(Scarlett’s POV)
The look in Virginia’s eyes is not just anger or jealousy–it’s something darker. Something that makes my instincts scream danger.
I tighten my hold on Lily, but she squirms in my arms, reaching toward ir and James with that innocent smile that breaks hearts.
“Grandma! Grandpa!” she calls out. “I’m so happy to see you again!”
ir’s sob echoes through the bakery. Her hands shake as she covers her mouth, staring at Lily like she’s seeing a miracle.
“Oh my God,” she whispers. “She called us… she called us…”
“Grandma and Grandpa,” Lily repeats, still wiggling in my arms.
James takes a step forward, his stern expression cracking. For the first time since they walked in here, he looks at a loss for words, as unsure of what to say.
“She’s beautiful,” he says finally, his voice thick with emotion. “She looks exactly like you did at that age. The same eyes, the same-*
“She looks like me because she’s my daughter.”
“But her father-”
“Isn’t part of this conversation.”
“Can I hug them, Mama?” Lily looks at me with those big brown eyes that are so much like her father’s it physically hurts.
Every fiber of my being says no. Every protective instinct I’ve developed over the past four years tells me to run, to get her away from these people who already hurt us once.
But the hope in her voice, the pure joy on her face…
“Lily-”
Before I can finish, she’s squirming out of my arms and running straight to ir, who drops to her knees just in time to catch her.
“Oh, sweetheart,” ir cries, wrapping her arms around Lily like she’s afraid she might disappear. “My beautiful girl.”
< Chapter 33
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Lily hugs her back without hesitation, that generous heart of hers not knowing she should be cautious. Not knowing these people broke her mother’s heart and left us with nothing.
“I missed you,” Lily says simply. “Mama and I looked for you at the store, but you were gone.”
“We missed you too, little one.” ir’s voice breaks on the words. “So much.”
James steps closer, his hand hovering over Lily’s hair like he wants to touch her but doesn’t dare. When she looks up at him with that radiant smile, something in his face just crumbles.
“Can you hug Grandpa too?” he asks.
James doesn’t wait for permission this time. He drops down beside ir and pulls Lily into his arms, his eyes squeezed shut tight.
“She’s perfect,” he whispers, and I hate how much those words affect me.
I hate how much I want this for her. Want her to have grandparents who love her, who spoil her, who give her all the things I can’t.
But I also remember thest time I trusted these people with something precious to me.
“Lily.” My voice cuts through the moment like ss. “Come here, baby.”
She looks up at me, confused by the sharp edge in my tone. “But Mama-‘
“Now.”
Something in my voice makes her obey. She reluctantly pulls away from James and ir, who both look like they’ve been physically wounded.
I lift her back into my arms, holding her closer this time.
“These people aren’t your grandparents,” I say clearly, loud enough for everyone to hear.
ir gasps like I’ve pped her.
“Scarlett-” James starts.
“We’re not rted by blood,” I continue, ignoring him. “They’re just… old friends of Mama’s.”
“But they said-” Lily begins, confused.
“They made a mistake.” I meet James’s eyes over her head, letting him see exactly how serious I am. “Sometimes adults say things they don’t mean.”
The silence that follows is brutal.
< Chapter 33
ir is crying openly now, her hands pressed to her mouth like she’s trying to hold back
scream. James’s face has gone from soft to stone cold, the grandfather disappearing and the businessman taking his ce,
“How dare you,” he says quietly.
“How dare I what? Protect my daughter from people who will abandon her the moment something betteres along?”
“We would never-”
“You already did.” I adjust Lily in my arms, feeling her small body tense with confusion. “To me. And I won’t let you do it to her.”
“But Mama,” Lily whispers against my ear. “They were so nice. They bought me ice cream and yed with me when I was scared.”
The innocent words hit me like bullets. Of course they were nice to her. Of course they showed her the love and attention they used to show me.
Before they decided I wasn’t worth it anymore.
“I know, baby. But sometimes people aren’t who they seem to be.”
James’s face flushes red with anger. “We are her family, Scarlett. Whether you like it or not,
she’s our granddaughter.”
“No.” My voice is steel. “She’s my daughter. Mine alone.”
“She’s Jasper’s too,” ir says through her tears. “You can’t keep her from her father’s family.”
“Watch me.”
The words hang in the air like a challenge. James takes a step toward me, and for a moment, I think he might actually try to take Lily from my arms.
But then he stops, his eyes flicking to the customers who are still watching this drama
unfold.
“This isn’t over,” he says, echoing Virginia’s earlier threat.
“Yes, it is.” I turn away from them, done with this conversation. “Lily, say goodbye to the nice people.”
“But Mama-”
“Say goodbye, Lily.”
