Family. My own…
“I’m… pregnant. My, um… pills, um, birth control ran out before I got to Chicago.” She started to cry, and I hoped like hell she didn’t think I was mad. “With everything going on, I forgot I needed them, and I… I’m sor—”
I placed a finger on her lips. “No, no. Don’t say it. Don’t tell me you’re sorry. This is more than a dream for a guy like me.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes, yes, yes.” Although my hands were shaking, I took hold of hers.
“You can’t let me deliver this baby by myself. I don’t want to do this without you. We need you.” She held my gaze.
“And I will be there. I will be there for you both, Amelia Rossi, because you are mine.”
For the first time in my life, a strong sense of purpose filled my soul. It mixed with the love I felt for her.
I would be there for her and be the kind of man she deserved.
The kind of mantheydeserved.
* * *
Eight months later…
It had felt like this day would never come.
It felt like a forever ago since I’d made that promise to Amelia, and while I’d seen her every month when she visited, it almost felt like I hadn’t seen her.
It was torture not being with her, torture watching her stomach grow and not being there to take care of her the way I wanted.
Torture just getting pictures of my baby’s scans and not seeing him.
Him.
We were having a boy, and we decided it was fitting to call him Raphael. We both came up with the idea. It felt honorable. I liked that.
Raphael Lucian Morientz. That was to be his name.
At least I got to have a hand in naming him.
It felt like torture not being there after for both of them.
But…
Today was the day that all changed. Today was the day when I’d shed my old life, this place, and all that I used to be.
Today was the day when I was going to be the man my goddess deserved and the kind of father my boy could look up to.
As I took that walk down the corridor that led outside the correctional facility, hope filled my soul.
The hope that came with a second chance. A second chance I desperately wanted.
I was reminded of that game I’d played once with Amelia when we’d first met.
The game of leaving behind the world and becoming anything I wanted to be.
This was real. No games. It really was real, and I could be anything now.
I’d had to put up with all manner of shit while inside just to secure this moment, because it was worth it. She was worth it.
