Page 131 of Villainous Fate

The minute he looks up, I know why.

His eyes match his father's crystal blue; his hair matches my tie.

Grace’s son.

“Sorry, mister,” he says quietly, dropping his eyes back down to his picking while sliding his feet closer to him so he no longer blocks the path. I take him in for a moment before responding.

His shirt is untucked, and one shoelace is untied. Tiny freckles decorate both his arms and the bridge of his nose. His bottom lip appears chapped from what I would guess to be nervous chewing on it.

Just like Grace.

“No problem, kid. Take up the space you need,” I say, stepping to his side. The faint wail of a baby crying in the distance causes me to pause.

Had the baby survived?

The kid’s head whips toward the crying before his teeth find his bottom lip again, causing me to pause.

“Being the oldest is a big job,” I say, not knowing why I was still standing here, staring into the face of a child made from my greatest pain.

“Momma told me it was my job to be the protector. My job to make sure she’s safe,” he says, a bit of pride filling his tone. “But I don’t know anything about sisters,” he adds, his brow creasing in the serious way Marcus’s does.

A baby girl.

“Well, I have a little sister,” I say, squatting down to meet his stare and tying his loose shoelace. “She’s loud and whiny and always gets into my stuff,” I chuckle a bit, and the kid smiles. “But the protecting her part, it’s easier than you think. I’m sure you’ll be a natural. Have you held her yet?” I ask.

He shakes his head, eyes growing big.

“She’s too little for me to hold. Too…” he thinks for a moment before continuing. “ frabel?”

“Fragile,” I correct with a grin. “Don’t worry; she will be running around with you before you know it,” I say, standing again and moving to open the door.

His eyes follow me as I move.

“Did you know my momma?” he asks, curiosity filling his tone. I pause, my hand on the handle, choosing my words wisely.

“She was my best friend,” I whisper, my voice cracking as emotion fills me before I enter the room and shut the door. I fall against it as I try to regain control.

Chapter 64

Marcus

Shewon’tstopcrying.The tiny pale bundle in my arms just screams and screams. I’m trying to remain calm. I’m trying to fix it, but the only thing she wants I can’t give her. Nine and a half months of hearing Grace’s heartbeat, her voice, feeling her movement, and now nothing.

She never even got to hold her.

I’d tried a pacifier, formula, changing her, rocking her, everything. The only way she will stop crying is if I sing the song Grace used to sing to her belly every night, the Elvis song Grace loved. The one that led her to make me promise we would name our daughter for it.

“....I can’t help, falling in love…” I mumble to our daughter, hoping she will fall back asleep.

I stopped wiping the tears from my cheeks hours ago. The pain of losing Grace ripped me apart. The kids are the only thing keeping me together. Without them, I’d join her without hesitation.

She was EVERYTHING to me.

And now all I have left of her are Dante and Presley.

Her legacy.

As Presley finally closes her eyes and drifts off, I slide back into the pain.

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