Caleb nods and leans in, embracing him, really embracing him like he’s clinging to the only chance at a father he’s ever had.
A sob escapes me.
Colt looks back at me, his eyes swimming with pain.
“Thanks, Dad,” Caleb says.
Colt gasps and collapses backward onto the floor. I’m at his side in an instant as he curls up, knees to chest. “That’s the first time he’s called me Dad,” he whispers.
I bite my lip, blinking back tears. “I think you should go,” I say to Macy.
She nods, her eyes red. “I’m sorry, Colt. I’ll tell him when we get home.”
“Tell me what, Mummy?” Caleb asks.
“Let’s get you home, sweetheart. It’s been a big day.”
He resists. “Can’t we stay with Dad a little longer?”
Colt buries his face in his arms.
Macy guides Caleb to the front door. “I’m sorry, Colt,” she says again, like a damn broken record, then leaves.
I sit on the floor with Colt, holding him while he stays silent.
Joseph quietly steps away, giving us space.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I never wanted this when I asked for the test.”
He lifts his head. “No. I should have asked for one sooner. I shouldn’t have just believed her. Goddammit! I put you throughall of this. I failed you. I get it now. If you still want to leave me, I understand.”
I cup his face. “I’m not leaving you, Colt. Not now. Not ever.”
His whole body shudders in relief as he buries his face into my neck. “I don’t know how to deal with this,” he confesses. “I thought I had a son… and I felt guilty because I knew how much it hurt you. I thought, maybe with time, you’d love him like your own. But I realize now you couldn’t. Not like that. And it’s worse for you because I can still have kids. You can’t.” He looks into my eyes. “But I won’t, Dee. If we ever want kids, we’ll adopt. Or we’ll go through another surrogacy together. I’ll even get a vasectomy, so you know I’d never do this to you again. No more surprises. No more pain.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I say, tearfully.
“I want to. You’re myeverything, Dee. This? Us? It’s all I’ll ever need.”
My chest aches with love for this man. “I never stopped loving you. Not even for a second. I’m so fucking mad with myself that I let Macy come between us.”
He wipes my tears. “You know what you swearing does to me.”
I laugh softly through the tears. “I’m sorry I couldn’t handle the Caleb stuff. I let you down.”
Colt stands and offers his hand. “Come here.”
I take it, and he pulls me to the staircase. “I believe there’s something here that belongs to you,” he says, picking up my rings from the banister. He faces me, eyes full of fire and tenderness. “I love you, Deliah Slade. Now, let’s start again. From this moment, a new beginning.” Then he drops to one knee, takes my hand, and looks up at me. “Will you marry me… again?”
I smile as Joseph walks in, clapping behind me.
“Of course, Colt. There’s no one I’d rather spend forever with.”
He slides my wedding ring back onto my finger, followed by the engagement ring, then lifts me into his arms and spins me around. I laugh, giddy and breathless, as he kisses me.
And just like that…
… I’mhome.
