جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

2 weeks laterValerieI finish at the office and drive over to Freya’s school to pick her up for the day. This is only the third week, but she’s smiling again, and every teacher tells me what a delight Freya is to have in the school. It fills my heart hearing how well she’s adjusted to a new school after such a rough first year. “Mommy!” Freya calls as they walk the students out of the building for pickup. The teachers check I.D.s then send the child to their adult. Picking this school was easier than I originally thought. Anton did the research and found me three, then I took Freya to each school for a tour. We went home, and at dinner we discussed what we liked and didn’t like about each school, and honestly, it boiled down to the school Freya wanted to attend most. If we feel the curriculum is lacking, then we can get her a tutor or put in some work ourselves. When it was finally her turn to come, she ran to me but slowed down to hug me. She’s extra careful with how she

Freya“Hey, baby girl, I have something for you,” Mommy says gently as she comes into my room. I sit up in bed, rubbing my eyes to stop the tears from coming out. “Look, Anton sent a special phone so you can call Lincoln. And he had Ethan give Lincoln a special phone as well.”“He did?” I ask, trying not to cry anymore.“Yeah. I just talked to Lincoln, and he’s waiting for your call. He wants to talk about the book he sent you in the mail,” she tells me. “I know he’s probably making dinner right now, so you may hear Aurelia talking, but he promises he wants to talk to you.”“Okay,” I say. Mommy presses the button on the phone, and the video call begins to ring. When I see Daddy Lincoln’s face, I feel better. “Daddy, are you safe?”“Hey, Angel. Yes, I am very safe. I am at home, and your friend Ethan says he is watching to keep me safe, and because you trust Ethan, I trust Ethan.”“He’s nice. He just looks scary,” I tell him. “Daddy, I love you.”“I love you, baby. Hey, M

ValerieWatching my husband and daughter play together in the pool brings me joy. I’m hopeful that next week will go well, and we can reconnect her with Lincoln’s side of the family. She’s dealt with so much in this past year; I’m happy that she’s finally making the strides she is. I worry her relationship with my family is going to change once our little guy is born. I swear to God if my parents hurt my daughter, all hell is going to break loose. I pick up my phone and walk out of the pool room. I step into Anton’s home office, lock the door, find a seat, and call Hudson. “Hey sis, what’s up?”“If they even hint at treating Freya differently because she’s not a Romano by blood, I’m shooting them,” I warn as tears begin to prick in my eyes. “She can’t handle that, Hudson. Promise me, they won’t.”“I think you are overthinking this.”“Hudson, you saw what they have been trying to do about our wedding!” I cut him off. “I married him because I love him and have dreamed of marry

LincolnFreya walks down the stairs with an air of confidence and something else I haven’t noticed before. She stops at the bottom of the stairs, looks directly at Aurelia, and smirks before walking towards Anton. “We’ll show them the pool area and where they can get changed, then we will get changed,” Anton tells her.“Okay, Daddy.” She turns to look at me. I stopped near my mom and Aurelia, and I saw a flash of something cross Freya’s face. I don’t fully know what to name it, as it’s not a look I’ve seen before. She locks eyes with me. “Come see the pool Daddy Anton built for me,” she announces to the whole room, but her eyes tell me she’s speaking to me.We follow her and Anton into the kitchen, where Valerie is working on prepping the sides for dinner. Anton detours to kiss Valerie as if she’s a magnet drawing him in. “Let Lucia do the rest. Your guests have arrived, and our daughter has worked herself into a fury that needs to be monitored before it flares up again,” Anto

FreyaI walk back into the pool room and see my mommy floating on a noodle near the diving board, while Aurelia and Grammy are still walking around. I run over to the bin of pool toys and dig out the rings and fish I use for diving practice. Then I enter the pool using the stairs and walk over to Aurelia and Grammy. “Aurelia, I am very sorry for being rude. I’m still angry with you for pushing me off the swing and calling me all those mean names. But Daddy Lincoln says you are my cousin, and family should forgive mistakes. Will you forgive me for being rude today?” “It’s okay. I was very mean to you and hurt you really badly. I’m sorry I pushed you off the swing that day. I didn’t mean to make you bleed. My mommy told me I had to push you and tell a lie so Lincoln would want to keep seeing me. Are we really cousins?”“Well, Grammy adopted your Mommy when she was a teenager, and that made her and Lincoln brother and sister. Because they are brother and sister, your mommy i