Page 45 of Say You're Mine

I shake my head, unable to voice the horror clawing at my insides. How can I tell her that part of me – a small, shameful part – is terrified of the man I love?

The kitchen is a whirlwind of activity. Legacy, perched in his high chair, is gleefully smearing pureed peas across his cheeks. Dante, looking comically out of place in his tailored suit, is attempting to wrangle his squirming toddler while Natalie tries not to laugh.

"Mama!" Legacy squeals as we enter. "Green! Look, green!"

Despite everything, a small smile tugs at my lips. "Having fun, boys?"

Dante shoots me a pleading look. "My son is a menace, Cara. I've negotiated with hardened criminals who were easier to handle."

"You love it," Natalie teases, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Admit it, you big softie."

For a moment, the scene before me is so achingly normal that it steals my breath.

This is what I want.

What June and I dreamed of. A family, whole and happy and safe.

But the illusion shatters as my phone buzzes. I lunge for it, heart pounding, only to see it's another false alarm. Not June. Not news. Just another reminder of the gaping hole in my life.

"Still nothing?" Natalie asks softly, coming to stand beside me.

I shake my head, blinking back tears. "What if... what if something's gone wrong? What if Elaine-"

"Hey." Natalie's grip on my arm is firm, almost painful. "None of that. June's tough, and he's got help. We'll hear something soon."

But as the day drags on, my resolve crumbles. I find myself pacing, jumping at every sound. The others try to distract me – Mama with food, Dante with strategy talks, Natalie with nursery plans – but nothing can calm the storm of fear and doubt raging inside me.

As afternoon bleeds into evening, a new worry gnaws at my gut. "Has anyone heard from Amethyst?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

Dante and Natalie exchange a look that sends ice through my veins.

"She missed her check-in this morning," Dante admits reluctantly. "We're trying to track her down, but..."

The unfinished sentence hangs in the air, heavy with implication. Amethyst, our unexpected ally, the woman who risked everything to help us... gone. Vanished without a trace.

"You don't think she..." I can't bring myself to finish the thought.

Natalie's eyes are kind, but there's steel beneath the sympathy. "We don't know anything for sure, Cara. But we have to consider all possibilities."

The possibility that Amethyst has betrayed us, that she's run back to Elaine with all our secrets... it's almost too much to bear. I close my eyes, remembering the fear in Amethyst's eyes when she told me about her father's cruelty, the way her hands shook as she handed over the evidence that could bring Elaine's empire crashing down.

"No," I say, surprising myself with the conviction in my voice. "She wouldn't do that to us. To June."

Dante's expression is grim. "I hope you're right, kid. For her sake."

As night falls, I retreat to the nursery, unable to bear the pitying looks any longer. My fingers trace the half-finished mural on the wall – a fantastical forest scene June had begun painting. The trees loom ominously in the dim light, their branches reaching out like grasping claws.

"We're going to give this kid the world, Cara," he'd whispered, his voice full of wonder and love. "Everything we never had growing up. A real family. A loving home."

A sob rips from my throat, raw and painful. I slide down the wall, curling around my belly as if I could shield our child from the cruel reality of the world.

"Come back to me, June," I plead to the empty room. "Please, baby. I can't do this without you."

The silence that answers is deafening.

Hours pass in a haze of tears and half-formed prayers. I find myself whispering to the baby, telling stories about June – his kindness, his strength, the depth of his love. It's as much for my benefit as the child's, a desperate attempt to hold onto the man I fell in love with.

"Your daddy is a hero," I murmur, rubbing slow circles over my swollen belly. "He's fighting so hard to come back to us. And when he does..." My voice breaks, but I force myself to continue. "When he does, we're going to be the family we always dreamed of."

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