Page 99 of Broken Destiny

A smile tugged at my lips despite the seriousness of the moment.

“That’s some good advice she gave you there,” I admitted.

Lucas nodded seriously.

“Are we okay now?” I asked.

He looked at me for another second before tilting his head slightly.“Did you bring ice cream?”

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

“I’ll fix that right now,” I said, pulling my phone from my pocket.

I ordered delivery for ice cream and paid for the food when itarrived. Lucas stayed beside me the whole time, his small hands placing plates and spoons on the table. There was something comforting about the routine, about working together in a quiet kitchen that felt more like a…home.

A few minutes later, Geeta, Emma, and Jiya joined us at the table.

With Lucas’s help, I filled Milo and Oreo’s bowls with food and water before crouching to scratch behind their ears.

“I’m sorry to you two,” I said. “Can you forgive me?”

Milo nudged his nose into my palm while Oreo pressed his head into my hand, both of them accepting the apology far more easily than I deserved.

Then Lucas and I walked back to the table and sat down.

“Shall we eat?” I asked, looking around at everyone gathered at the table.

After everyone was served, I helped Lucas cut up his food while Jiya fed Emma beside him.

“How are you feeling now, Emma?” I asked softly.

“It hwurts,” she said, touching her head with her tiny fingers. “Big boo-boo.”

An ache spread through my chest at the sight of her vulnerability.

“Yes, I know. Your Mama told me,” I said gently. “She also said how brave you were when the doctor was fixing you up.”

A wide smile spread across her face.

“I was bwave,” she declared. “Mama gave Lucas and me chocolate after.”

“She did?” I asked, raising my brows playfully.

“Yes. KitKat and Smwarties.”

“Oh! That’s a lot,” I said, shaking my head with mock seriousness. “You don’t have any space left for ice cream after supper, do you?”

“Ice cream!” she shrieked. “Yes! Yes!”

A roar of laughter erupted around the table.

Emma chattered excitedly about ice cream, but my mind kept drifting back to earlier that day.

I had spent the entire morning trying to reach Jiya after she failed to show up for the meeting we had prepared for together. At first,frustration had been the only thing driving me. Jiya never ignored my calls, and with every unanswered ring, irritation had coiled tighter inside my chest.

Liam insisted something must have happened, telling me she was probably caught up with something unexpected, and his words had slowly shifted my frustration into worry. Because beneath my annoyance, something about the silence didn’t feel right.

Jiya would have at least sent a message.