I caught his hand before he could move away. “Jake, there’s something else we need to talk about. Something important.”
“What is it?”
I took a deep breath, knowing this would change everything between us. “Nora needs to know the truth. About her father.”
Jake’s expression remained carefully neutral, but I saw the flicker of pain in his eyes. “I know.”
“I don’t know how to tell her,” I admitted. “How do you explain to an eight-year-old that her father isn’t dead after all? That I’ve been lying to her all this time?”
“You’ve been protecting her,” Jake corrected gently. “And you’ll find the right words. You always do.”
His faith in me was humbling. “Will you be there? When I tell her?”
The question clearly caught him off guard. “If you want me to be.”
“I do,” I said firmly. “She trusts you. Having you there might make it easier for her. I know it will for me at least.”
He nodded, his expression somber. “Then I’ll be there.”
Exhaustion swept over me suddenly, the events of the past days catching up all at once. Jake noticed immediately.
“Sleep,” he urged, helping me settle back against the pillows. “Everything else can wait until morning.”
As my eyes grew heavy, I felt him press another kiss to my forehead. “Sweet dreams, Ella,” he whispered.
I drifted off with his hand still holding mine, like he was anchoring me to this world.
Morning brought a flurry of activity—doctors checking my vitals one last time, nurses providing discharge instructions, and finally, the arrival of fresh clothes that Rory had brought from my house.
“Ready to get out of here?” Jake asked, wheeling a wheelchair into the room.
I eyed the chair with distaste. “Do I really need that? I can walk fine.”
“Hospital policy,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, humor me. My heart can’t take watching you collapse again.”
The teasing tone didn’t quite mask the genuine worry in his eyes. I relented and allowed him to help me into the chair.
“Where’s Nora?” I asked as he wheeled me down the corridor.
“Waiting in the truck with her uncle. She’s practically bouncing with excitement to see you.”
Sure enough, when we reached the hospitalentrance, I could see Declan’s truck idling at the curb, Nora’s face pressed eagerly against the window. The moment she spotted me, she flung the door open and raced toward us.
“Mom!” she cried, launching herself into my lap. I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in the familiar scent of her hair and feeling her small body, solid and real, against mine.
“I missed you so much,” she mumbled into my neck.
“I missed you too, sweet girl,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “More than you know.”
Jake helped us both into the backseat of the truck, Nora refusing to let go of me for even a second. Declan glanced at us in the rearview mirror, a warm smile softening his usually serious face.
“Good to see you vertical, Ella,” he said. “Had us worried there for a bit.”
“Thank you,” I said, meeting his eyes in the mirror. “I’m glad you’re my brother. I owe you my life.”
He shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. Just glad it worked out.”
As we pulled away from the hospital, I noticed something was missing. “Where’s Mikhail?”
