Page 113 of The Unwanted Wife

He laughs. “First, you should know by now, I am never in control around you. As for Ben…” His features grow soft. “A part of me will always regret having stepped out that day, leaving him alone. Even though there’s another part that tells me I shouldn’t blame myself, that I couldn’t have possibly known what he’d do. But we are nothing without hope for the future, and what I know is that I will always carry with me the way he touched my life. How he influenced my love for eating good food?—”

“Ben did love that,” I muse.

“How he was always optimistic, always believed in doing his best at whatever task was at-hand. How he simultaneously cheered on everyone around him, while also causing them to pause and think about his pithy sayings. We are but amalgams of everyone we meet, and I’ll carry Ben’s lasting impression on me for the rest of my life.”

“You’re right.” I lean back in the circle of his arms. “Now I know my brother is here with me, always. He survives in my memories of him, in my hopes and dreams for the future.”

Still, that mention of a baby? I touch my stomach. Nah, not possible.

"You sure you’re okay?" Nate glances down at where I’ve pressed my hand to my stomach.

"Yes, I am.” I lower my hand and smile up at him.

"You sure?" He searches my face. I can’t hide anything from this man, nor do I want to.

"I’m sure. I was saying goodbye to Ben, is all."

His features soften. "How is he?"

I nod. “I’m glad I got to see him one last time. I feel confident he’s happy, wherever he is."

“I owe him so much. If it weren’t for him, I’d have never met you." He cups my cheek. “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

There’s a look in his eyes, something which tightens the band around my chest. My guts churn. “What is it?” I whisper. “Is everything okay?”

“It is.” He half smiles. “There’s someone I want you to meet.” He slides his hand into mine, clasps my fingers, and leads me out into the shop.

There’s a young woman sitting at the table nearest the door. Next to her is a pram. I closed up earlier, but Nate has a key to the shop, so he must have let them in. She looks up as we approach. Her dark hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She has dark circles under her eyes, and hollows under her cheeks, but her gaze is clear. She’s wearing a coat over her jeans and sweatshirt, and when we reach her, she rises to her feet. She looks from Nate to me. “You must be Skylar,” she says in a soft voice.

“And you are?”

“Luna.” She glances down at the baby asleep in the pram. “And this is Arrow.”

“Arrow. That’s a strong name.”

“He’s a strong boy, like his father.”

That churning in my stomach intensifies. “His father?”

She nods. “You knew him.”

“I knew him?” I clutch at my husband’s hand. The hair at the back of my neck rises. No, it can’t be, can it? “Was his... was his father?—"

She nods, a sad smile on her face. “Ben. He’s Arrow’s father.”

My heart threatens to jump out of my ribcage, and my stomach bottoms out. Ben is Arrow’s father? I draw in a sharp breath. “But how... Did he know that?—”

“That I was pregnant with his child? No. I found out after he left on his mission. I emailed him, messaged him, even wrote him letters, but I don’t think he got any of them.”

“Once we got to the hospital, he was too injured to stay on top of his communication. And later, after he recovered, he seemed to lose interest in the outside world. The fact he couldn’t go on any more missions seemed to drain the life out of him,” Nate explains.

“But he had you. He had me. Why couldn’t he reach out to one of us?” I turn to Nate. “Why? Why didn’t you force him to call one of us.”

“I tried.” Nate swallows. “I went so far as to dial your number on my phone once, but he grabbed it out of my hand and threw it. He broke down afterward and made me promise I would not do that again. And he—” Nate raises his gaze to Luna’s. “He never mentioned you. It was only when I found out he’d put you down with Skylar as his next of kin that I realized he had a girlfriend.”

Luna’s lips twist. “It was a new relationship. We met a few days before he shipped out. We were instantly attracted to each other and were inseparable until the time he left.” Her eyes glitter with unshed tears. “We never got to explore things further. I never got to tell him I loved him. I don’t know if he loved me, either, I?—"

“Oh, I know he loved you.” I pull away from Nate and take Luna’s hand in mine. “He told me.”

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