I eye her sideways, trying to figure out what is going on. I don’t want to be here, but it is her birthday, and for some reason, of all the places in the world, this is where she decided she wanted to go.

I lean against the low stone wall built up around my parents' resting place. Their graves are next to each other. It is what they would have wanted, even after everything.

“Do you miss them?”

I swallow hard. “Of course, I miss them every day.”

She leans her body against mine and goes quiet, a comforting sort of silence in which I feel like she is just being here for me.

I don’t quite know how to handle it.

But as time slowly moves on, I find myself relaxing more and more.

“I miss them more than they could ever understand. And I think about them every day.”

She nods quietly, her hand slipping around my waist and giving me reassurance.

I sigh and keep talking. “Sometimes I wonder…actually, I wonder all the time what my life would have been like if my mother hadn’t cheated on my father with your uncle. None of the stuff that happened with my stepfather would have happened. My life would have been so different.”

My throat starts to get tight as I fight back the lump that is forming.

But now that I am starting to pour my heart out, I can’t seem to stop. I didn’t realize how much I was holding inside me.

“I am angry with my mother for what she did. But I also know it isn’t her fault that things ended up in such a huge mess. She never knew what kind of man my stepfather would turn out to be. I fell for his manipulation as much as she did, anyway. He ruined all of our lives. I just wish—I wish my parents had been able to work it out somehow. I wish they had had that chance.”

I feel Darya move against me and realize her body is shaking slightly.

I wrap my hand around her chin and lift her face towards mine, seeing the tears running quietly down her cheeks.

Seeing her looking so vulnerable tears at my heart. And in this moment, I am feeling so emotional I suddenly can’t hold back the tears that fall from my own eyes.

I lift her in my arms and walk over to the nearby bench, pulling her onto my lap.

She wraps her arms around my neck and nuzzles against me.

I bury my face against her hair and breathe in the warmth of her scent.

Neither of us says anything, but I have never felt closer to anyone in my life before this moment.

After a long time, I feel her hands brush over my cheeks, and I lift my face to look at her. The warmth and tenderness in her eyes pulls me towards her, and before I know, it our lips and pressed against each other’s.

She kisses me tenderly and slowly, with such intense passion that I can barely breathe at all.

I turn her body so that she is sitting on my lap with her legs wrapped around my waist. I can’t help but think about what I saw on the camera this morning, and my cock begins to push up against her.

She rocks her hips over me, and her kiss deepens.

Then she starts giggling softly, and I stop to look at her, not able to hide the grin on my face at the beautiful sound of her laugh.

“What’s wrong?” I ask with a chuckle.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t make out in front of your parents,” she grins, blushing.

I glance over at their graves and laugh.

“I think they might just be happy to see me happy.” I shrug.

She climbs off my lap and pulls me to my feet. “Thank you for coming here with me. It means a lot.”