Page 137 of Stars in Halo

‘What of Akira? Is it true you refused him access to her?’

Katya shook her head, eyes brimming with sadness. ‘Akira? Oh, hell no. He took off as soon as he heard I was pregnant. A home life with a woman and kids was not for him; he was a hardened, happy-go-lucky pirate.’

‘Where did you meet?’ Xion urged.

‘At a bar on Enia, working a heist,’ she sighed, her gaze distant. ‘We hit it off at once. I fell hard for him. But when I was expecting, he disappeared. I thought I’d found the love of my life, only to be left with my daughter to raise alone.’

Xion grunted. ‘And you’ve been riding solo since?’

Her laughter was bitter, tainted with the weight of years of isolation. ‘Naam. I had no time for anything or anyone else. I was also feeding a dozen other kids. My mother helped look after her and her siblings while I was scouring Pegasi for ways to keep food on our plates. It’s been a lonely ride, kodan, but my situation was nothing I wanted to load anyone else with.’

Silence fell for a beat as Xion’s eyes gazed into the distance, lost in thought.

After a few moments, he flicked them back to her.

‘I care about you, Katya. Why did you think having a bio-daughter would make a difference to me in how I felt for you?’

Xion’s eyes flickered with hurt as he rasped the words with a husky intonation.

Katya drew a ragged breath, hands twisting in her lap. ‘I didn’t know how open you’d be to the idea. Akira viewed Kaaia as a burden. I didn’t keep him away; he did all the running until I woke to my senses and realised what a manipulative bastard he was.’

She paused, staring down at her kneading palms. ‘My love, I’m a lot; I’m a criminal, a fraud like he said and also a single mum with a dozen kids and one bio daughter that I adore. I’m a hefty package, and I was scared if I let it all out with you too soon, you’d -’

‘I’d what?’

‘Well, you’d walk. Let’s be honest. You’ve shared that you’ve not been the most committed partner in the past. I didn’t want to scare you with too much too fast.’

Xion’s expression softened.

The raw honesty in her voice cut through to any lingering doubts in his mind.

He reached out a hand to cup her cheek, his touch grounding and reassuring.

‘Katya, you’re not just a criminal or a fraud. You’re a survivor,’ Xion rasped but with conviction. ‘And as for being a single mother of orphan kids and a biological daughter you love in the same way, it doesn’t change how I feel about you. Not now, not then. You didn’t scare me away; you intrigued me from the start.’

Katya’s eyes searched his, seeing sincerity and understanding reflected in her. ‘You mean that?’

He huffed and nodded. ‘Khaliya, you don’t have to fear I’ll skip and run out on you. When I commit to something, I do it with all my heart. You’ve seen my dedication to the Riders and our small family; extending the same rock-solid love to you won’t be a hardship. I may not have been the most committed in the past, but that’s because I hadn’t found my woman, my ride or die. Now I have,’ Xion continued, his gaze unflinching.

He reached out, lifting her chin so their eyes met. ‘You are everything to me, and if you come with a daughter and twelve other kids, then that’s how my destiny was meant to play out.’

‘You really do mean that?’ Katya whispered, her walled defence crumbling in the face of Xion’s genuine declaration.

He paused for a beat. ‘Any doubts that may have lingered in my mind have been silenced by the unwavering love I see in for your children and the care you’ve taken to protect them. I see that same devotion when I look into your eyes, how you cherish me. It’s righteous, and I’m not even sure I deserve it myself.’

Katya was imbued with feeling as the weight of her man’s words settled over her.

Tears welled up in her eyes, reflecting a mix of emotions—relief, vulnerability, and a glimmer of hope. She had never expected to find understanding and acceptance in someone like Xion after all she had been through.

The burden of her past mistakes seemed to lessen as she allowed herself to believe in the possibility of a different future—one where her lawbreaking history didn’t define her.

‘But you might need to make amends for some of your waywardness,’ he rasped, cutting into her thoughts.

‘I plan to,’ she said. ‘Starting with this.’

She reached into her suit, in between her breasts, reaching into a hidden pocket on her bra.

Xion’s brow furrowed as she pulled out an object.

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