Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 130761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 654(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 654(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
“No.” A single tear fell down her smooth cheek. “You . . . you are my mother.”
I watched her try to smile through her tears. An elated laugh came from my throat, and I kissed her head. “Yes, I am,” I said and could not help but smile. I sighed and moved back. Sapphira looked to the doorway. I followed her gaze and saw AK standing there. I smiled when his dark eyes met mine. “That is AK.” He tilted his head in a hello. Turing back to my . . . daughter, I said, “He is my love. A part of my heart.”
“The one you told me about?” she asked shyly, ducking her head from his attention.
“Yes.”
“I met my aunt, Lilah.” She smiled. “I like her. She cleaned me when I woke.” I closed my eyes, embracing the wash of joy I felt as I thought of my beloved sister caring for my precious daughter.
I heard AK move from the door, and Sapphira watched him go. “Do we get to live the life you spoke of now? The one you told me existed if we only survived?”
“Yes.” I squeezed her hand. “We get to live the way we always should have.”
Her eyes fell nervously. “I . . . I get to be your daughter here?” A pause. “A real daughter?”
“If you want that,” I said, praying with every fiber of my being that she said yes.
She looked at me again through long lashes. “D-Do I get to call you . . . Mama?” The last word was a whisper. But it was a grace. A blessing, pure and simple. A softly spoken pardon for all of my wrongs.
A new start.
“Yes,” I said and took her gently in my arms. “Yes.”
Then my heart bloomed when she whispered, “Mama.” I closed my eyes and savored the sound. Fourteen years. Fourteen years to hear that uttered from her lips.
“Mama? What about the others? The other sisters that had been captured?”
My heart broke. “They have gone, sweetheart. No trace . . . and I fear no hope. The men here have tried to seek them out the best they can, but their whereabouts are tragically unknown.” Sapphira was silent at that news. I was not sure she could take anymore sadness. My daughter had had her fill in her young life.
“Mama . . . ?” Sapphira said softly, a few moments later. “Can you stay with me while I fall to sleep?”
“Of course,” I said, almost breaking with joy. I laid my body beside Sapphira on the bed and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She fell against me and gave a happy sigh.
“Will you tell me about this world?” she asked, tiredness in her quiet voice.
“It is like nothing we ever knew, sweetheart.” I closed my eyes and thought of AK. I thought of his kindness, his laughter, his pure heart. I thought of Lilah laughing as she ran over her lawn with Grace. And I told her of it all. All the good we were robbed of in our lives, and I knew my girl would now get to see these things too.
It was not long before I heard her breathing steadily with sleep. I looked down at her asleep in my arms, and a realization hit me. I had finally done it. I had stayed with my daughter, telling her a story as she fell asleep.
And I would never have to leave her again.
She was safe. And I was forever changed, all because of one man.
I bent down and kissed her head. “I will never let you down. This is my solemn vow.”
Leaving her to rest, I made my way from the bedroom and followed the smell of AK’s cigarette smoke. He was sitting at the kitchen table, lost in thought. He wore a white shirt with his leather vest and his dark jeans. His long hair was resting on his shoulders.
All the time, all I could think was he is mine.
He must have heard my feet on the floor, as his head turned toward me. I moved beside him and placed my hands on his cheeks. I saw the confusion in his eyes and said, “You have saved us.” My voice caught, but I kept pushing through. “You did the impossible and gave me my daughter. You gave me a chance to be a mother.” AK swallowed and exhaled deeply. “And you gave me back the beat to my heart.” I kissed each of his cheeks. “I love you, Xavier Deyes. I love you more than I knew was possible. You are my grace. You are my redemption.”
“Red,” he said roughly. I sat on his lap, sighing when his hands wrapped around my back.
I stared into his beautiful eyes. “You have given me this gift, this moment where my hell has ended. And now you need it too. Save yourself the way you try so hard to save everybody else.”