Page 86 of Broken Destiny

The letter in my pocket served as a constant reminder of why I should have stayed away from her entirely.

Yet, something inside me had begun to shift.

Working with her, seeing her regularly at the office and in her home, had forced me to reconsider everything I thought I knew. There were too many contradictions.

Nothing aligned cleanly anymore.

The more time I spent with her, the more convinced I became that something else must have happened all those years ago… something I had not seen, something I had not understood, something that had changed everything before she disappeared from my life.

And I intended to uncover the truth, no matter where it led and what it cost me.

27

CALEB

Bright balloons lined the fence, superhero banners fluttering in the warm afternoon breeze. A massive inflatable slide towered in one corner while tables covered in blue and red tablecloths overflowed with superhero plates, cups, and decorations that screamed Lucas.

Children in masks and capes ran across the grass, their laughter mixing with the music, drifting softly through the yard.

At the centre of it all stood a long table stacked with gifts, and right in the middle sat a tall Superman cake frosted in bright blue and red. The familiar “S” emblem gleamed across the top while candles flickered in front of Lucas.

Everyone around him had already started singing Happy Birthday.

Wait a minute…

Was that Karl? Elle’s husband?

My grip tightened instinctively around the gift bag in my hand.

If Karl was here, that meant Elle was here too, which meant Jiya had stayed in contact with them this entire time.

How the hell had my PI missed that?

I stepped into the backyard just as Jiya leaned toward Lucas and said, “Don’t forget to make a wish, baby.”

Beside her, Emma stood on her toes with frosting already smeared across her cheek, her tiny fingers inching toward the cake the second nobody was looking.

Lucas squeezed his eyes shut tightly before leaning forward to blow out the candles while cheers erupted around him.

Then he cut the first slice.

He fed Emma first.

Then Jiya.

And the moment he turned toward the entrance, he froze.

“My wish came true!” he shouted suddenly, staring at me. “My wish came true!”

Before I could even react, he came running toward me with frosting still covering his fingers.

Heat radiated through my chest when I saw him running toward me.

I barely had time to drop to one knee before he slammed into me, throwing his arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around him automatically, holding him steady as his excitement nearly knocked us both over.

A quiet breath escaped me.

I had wanted to be there earlier, to see him walk into the surprise party, but the disappointment disappeared the second I held him.