Page 77 of Broken Destiny

As I stood there watching him walk away—from his daughter, from Lucas, whom he had once called his son, and from me, the woman he had once wanted to marry—I found myself questioning why I was feeling this way.

I had chosen to leave him and stay away from him because he had cheated on me. I had every reason to shut him out of my heart completely. I should not be yearning for him, or missing the comfort of his presence. After everything he had done, I should have been indifferent by now. I should have stopped caring long ago.

But I could not.

I never truly had, even though I’d tried with everything inside me to convince myself otherwise.

The past had been forgiven in silence, yet it had never been erased from memory.

A gentle breeze swept across the porch, brushing against my skin, while the wind chimes Cole had hung himself tinkled softly nearby.

My gaze drifted toward them as the memory surfaced.

Cole had been watching me as we sat on the porch sippingchaiwhile the dogs ran around with their toys.

“Can I ask you something?” he had asked, leaning back in his chair.

I’d laughed softly. “You always do.”

“What does your name mean? I’ve always wanted to know.”

It was the same question Caleb had asked me earlier that evening.

After I told him, Cole had smiled and said, “That makes sense, because that’s exactly what you are. You’re the heart of this family.”

The memory lingered for a moment, wrapping around me before slowly fading back into the present.

The evening replayed in my mind, and I chewed on a fingernail.

I did not want my children to grow attached to Caleb, only to have him disappear from their lives, this time because of another woman. And most of all, I could not allow my own heart to walk down that road once more.

Why am I even thinking about Caleb?

I was Cole’s wife.

I was Cole’s widow.

The food in my stomach turned, and the back of my throat hurt.

Cole was still everywhere—in this house, in our children’s laughter, in the life we had built together. He had loved me without suspicion or conditions, accepting every part of me without question.

I miss you, Cole.

Slowly, I closed the door behind me.

I set the security alarm, and then turned toward the hallway and walked upstairs to my bedroom, carrying my thoughts with me into the silence of the night.

I had grown usedto seeing Caleb in the office for meetings every three or four days. Bi-weekly site inspections were taking place to make sure the construction timeline was being followed.

To make sure Liam did not accidentally slip out any information, I walked into his office one day with a clear purpose in mind.

“I need to speak to you,” I said in a serious tone.

I knew that sooner or later, he might say something to Caleb without realizing the consequences, and I did not want to be caught off guard. My pulse quickened as the words gathered at the edge of my tongue.

“Caleb is Emma’s?—”

“Father.”