Page 32 of The Arrogant's Surrender

I lower the car window, and Eleanor leans against it.

“Hi, everyone. We’ve been waiting,” she says.

“Hi, Mom,” Brooklyn replies.

“Eleanor, how are you?” I greet her. “Brooklyn wants to walk into the house. Can you keep the kids inside for a few more minutes?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll wait for you.”

I walk around the car, open Brooklyn’s door, and undo her seatbelt. Then I lift her into my arms.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s too far for you to walk. I’ll carry you. On the porch, I’ll set you down, and you can enter as you wanted.”

She wraps her arms around my neck. “Why me?” she asks again.

“Because I want you,” I say, lacking a better answer.

We reach the porch, and before setting her down, I ask, “Ready?”

“Yes. I can do it.”

“I know.”

“You have a lot of faith in me.”

“Broken people are unbreakable, Brooklyn.”

Once she’s on her own feet, I ring the doorbell. When the door opens, Silas appears, dressed in jeans, a button-down shirt, and a tie. He’s holding a small bouquet of daisies.

Shit, should I have bought her flowers too? It didn’t even cross my mind, but now, faced with the smiling little boy offering flowers to his mother, I feel like an idiot.

Soraya is also dressed up, wearing a red dress and holding a small gift bag.

Brooklyn takes a step back, leaning against me, and I think it’s because she feels overwhelmed.

I wrap an arm around her, holding her firmly against me.

“Hi, Moooommy,” the little boy says.

“Hi, Moooommy,” his sister echoes.

“Oh my God!” She’s trembling, and I don’t let go.

“You’ve got this,” I whisper in her ear.

Finally, she lets go and walks toward them. She opens her arms, and both toddlers cling to her legs.

The scene messes with me in the worst fucking way.

A family.

Brooklyn is home, safe with her family.

She has it all.

What more could I possibly offer her beyond good sex and material comfort? I’m hollow. Most of me has been dead for years.

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