All Chapters of After My Last Breath: Chapter 281 - Chapter 287

I blink at her, momentarily forgetting everything else.I never taught her that.Not once. Not yet.Then… where did she hear it?Did Nora call him that in front of the girls? Or did Cora simply decide on her own that Griffin had earned that title? Or did Griffin…?I steal a quick glance toward Vera, wondering if she feels the same.She doesn’t react.She’s too busy stacking her building blocks into a crooked little tower.My thoughts spiral before I can stop them.Do I want my daughters to call Griffin Daddy?The question catches me completely off guard. A few months ago, I would’ve said no without even thinking. Damon was still their father, no matter how badly he’d failed them. And Griffin and I were, well, only physically intimate and not emotionally.But now…I don’t know.Griffin has been there for them through every nightmare. He sat beside Cora’s hospital bed. He carried Vera when she refused to let anyone else touch her. He stayed awake through countless nights just to make sur

My fingers clench into fists so hard that my knuckles ache.I know I don’t have the right to be jealous. I know it’s my own damn fault. But what right does he have to take what’s mine?What right does he have to let my daughters call him Dad?Cora and Vera are my daughters. Mine. Not his.I turn to Elara, and she seems to be looking at Griffin, too. And not like the neighbor she told me he was—or the doctor treating Cora—but something else. Something more. Something that… just thinking about it makes me want to throw up.Griffin sets the girls down and looks over at me. His smile softens into a calm, polite expression, but there’s a protective flicker in his eyes as he steps slightly in front of them.“I didn’t know we had guests,” he says, the corner of his mouth tipping up, looking even more smug than last time.He doesn’t even try to hide it. The smugness. The superiority. The satisfaction of having what I can’t have. He’s basking in my misery, and he’s enjoying every second of it.

[Elara]It’s like getting hit by a damn train.One moment, I’m standing my ground, arms crossed, telling myself this is just sex, that we’re just two adults getting what we need. The next, I’m on my back, and Griffin is a solid, warm weight on top of me, a force of nature I have no hope of resisting.Mine. Forever.The words hang in the air between us, heavy and absolute.A part of me, the part that’s spent years building walls around my heart, wants to laugh. To push him away and remind him who I am. Elara Gordon. The woman who survived the Blackwoods. The Grahams. The woman who doesn’t belong to anyone.She can’t.But that part of me is a whisper now. Drowned out by the roaring in my ears, the frantic thud of my own heart against my ribs. Because as I look up at him, at the raw, unguarded determination in his eyes, I don’t feel trapped. I feel… seen.He’s not looking at the Blackwoods’ cast-off wife. He’s not looking at the vengeful woman plotting her next move. He’s looking at me.

I blink, momentarily confused. “You had yours?”“Yes,” she says. “I had one. At the shop. Daddy Griffin let me taste the strawberry one.”I look over at Griffin, who has just walked back into the living room with a wet paper towel in his hand. He’s cleaning up the melted ice cream from the floor, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips.“Thanks,” I whisper, my throat suddenly tight.He doesn’t look up, but I can see the muscles in his jaw tighten. “She’s a smart kid,” he says, his voice low and a little rough. “She knew you’d want one too.”I can’t help but smile. It’s the first time Vera has ever offered me anything without me having to ask for it. It’s the first time she’s ever communicated her thoughts so clearly, so directly. It’s a small victory, but it feels huge.“Well, thank you, sweetie. I appreciate it.”I take a small lick of the ice cream, the sweet, creamy flavor exploding on my tongue. It’s been a while since I’ve had ice cream, and I’ve forgotten how good it can be.