Chapter 86
TARA
Considering the duration of my pregnancy and Nadia’s eight and a half years, I hadn’t seen my mother in close to a decade, and I hadn’t heard one word about her or anything relating to Attica puck except Adian.
My father too, but from the memory of a loaded shotgun pointed at my head and the fury I’d seen in his eyes, I doubted if my father still wanted anything to do with me even after all this time.
Buck then, one of the reasons why I’d contemplated not keeping my baby–an unthinkable thing to me now–was the fact that my mom was constantly sick, and my father was barely making enough to take care of us and her medical needs, talk more of a kid.
It started with muscle problems, before morphing into high blood pressure, and eventually, symptoms of something more dreadful. I had no idea how bad things had gotten, if Mom was better, or if she was…..
I shook the thought off my mind, I believed in the power of the mind, so I didn’t want to conjure up any bad news for my family.
The events of the last few months had shown me that life was fragile, and every moment was precious, Nadia had been alive for over eight years, and more than once, she has expressed how much she wanted more family, even though she was too young to understand.
Esme and Jenna did an exceptional job at filling in as her grandma and aunt, but was that enough when Nadia had a real family somewhere else?
Did I really want to rob her of the chance to see her real grandparents when they were still alive only to regret my actions when they passed at an unexpected time?
I didn’t really want to live with such a memory or secret
That wasn’t all.
I missed my mother too.
I missed her smile, her fierceness, and her dedication to everything she did. She wasn’t easily swayed in her thoughts, and she was still loved by so many. She was my best friend, and I wanted to hear her laugh again. I wanted her to know that I was okay at least, and have her meet her only grandbaby
yet.
So it was with my heart in my throat, pounding against the roof of my mouth and ready to tumble out, that I asked Aidan if my mother was still alive- one of my biggest fears.
Aldan
went silent for a second, considering the words, or thinking of what best way to break the bad news to me. My heartbeat ran over itself, missing beats, and sending my chest into chains of heaves
“Is the alive?” I asked again, trying to remain calm and not lose it.
With a single shake of his head, Aidan responded quietly, choosing his words carefully. “Not that I heard of. The last time your father let me anywhere close to their house was years ago, and I only caught it glimpse of her. He declared hostility toward me, daring me to do my worst, but I couldn’t even lift a finger when I caused his family ruin.”
I swallowed thickly, hearing the stubbornness in my father’s voice play in my head as he challenged his alpha.
Aidan went on. “I kept tabs from afar, and last I heard, she was still alive, but frequenting the hospital a little more than usual.”
Tears th
threatened to spill from my eyes, and spikes came in contact with my heart. This wasn’t Aidan’s fault. It was mine.
I needed to fix this for my mom and her granddaughter, my baby, Nadia.
with the resoler could muster, I voiced out my thoughts. “I want to go see her. With Nadia. Mend our bridges, and hopefully with my dad ton. 1 dont know how much more time we have to do that,” I said truthfully.
Aidan had shown me that there was always more to a person or situation, no matter how much we thought we knew. There was no need to hold on to the grudges of the past, and the only way we could really move forward and explore our future together was by putting the past behind us. Not showing it somewhere at the back of our minds, but truly facing it.
Maybe I could also confront the other demons that had been fighting me for langer i than I could even
en remember.
Aidan eyes softened, seitling on me. His gaze warmed me, giving me the strength I didn’t know I needed.
Chapter 16
“Are you sure. Tara?
I looked at him, and I gave him a firm nod. “If you’ll be there with me?
Aidan’s reply was instant. “Of course, I will”
If I couldn’t do it on my own, I knew that Aidan would be my anchor. In many ways than one, he had always been that to me.
My anchor,
The rest of the afternoon was peaceful between us. I mixed the ingredients for my mom’s recipe with a new resolve in mind, my heart lighter at the prospect that 1 would stop failing those I loved–Nadia, my mother, my father-
Td be giving Nadia what she deserved and should have as a kid. She too would have memories of my mom if the moon goddess allowed in, and maybe even have more of Aidan as her dad, and not just her Mom’s admirer
As I tucked my darling baby, my smart pit ball of fire, into bed that night and her soft aura enveloped me in a warm embrace, an image of her as a full- grown woman crossed my mind.
Maybe when the walked down the aisle. Aidan would be there to hold her hand with tears in his eyes? And maybe by some slim chance of luck shining on our family, her grandmother would be there too, smiling from the front row with tissues between her fingers.
And instead of kissing Nadia goodnight immediately, I asked her. ‘Do you think you’d like to go see your grandmother and grandfather at Mommy’s
former home?”
Her large pupils settled on me, getting weak with sleep, but still shining with curiosity.
“Like Esme?”
1 smiled, stroking her hair. “Yes, like Esme, but this time, real family. Our very own.
Nadia only thought about it for two seconds before a bright smile lit her face up like blaring lights.
“Yes!” She beamed. “What about daddy?”
Shock ran in my veins, but not at the question she sprung up on me, but at the fact that for the first time, my reply wasn’t forced
forehead “Soon.”
“Soon, baby,” I responded, losing her f
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