317
< Chapter 33
She waves sadly over my shoulder. “Bye, Grandma. Bye, Grandpa.” <fnf0fa> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? find(?)ovel</fnf0fa>
The sound ir makes is inhuman.
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I carry Lily toward the kitchen, not looking back, not letting myself feel guilty for the pain I’m. causing. They made their choice four years ago. Now I’m making mine.
Behind me, I hear movement. Footsteps. The rustle of clothes and quiet, angry voices.
“Come on, ir,” James says roughly. “Let’s go.”
“But she’s our-<b>” </b>
“She’s nothing to us if Scarlett won’t let her be.”
The words are meant to hurt me, but they don’t. They just prove I’m making the right choice.
I pause at the kitchen door, Lily’s weight warm andforting in my arms. Part of me wants to turn around, to look back onest time.
But I don’t.
The bell above the door chimes as they leave, taking their broken dreams and wounded pride with them.
I think it’s over until I hear the soft click of heels on my floor.
Virginia.
I turn around slowly, still holding Lily, and find her standing in the middle of my bakery like she owns it.
“That was cruel,” she says softly.
“That was necessary.”
“Was it? They love her.”
“They loved me too. Until you came back.”
Virginia tilts her head, studying Lily with that same calcting look from before. Something about the intensity of her stare makes my blood run cold.
“She looks just like him,” Virginia says quietly. “Just like Jasper when he was little.”
My heart stops.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
< Chapter 33
“Don’t you?” Virginia’s smile is poison–sweet. “I’ve seen his baby pictures, Scarlett. The resemnce is… unmistakable,”
“Get out.”
“She has his eyes. His stubborn chin. Even the way she scrunches her nose when she’s thinking.” Virginia takes a step closer. “How long do you think it will be before he sees it too?”
“Get. Out.”
But Virginia doesn’t move. Instead, she looks at Lily one more time, and the expression on her face makes my stomach turn.
It’s not hatred or jealousy this time.
It’s fear.
Pure, desperate fear.
Then she turns and walks out of my bakery, leaving me standing there with my daughter in my arms and ice water in my veins.
(Virginia’s POV)
My hands shake as I get into my car. The image of that little girl–Jasper’s little girl–burned into my brain like a brand.
I’ve known for months. Ever since I saw the first article about Scarlett’s bakery, with that photo of a dark–haired child running through the background. I had my suspicions, but seeing her in person…
There’s no denying it now<i>. </i>
That child is Jasper’s daughter.
She has his eyes, his smile, his stubborn little chin. She looks exactly like the photos I hid of him as a child, back when we were still at the orphanage, and thought I would be his future wife.
I press my hands to my face, trying to stop the panic wing at my chest.
This is a disaster. An absolute disaster.
If Jasper sees her–when he sees her–everything I’ve worked for will be gone. He’ll take one look at that perfect little face and remember why he married Scarlett in the first ce. He’ll remember what he lost when she left.
< Chapter 33
He’ll remember what I took from him.
No.
I grip the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.
No, I won’t let that happen. I can’t let that happen.
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I’ve spent four years building a life with Jasper. Four years being the woman he turns to when he’s lonely or tired or frustrated. I’ve been patient, supportive, understanding.
I’ve been everything Scarlett never was.
But none of that will matter if he sees that child.
Because that little girl isn’t just his daughter.
She’s proof that Scarlett gave birth to his child. Proof that she raised his baby for four years on her own. Proof that my lies cost him his child, that he failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a father.
As a husband.
My phone buzzes with a text. Jasper.
<i>How </i><i>did </i><i>it </i><i>go</i><i>? </i><i>Is </i><i>she </i><i>willing </i><i>to listen</i><i>? </i>
I stare at the message, my mind racing. What do I tell him? How do I exin that his ex–wife has been raising his daughter for four years without him knowing?
How do I exin that I knew and never told him?
My fingers hover over the keyboard, then I delete the text without responding.
I need time to think. Time to figure out how to handle this.
Because I’m not losing Jasper. Not to Scarlett, not to some child he doesn’t even know
exists.
I’vee too far to give up now.
Scarlett thinks she’s so clever, keeping her daughter hidden away. She thinks she’s protecting
her.
But she has no idea what I’m capable of when I’m desperate.
And right now, I’m more desperate than I’ve ever been in my life.
< Chapter 33
The little girl’s face shes in my memory again–those brown eyes so much like her father’s, that innocent smile that could destroy everything I’ve built.
She’s beautiful. Perfect. Everything a father could want in a daughter.
Which is exactly why she has to go.
I reach for my phone and dial a number I haven’t used in years.
“It’s me,” I say when the gravelly voice answers. “I have a job for you.”
“What kind of job?”
“One that will fill your pocket for life if you get the job done.”