“So… what did you need?”
“Oh! Right.” Lynn tapped her forehead.“Nolan just called. Something urgent at work, he can’t pick me up. I’m without a car today. Can you drive me home?”
Jasper nodded.
“Of course. Meet me downstairs in ten minutes.”
Lynn smiled and vanished through the door.
Jasper turned back to Nina, his voice softer.
“Come on. I’ll change and walk you out.”
They went downstairs together. On the second floor he slipped into the attending lounge to change; she waited in the quiet hallway, leaning against the wall.
She watched the empty chairs, the peaceful stillness, and felt—for the first time in years—settled. Grounded. Alive.
A few minutes later Jasper returned in jeans and a gray T-shirt, impossibly handsome in his simplicity. They walked to the entrance together.
Lynn was already there, scrolling through her phone. She looked up when she saw them and smiled.
Nina glanced at Lynn, at Jasper… and something warm bloomed in her chest. Peace. Affection. Happiness. It felt like balance—like she was finally standing exactly where she needed to be.
Lynn slipped her phone into her pocket and said casually, with the unmistakable glow of someone deeply happy:
“By the way, we had the ultrasound today. We’re having a girl.”
Jasper pulled his daughter into a tight embrace, then turned and winked at Nina.
And in that moment, she understood:
everything she had survived—every wound, every fear—had led her here. To them. To herself. To a life she had once been afraid of… and now finally felt safe in.
EPILOGUE
Lynn was practically sprinting down the mall corridor, glancing over her shoulder.
“Nina, can you please hurry up? The wedding is tomorrow, and I still don’t have the damn white stockings!”
Nina tore her gaze from her phone, wincing as her feet throbbed in the heels.
“One second,” she said.“I’m texting Daphne back.”
Lynn rolled her eyes, and Nina, trying not to limp, caught up with her. Damn heels. Who had forced her to dress up like she was walking a runway?
Oh right… her own stupid desire to look better than she felt. And Jasper was supposed to swing by later.
Which meant dress, makeup, heels, and that fluttery nervousness stirring in her chest—all entirely his fault.
The pre-wedding chaos was driving Lynn insane. She darted from floor to floor, losing and rediscovering the shopping list over and over.
And Nina loved all of it.
The fuss, the laughter, the bickering—life wasn’t perfect, but it was real. Lynn didn’t call her“mom,” and Nina didn’t expect her to. But they had grown close. Almost like girlfriends—arguing, laughing until they cried, sharing secrets.
“I need the restroom,” Lynn said once they finally located the lingerie boutique.
“Let’s go. We’ll come back after,” Nina smiled.
