Page 75 of Mending Scars

I stopped him. “Wait, do I look okay?” I asked as I ran my fingers through my hair and straightened my dress.

Ryker pulled me closer to him and kissed my cheek. “You look great. Don’t worry.” He led me to the entryway and opened the door. “Hey, come on in,” he greeted.

Ryker closed the door behind the family that walked in. He came by my side and rested his hand on my back. “Ethan, you remember Kaiya, right?”

Ethan grinned and stretched his arms out towards me. “How could I forget? Nice to see you again, Kaiya.”

I smiled and accepted his hug. “You too. Thanks for coming.”

When he pulled away, he gestured to his family. “This is my wife, Molly, and our son, Tristan.”

Molly had blonde hair and hazel eyes, and her pregnant stomach protruded from her tiny frame. She was about ten weeks behind me, but I looked a hell of a lot bigger than she did, even when I was at that stage in my pregnancy. That made me hate her even more. I knew I was being juvenile but I didn’t care.

Tristan looked identical to Ethan, just like Ryker had said. I smiled as I pictured Hayden looking like Ryker. I definitely didn’t want him looking anything like me orhim.I wasn’t sure how I’d cope with seeing a replica of Kaleb everyday.

I quickly swiped the thoughts of Kaleb away before they spun out of control, not wanting to ruin my special day because of him. He’d ruined too many days of my life, and now that he was gone, there was no reason to let him continue to do so.

Molly stuck her hand out toward me. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

“Kaiya,” I greeted as nicely as I could, with one of the most fake smiles I’d ever forced before. Inside, I wanted to rip her a new asshole and give her a piece of my mind for everything she had done to Ryker. But on the surface, I tried to stay calm and courteous.

“Ethan has told me so much about you.” She sounded phony, like she was trying too hard to be enthusiastic about meeting me.

She turned her attention to Ryker. “Hey, Ry. Good to see you again.”

Sure bitch.

Ryker gave her a strained smile before looking at Ethan. “Thanks for coming. We have plenty of food and drinks in the kitchen. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks, bro.” Ethan replied before leading Molly and Tristan into the kitchen.

Ryker pulled me into his side and kissed the top of my head. I glanced up at him as he asked, “You okay?”

I breathed a sigh of relief, more comfortable now that Molly wasn’t right in front of me. “Yeah. That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be.”

“Good. It’ll take some time before things aren’t so awkward, but we just took a big step.”

I nodded. “You’re right.”

Leaning down, Ryker pressed his lips to mine and placed a hand on my belly. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off me, but I wasn’t complaining; I loved it.

When he pulled away, he smiled down at me lovingly and caressed my stomach one last time, then led me back into the living room.

We mingled with some of my coworkers for a while before Nori dragged me away into the kitchen to get ready for one of the games she had planned.

Ryker was staring at me while Nori wrapped my torso with toilet paper. My stomach knotted as he gave me a seductive smirk.

“Hey.” Molly drew my attention away from him.

What does she want?

Barely making eye contact, I forced a smile. “Hi.”

Tristan was sleeping on her shoulder as she swayed back and forth. “He really loves you.”

Nori glanced up at me as she continued to cocoon my abdomen.

What is she talking about?

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