“I’ll be close to Will and Océan—”
“Océane? Isn’t she living with us?”
“Will’s going to take her.” My eyes go wide, but Rachel continues. “I know you were okay with it, but I should never have made that decision without you.”
“Rachel…”
“So, the South Shore, or somewhere similar. I can find a job in another pharmacy. In case you’ve forgotten, Karan, I make ashit ton of money, too. You’re not the sole provider. It’s not all on your shoulders.”
Her thumb traces circles against my hand.
“With a much smaller mortgage and our savings, we’ll have more than enough of a cushion for you to pursue this project. You can even do freelance work if it makes you feel better, to help make ends meet; Logan can help you out with that and show you where to find gigs, or connect you with the right people.”
The vision starts to form in my head. This goes against every instinct in my body. Before we had Cayce and Corey, I’ll admit, I did have the drive to make this a reality. But everything changed once I knew I was going to be a father. My responsibility to them as a provider came before everything else.
My chance for my dream had passed. I would have to wait at least two or three decades, and even then, would I still have the energy and drive left?
But what Rachel is proposing… it could work.
In theory.
But it could also fail spectacularly.
And the cost of that failure…
“Rachel, we could lose everything.” I press my forehead against hers, trying to hold myself together.
Part of me is trying so hard to keep the small breath of hope that she gave me alive.
The rest of me wants to smother it before it grows too large. Too uncontrollable.
“If I fail, if it never works out…”
Rachel weaves a hand behind my neck, tangling her fingers in the loose hairs of my nape. “We’ll deal with it together.”
I draw in a ragged breath.
“It’s time to put what you want first,” she continues, holding me close. “You chose to fight for me, Karan. Now I’m choosing todo the same for you. It’s just like you said in Newfoundland. It’s us against the world. So let me fight for you, Karan. Let me do this for you, when you’ve already done so much for me.”
Do I dare to let myself hope? With her holding me like this, I feel safer than I ever have.
The weight of all my fears…
The crushing pressure of the responsibility, the expectations that I could never truly live up to…
The gnawing doubt that I could ever make this work…
They’re still there.
But for the first time in years, I allow something else to shine through:
A flicker of possibility.
A spark of the man I used to be—the one who can dream without limits.
I exhale, my breath shaking, and press my lips to hers.
Rachel melts into me and tightens her fingers in my hair, her body leaning into mine as if she’s trying to fuse us together. And just like that, the dam breaks.
