LOGINChapter 534Her presence still carried something bittersweet for me. There had been a time when I couldn't imagine having a relationship with her that wasn't poisoned by the circumstances surrounding us. But people could change. Families could change.Sometimes healing didn't mean pretending the past had never happened. Sometimes it meant deciding that the past would no longer control the future.Cass caught my eye. She smiled and I smiled back. That was enough.Nathan suddenly lifted his glass."Everyone."The conversations gradually faded.The children didn't pay much attention. Athena was already chasing Luca again while the twins followed behind them.Nathan looked around the garden."I know we've all had enough speeches over the years," he said, making several people laugh. "But I think we deserve one more."I smiled.He continued."We have all lost something."The garden became quieter."Some of us lost people. Some lost years. Some lost trust. Some lost pieces of ourselves."Hi
Chapter 533She was sitting beneath one of the garden lights, watching Carmen and Lucian's son race around with Athena.She looked peaceful. Healthy. Happy.There was something deeply beautiful about seeing her like that. After everything she had endured, she deserved this. She deserved ordinary evenings. She deserved laughter. She deserved grandchildren running around her. She deserved a life that wasn't defined by what had been taken from her.Nathan noticed where I was looking, "She's happy," he said quietly.I nodded, "She is.""And so are you."I looked at him."I am."He smiled."Good."I leaned my head against his shoulder.Happiness was ordinary. And after everything I had survived, ordinary felt extraordinary.I looked toward Athena again. She had stopped running.Luca stood beside her, apparently explaining something very important."What are you two talking about?" I called.Athena looked toward me."Mommy!"She immediately ran toward me. I set my glass on the nearby table
Chapter 532Athena turned around while still moving and laughed."I won't!""You always say that!""I won't fall this time!"Luca shook his head with the seriousness of a little man twice his age.From where I stood, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.A few steps behind them, Ava and Liam's three-year-old twins were struggling to keep up. Their tiny legs moved as quickly as they could, their laughter filling the garden whenever one of them stumbled and the other stopped to wait.Carmen stood nearby, watching Luca with an amused expression."That's your son," I teased her.She looked at me and laughed softly. "Unfortunately, yes. He has decided he's responsible for everyone."Lucian slipped an arm around her shoulders."He's your son when he's being protective," he said. "When he starts causing trouble, suddenly he's mine."Carmen gave him an incredulous look."You have been saying that for five years.""And I'll continue saying it for another five."They laughed.I watched them for
Chapter 531I slipped my hand into Nathan's. He held it. And for a few quiet seconds, we simply watched.I thought about my father. About everything he had lost. About everything he had hoped his family would one day become.His hospital had grown beyond anything he had built during his lifetime. I had expanded it internationally, carrying his name and his vision into places I had once never imagined reaching.People now knew me as one of the most respected surgeons in the city. They knew my work. They knew the hospital. They knew the success.But when I stood in my garden and watched my daughter laughing with the people she loved, none of those achievements mattered as much as this moment.My greatest accomplishment wasn't the hospital. It wasn't my career. It wasn't the wealth that had come with everything we had built. It was standing here.Alive. With my family.Nathan gently squeezed my hand."What are you thinking about?"I looked at him and smiled."How lucky I am."His express
Chapter 530A little later, the garden became even louder.Ava and Liam arrived with gifts, and not long after that, Lucian and Carmen returned as well.The moment Luca saw his parents, he ran straight toward them."Mom!"Carmen bent down and caught him in her arms."There you are."Luca wrapped his arms around her."I missed you."Carmen kissed his forehead."I missed you too."Lucian stood beside them, smiling."Did you behave while we were gone?"Luca immediately pointed toward Athena."She made us play her game."Athena protested from across the garden."It was a good game!"Lucian laughed."Then I suppose you had a good time.""We did," Luca admitted.Carmen looked toward me.Her smile softened."Look at them."I followed her gaze.Athena was sitting on the grass while the twins surrounded her. Luca stood beside them, apparently explaining some complicated rule that only he understood.I smiled."They're inseparable."Carmen nodded."Luca talks about Athena constantly."I looked
Chapter 529Before he could say anything else, a loud shout came from downstairs."Mommy!"I laughed."That's my cue."Nathan chuckled.We left the room together. By the time we reached the dining area, Mom was already there, arranging breakfast plates across the table.She looked toward the garden doors with an expression of complete exhaustion."I have one question," she said.I smiled."What?""How can four children make the noise of twenty?"Nathan laughed beside me. Mom immediately pointed at him."Don't laugh. You are partly responsible."Nathan placed a hand against his chest."Me?""Yes, you.""What did I do?"Mom shook her head."You taught Athena how to sneak cookies from the kitchen."Nathan looked at me."That information was supposed to remain confidential."I burst out laughing.Mom folded her arms."And you wonder why she thinks she can do anything she wants."Nathan smiled innocently."I have no idea what you're talking about.""Of course you don't."Before the convers







