Page 101 of Sven

After he left, Sven plopped down in the chair across from Sasha.

“What can I do for you, Sven?”

“So, you know about Winnie.”

Sasha nodded.

“My daughter.” He loved saying that. “I have sole custody of her now, and I imagine she will be around games, and that kind of stuff. I wasn’t sure how you would handle that, so I just wanted to let you guys know as I did.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. She’s a little sweetie. Conner and I had so much fun watching her. If you ever need a sitter again, let us know.”

“I will,” he said.

“I’m going to loop in Hillary and let you know how we should proceed if that works. I know usually there is an announcement of a new birth, but this situation is a little different.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure how to handle it. Just so you have all the information, her mother is in rehab. I’m paying for it, and things are still kind of fresh, but the paperwork is done, and she’s going to be with me.”

Sven stood to leave, feeling good.

“I’ll let you know what Hillary says. We might want to run a piece just to get the work out before it drops.”

“Whatever you guys think is best.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yeah,” Sven answered honestly. “I’m really happy.”

He stopped by the locker room to get his bag before making it to the car. As he made his way to the parking lot, he realized he was leaving the center, feeling lighter than he had in ages. Part of it was Winnie and having that settled. But the more he thought about it, it was his dad.

The pressure his dad had put on him for all these years was crushing. With all that off his back, he felt amazing, and he just had the practice of his life to prove it. Maybe it was time he cut his dad out of his life entirely. That seemed like a big decision, but he knew he needed to draw some firm boundaries to not only keep himself sane but to keep the women in his life safe. If he ever did anything to Winnie or Natalie, he wasn’t sure what he would do, but he wasn’t going to find out. He needed to be proactive about this.

He pulled into his garage and loved the sight of Natalie’s car next to his, but he thought she might need a new car. Hers was pretty old. And he was hoping to get married and make a whole brood of kids with her. She seemed to like them, so if she was open to it, he wanted a house full. There were still three morebedrooms upstairs. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, but he couldn’t help it.

He opened the door, and Natalie was playing some music while Winnie played in her high chair. Natalie was making dinner. It was domestic bliss at its finest. He really needed to figure out if Natalie wanted to go back to work or what she wanted to do because, with as much as he loved this and would love to come home to it every day, he wanted her to be happy. That’s all he really cared about. Even if she said she didn’t want any kids, he already had Winnie. If he had Winnie and Natalie, everything would be fine.

“What is that look on your face?” Natalie asked as she worked at the stove.

“I’m just happy to see you,” he said, walking over and slipping his arms around her waist.

“I’m happy to see you, too,” she said, leaning back to him.

“What are you making?”

“Well, I have some mac and cheese in the oven, and I’m frying up some chicken tenders, and I also have a big salad.”

“Aren’t there leftovers in the fridge from Kathy?”

“Well... of course, but I haven’t had a kitchen like this to cook in a long time, so I thought I would take advantage of it.”

“Perfect.”

He went over to kiss Winnie on the head as Natalie bent over and pulled the mac and cheese out of the oven. The sight of the round ass bent over was something he could get used to. He was hoping to have a little more fun with her later.

Before he knew what was happening, they were sitting down to dinner, and it felt perfect, which, after the day prior, was a surprise.

“I heard from Stacie today. She got checked into a facility in the Catskills.”

“Do you think she will stay?”

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