothing inappropriate had happened, I knew how easily appearances could be misunderstood—especially now.

“Miss, would you like to try some fresh lobster and smoked salmon?” a girl in her early teens asked, handing Harper and me a paper plate with free samples.

“Thank you,” I replied, taking a small bite.

“So I’ll come to pick you up at about half-past six in the evening on Friday?”