bChapter /bb163 /b

    When her baby got to a year old, Mia celebrated the best way she could. Nothing too grand, nothing loud. Just her and Aiden, a small cupcake with a single candle, and a lot of love.

    She held her son in her arms, humming a luby that had be their own song. Her chest ached in ways she couldn’t exin, filled with both pride. and sadness.

    Her child was indeed the best thing to ever happen to her. In a world that constantly broke her down, Aiden was her light.

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    The way he giggled at the smallest things, the way he clung to her finger when he was tired, the way he smiled with his tiny teeth showing..he made it all

    worth it.

    Every sleepless night, every lonely day, every battle she had to fight silently…he made it worth it.

    Aiden had recently pointed at a picture of Iron Man on her phone screen. He wanted the toy. She had smiled then, promising him softly that he would get it. Of course, toys like that weren’t cheap, not for someone who was working small online gigs. Still, she tried.

    She saved a little from every job, cutting corners, just so she could get him something that would make his eyes light up.

    She knew she couldn’t give him everything, but she was doing her best. And some days, that had to be enough. Some days, that’s what she told herself so she wouldn’t fall apart. She was a mother now. Falling apart wasn’t an option anymore.

    Sometimes she thought about how different things would have been if the father was in the picture. It could’ve been easier.

    There could have been more support, a bigger celebration for Aiden, all the toys he could ever want…

    Yes, it would’ve been a different case with the father, but Mia knew it was best for Aiden not to get entangled with the ckwells or Willowcrest.

    That world was ruthless. There was no ce in it for softness, and Aiden deserved softness. He deserved safety and love

    She knew the moment Charles ckwell finds out about Aiden, they will suffer a worse treatment thanst time.

    That man would never ept a grandson born from a Turner.

    So no…she would never let her son be anywhere near that man.

    It was the best decision, even if it still hurt. Even if sometimes at night she would stare at the ceiling and wonder what it would’ve felt like to have someone help her carry the weight.

    iTo /ishare Aiden’sughter with someone else. To not feel so alone.

    But did she try to reach out again?

    Yes. Shamefully, Mia had tried to call Alex again. She remembered sitting on her bed, Aiden fast asleep beside her, while her fingers hovered over the call

    button.

    Her heart raced, her chest tightening.

    But Lily’s words yed in her mind until she couldn’t take it anymore.

    “What if he lied*

    Maybe… just maybe…. Alex didn’t know. Maybe he will pick up. Maybe he is looking for her?

    So, she dialed.

    Her stomach sank the moment the robotic voice told her the number was no longer in use.

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    Another sharp p in the face. A cruel confirmation of her biggest fear.

    Even though it was staring at her right in the face.

    She was still some kind of fucking bet, a fucking game for his boredom.

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    Zoe had said it, but she didn’t listen because in her little fish brain she had believed someone like Alex actually fell in love with someone like her.

    Alex didn’t want her to reach him. It was clear as a day he had erased everything about her.

    Now that the Turner are no longer there, who are they going to call to y their twisted game.

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    She sat there, phone still in hand, blinking fast to keep the tears from falling. Aiden shifted in his sleep, and she quicklyy beside him, wrapping her arm around his tiny body. He was all that mattered now. He was her beginning and end.

    Mia promises herself that she would never try to reach out to Alex again. Never.

    This was thest time. The veryst time. No matter what anyone says or does.

    Aiden has her….

    She would give him all the love he needed, even if she had to pour from an empty cup.

    She would be enough.