Page 57 of Broken Destiny

Each response came out flat and minimal, like doors closing one after another, shutting me out.

I exhaled slowly, realizing the conversation was not going anywhere.

For so long, I had worried about him, about whether Jiya had abandoned him the way I once believed, about whether he had been left to face the world alone. But now, watching the way he carried himself, the way he stayed close to her, the way Geeta hovered nearby with quiet attentiveness, I could see the truth unfolding right in front of me.

She had stayed and taken care of him.

“Great,” I said, forcing a small smile as I glanced around, searching for something else to say. “I’ll let you go so you can enjoy the fair.”

I stood up slowly, brushing sand from my hands with a quiet sigh.

Just as I turned to walk back, Lucas spoke again, his voice barely audible. “Are you going to be here for a while?”

The question stopped me in my tracks.

I looked down at him as my heartbeat raced with his question.

Then, I knelt again so we were face-to-face.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” I explained. “But I’ll be back from time to time since I’m working with your mom on a new project.”

“Hmm… okay,” he said with a small shrug.

We walked back together toward Jiya, Geeta, and Emma.

As the distance between us closed, I felt a strange shift inside me, changing the direction of everything I thought I understood about her, about the past, and about the story I had been telling myself for years.

This is not what I expected.

17

JIYA

The following weekend, Karena came to visit the children and me. She arrived with several shopping bags in her hands, filled with gifts and clothes for them.

Lucas and Emma saw the colourful packages, and their faces lit up. They yelped and ran toward her.

“This is too much,” I said, shaking my head with a small smile as I watched them tear into the bags. “You’re spoiling them.”

“Of course I am,” Karena replied, her eyes shining. “I want to spoil them. They are my grandchildren.”

Her words hung in the air.

“Sorry,” she said quietly, looking at me.

I knew exactly why she had apologized.

I still hadn’t told the children yet who she really was. Lucas barely remembered her from that brief introduction years ago, and to Emma, she was simply another friendly adult bringing presents and attention. It was going to take time to build trust, time to form a bond, time to help them understand the truth about who she was and what role she hoped to play in their lives.

“It’s all right,” I said gently, placing my hand over hers. “I know you didn’t mean any harm. It’s just going to take time, that’s all.”

“I understand,” Karena replied, nodding. “And I am willing, if you are.”

“I am, too,” I said, meeting her gaze.

This was going to be the start of a journey—one that wouldn’t be easy, one that would require patience and forgiveness—but a journey worth taking.

Watching Lucas and Emma interact with Karena, I was reminded of how upset Lucas had been that day at the fair.