I had always dreamed of giving birth—of holding a child, a beloved daughter I never knew. The dreams were vivid and visceral, but I had always convinced myself they were just that—dreams.
Yet Malik’s story…
It felt real.
Too real.
I clenched my hands into fists, feeling like an utter fool as I stared blankly into space, trying and failing to process this impossible reality.
How could this be?
The miscarriage of the child Roman and I had conceived in this lifetime had devastated me. I had felt connected to that baby from the moment I knew they existed. I still grieved their loss, still felt the ache of something stolen too soon.
But Rosie?
This bright, breathing child—Roman’s eyes staring up at me, wide and curious?
I wanted to feel something. I searched for it—longed for it.
But the connection didn’t come, not the way I thought it would.
And that quiet absence... it broke something openinside me.
“So, a child we bore in another lifetime is alive today,” Roman said, voicing my exact thoughts.
Malik gave a simple nod. “Yes, that’s correct. It’s one of those things I don’t expect you to understand with your human minds.”
I shot him a look. “Good. Because I’m struggling to wrap my brain around it.”
My fingers twitched, restless, unsettled. “I do care about Rosie. I’ve been protecting and watching over her, but I still don’t feel the maternal instinct I think I’m supposed to.”I swallowed hard. “And that messes with how I see myself as a mother to her.”
A quiet admission. A brutal truth.
I reached out to Roman, needing his steadiness and warmth. He laced his fingers with mine, his grip firm but uncertain. His expression mirrored my own—conflicted, lost, adrift in something far greater than us.
Malik’s voice broke the silence, smooth, final. “Nothing needs to change.”
I turned back to him, my chest tightening.
“Rosie is brilliant. She will see you both as good friends, not her biological parents. And as far as she and I are concerned, she is my child, and I am her father.”
Hemet my gaze, nodding as if the matter had already been settled. “I don’t expect that to change.”
He shifted slightly, something softer crossing his face before he continued.
“Of course, I hope you will develop a relationship with her,” Malik said. “But the bonds we share run deep. Although she is only five, we have helped one another through tragic times.”
His expression softened, his gaze drifting into the distance as if lost in memory.
“Through her, I learned how to love without any strings attached.”
Then his eyes returned to me, piercing and full of quiet desperation. “You don’t want to take that away from me?”
“No, no,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “It makes perfect sense for you to continue caring for Rosie if that’s what you want, Malik.”
I turned to Roman, needing his reassurance. “Don’t you agree, my love?”
“Absolutely.” Roman nodded vigorously, his agreement resolute.
