Page 43 of Taeja

“Yes. They’re the same size.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“You’re probably right, but our girl’s going to complain if she has to wear a big shirt.”

Zain scoffed. “I’ll force her into it then. The fuck.”

Damon laughed while Zain dried his hands, then sat on the stool beside him. Damon placed the cookbook atop the pile of mail that Zain had on the island. “You need to start checking your mail.”

“I check the mailbox every day.”

“You need to read them.”

Zain scowled at the letters. He’d developed a tendency to avoid reading them. He never wanted to stumble on one from a certain sender. “If it was important, they’d call.”

Damon scoffed, pushing aside the empty plate to sort through the stack. “The only call you’ll be getting is if one of these companies comes to your door to arrest you.”

Zain almost laughed. No one would ever come to his door to arrest him. The government would rather kill him than allow anyone to throw him in prison.

“Look at this one. It’s from the army—”

“What?” Zain snatched the letter from Damon’s hand. A bitterness settled in his mouth and all his scars ached.

There it was. The official seal of the army.

Before he could even think of what this letter meant, his phone rang. It was their mother.

Zain dropped the letter as if it had burned. Damon raised a brow, glancing between Zain and the letter. Zain pretended to not notice as he answered the call.

“Zain?” Kacian said.

“Yeah?” he answered.

Kacian sighed heavily. “I’ve told you countless times to say hello or something, so I know you’re on the other line.”

Zain had much to say, but he was incapable right now. The last thing he wanted was to be the target of his mother’s nagging. He had more pressing issues at hand…

Their girl’s well-being.

The letter that scorched his skin when he touched it, burning memories into the forefront of his mind.

Damon took the phone from Zain and put the phone on speaker. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hey,” Kacian said. “Is Taeja okay now?”

“Yes…”

“Good,” Kacian said, her tone chirpier. “I can’t believe that man.”

Zain’s jaw clenched at the mention of Jerry. He saw too much of his own ‘father’ in that man.

How Jerry spoke to Taeja was exactly how Andrew spoke to him every day since he turned thirteen. That was an unforgettable year for him. Not only was it the year he found out he was not biologically a Stark, but it was the year his life started going downhill…

Zain’s fist clenched atop the island as his mind drifted from Andrew and back to Jerry.

They were in Taeja’s life now. And if he could help it, she would never feel belittled or shed tears of hurt again. He wasn’t sure how he’d do it when he was such a fuck up himself, but he’d do his best.

She deserved the best.

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