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Chapter 49

Author: Cold Storm
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-10 00:14:52

"Are you nervous?" I asked Sam as we sat in the courthouse hallway, waiting for our case to be called.

"A little."

"About what?"

"About talking to the judge. What if I say something wrong?"

"You won't say anything wrong. Just tell the truth."

"What if the truth isn't good enough?"

Thomas leaned forward in his chair. "Sam, the truth is that you want me to be your dad legally, and I want to be your dad legally. That's all the judge needs to hear."

"But what about my birth certificate and stuff? Will it still say Alex is my father?"

"No," our lawyer, Mrs. Patterson, said, joining our conversation. "Once the adoption is finalized, you'll get a new birth certificate with Thomas listed as your father. It'll be like he was always your dad from the beginning."

"Really?"

"Really."

Sam considered this. "Will I still be Sam Harrison?"

"That's up to you," Thomas said. "You can keep Harrison, or you can change it to Reid, or you can hyphenate it. Whatever you want."

"What do you want?
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  • Divorcing my dead sister’s husband    Chapter 51

    "You look like you're about to throw up," Thomas said, finding me in the kitchen staring at an email on my phone. "I might." "What's wrong?" I turned the phone toward him. "Read this." Thomas took the phone and scrolled through the email, his eyebrows rising. "Holy shit, Daniela. They're offering you a partnership?" "Language," I said automatically, even though Maya was napping and Sam was at school. "Sorry. Holy crap. They're offering you a partnership?" "Full partnership. My name on the door, profit sharing, the works." "That's incredible. Why do you look like someone died?" I sat down at the kitchen table and put my head in my hands. "Because I don't know if I want it." "What do you mean you don't know if you want it? This is what you've been working toward for years." "Is it?" Thomas sat down across from me. "Talk to me. What's going on in your head?" "Everything. Nothing. I don't know." I looked up at him. "When I started at the firm, partnership was the goal. It was

  • Divorcing my dead sister’s husband    Chapter 50

    The gavel came down, and it was official. Sam launched himself at Thomas, who caught him in a bear hug that lasted a full minute. "I love you, Dad," Sam said, and Thomas started crying. "I love you too, son." I joined their hug, and for a moment, we just stood there in the middle of the courtroom, holding each other and crying happy tears. "Congratulations," Judge Williams said, coming down from the bench. "I've been doing this for twenty years, and that essay is one of the most moving things I've ever heard in my courtroom." "Thank you," I said. "For everything." "It was my pleasure. You have a wonderful family." Outside the courthouse, we took pictures on the steps. Sam couldn't stop grinning, and neither could Thomas. "How does it feel?" I asked Sam. "Different. Good different. Like everything just became more official." "You're Sam Reid now." "I'm Sam Reid now." "And Thomas?" "Best day of my life," he said, still emotional. "Except for the day I married you and the da

  • Divorcing my dead sister’s husband    Chapter 49

    "Are you nervous?" I asked Sam as we sat in the courthouse hallway, waiting for our case to be called. "A little." "About what?" "About talking to the judge. What if I say something wrong?" "You won't say anything wrong. Just tell the truth." "What if the truth isn't good enough?" Thomas leaned forward in his chair. "Sam, the truth is that you want me to be your dad legally, and I want to be your dad legally. That's all the judge needs to hear." "But what about my birth certificate and stuff? Will it still say Alex is my father?" "No," our lawyer, Mrs. Patterson, said, joining our conversation. "Once the adoption is finalized, you'll get a new birth certificate with Thomas listed as your father. It'll be like he was always your dad from the beginning." "Really?" "Really." Sam considered this. "Will I still be Sam Harrison?" "That's up to you," Thomas said. "You can keep Harrison, or you can change it to Reid, or you can hyphenate it. Whatever you want." "What do you want?

  • Divorcing my dead sister’s husband    Chapter 48

    Thomas rolled over so he was looking down at me. "You want to know what I think about when I look at you?""What?""I think about how you look when you're feeding Maya at three in the morning, all soft and sleepy and beautiful. I think about how you look when you're helping Sam with homework, patient and encouraging even when you're tired. I think about how you looked walking down the aisle toward me four days ago.""I looked terrified.""You looked perfect.""Thomas—""I'm not done. I think about how you look right now, in my arms, in our bed, worrying about whether you're enough for me when you're everything I've ever wanted."I felt tears prick my eyes. "Really?""Really.""I love you so much it scares me sometimes.""Good. Love should be a little scary.""Why?""Because it means it matters."I kissed him then, pouring all my love and gratitude and relief into it. He was right—love should be scary. But it should also be safe, and warm, and exactly like this.The next morning, I wok

  • Divorcing my dead sister’s husband    Chapter 47

    "Are you sure you'll be okay with both of them?" I asked Janet for the fifth time as Thomas loaded our bags into the car."Daniela, I raised three kids. I think I can handle two for three days.""But Maya's still nursing every few hours, and Sam gets nightmares sometimes, and—""And I have your phone number, the hotel number, and strict instructions to call if anything goes wrong." Janet took Maya from my arms and bounced her gently. "Go. Have fun. Remember what that feels like.""What if she won't take the bottle?""Then I'll call you.""What if Sam has a meltdown about something?""Then I'll handle it.""What if—""Daniela." Thomas appeared beside me, car keys in hand. "We're going to the lake house for three days, not Europe for three weeks. If there's an emergency, we can be back in two hours.""I know. I just—""Just what?""I've never left Maya for more than a few hours.""Which is exactly why you need this," Janet said. "You two haven't had a single night alone since she was bo

  • Divorcing my dead sister’s husband    Chapter 46

    I woke up at five-thirty in the morning to Maya crying and immediately thought, "This is it. This is my wedding day."The second thought was, "Oh God, what if she's getting sick?""She's fine," Thomas mumbled into his pillow. "She's just hungry.""But what if she has a fever? What if she's cranky all day? What if she screams during the ceremony?"Thomas rolled over and looked at me with sleepy eyes. "Then she screams during the ceremony. She's three months old, Daniela. No one's going to judge her for being a baby."I picked up Maya and settled her against my chest. She immediately stopped crying and started rooting around, looking for breakfast."Okay, but what if the weather's bad? It's supposed to rain.""It's not going to rain.""How do you know?""Because it's our wedding day, and the universe owes us one."I looked out the window at the gray morning sky. "It looks like it's going to rain.""It's six in the morning. It always looks like it's going to rain at six in the morning."

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