Page 76 of His Little Secret in Discretion
I brought my hand to the side of her face. “Of course I am, baby.” Her beautiful smile came to her face, her eyes lighting up as I leaned in closer, aching to taste her lips against mine.
Then—bang bang bang.
A tiny squeal, muffled through the glass doors. My head snapped up just in time to see Delilah pressed against the window. Grinning. Waving.Like a pint-sized little snitch.
“Fuck me,” I muttered under my breath.
Maia followed my gaze, her brow furrowing as she watched the little rascal bang against the glass, catching the attention of concerned nearby parents.
“Looks like we have a fan…” She giggled, and I shook my head, pulling away.
“Yeah… one of those superfans you let the authorities know about…”
“Blaine. She’s five.”
“Exactly,” I muttered, opening the passenger door for her. “Five years old and already my biggest fucking liability.” Her giggles faded as I closed the door, narrowing my eyes back at theentrance to see Delilah’s conniving little smile still plastered to her face.
The world knowing my sugar baby Sunshine was finally mine? Fine. But Killian finding out? That… still had kinks I needed to work out. A no longer four- but now five-year-old extorting me was definitely one of them.
Driving through Maia’s block, I could see her visibly tense as someone sat at the steps to the entrance to her apartment complex. Her knee began to bounce as she gnawed on her lip, her breathing picking up slightly as her eyes remained fixed on the man.
Wesley Dalton.
He was here for a reason. To see her… to apologize, to restart the same cycle.
I should’ve been furious. And I was. At him, at Felix, at the whole fucked system that left her carrying everyone else’s weight. But part of me understood. Addictions didn’t vanish. Men like Wes didn’t just walk out of rehab cured and back into the lives of their loved ones, changed for the better.
They do better, they relapse, then they try again. The people who loved them most ended up bleeding for it.
I should’ve pulled over, let her decide. But I already knew what she’d do. She’d let him talk, let him cry, let him promise change all over again. And then she’d shoulder it. Like she always did. Forget she tried to set a boundary and let him in again.
Not this time.
Because I wasn’t watching her bleed herself dry again, not for him. Not for anyone anymore.
“We should come back later,” I advised calmly despite my growing anger.
She swallowed, breath shaky. Her eyes flicked to me, wide and wet, like she wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words.
“Blaine—” Her voice cracked on my name. Just from the tone of her voice, I could sense the sliver of forgiveness peaking through.
I kept my gaze on the road ahead. “Sunshine, if I stop, he’ll talk. You’ll listen. And we’ll be right back where we started.”
She shook her head hard, nails digging crescents into her thigh. “He’s all I have left.”
I’d said those same words when I tried to justify my mother’s distance. Tried to justify why I still held her on a pedestal despite her leaving me behind every day.
Grabbing her hand gently, I lifted it to my lips, kissing the back of it despite her little palm growing sweaty.
“No,” I murmured against her skin. “He’s not all you have. You and I both know that. Despite the guilt you have in your chest, you know he has to be the one to make the decision to get better. Otherwise, he’ll keep taking until there’s nothing left.”
Her lips parted, trembling like she wanted to argue, but her voice was gone. Eventually, she nodded, but bit her lip as she glanced over at the building. “I should at least grab some things… say hi on the way up?” she asked gently, probably knowing my answer, but I couldn’t say no to the fucking gorgeous little pout.
“Fine.”
She exhaled, relief flickering in her eyes, and slipped her hand from mine. “I won’t be long.”
I parked at the curb, watching her exit as Wesley rose from the step. For a moment, I debated following her, but immediately warmth filled my chest as she did just as she told me she would. She said hi. And I could tell from the car he was already ramblingabout how sorry he was, and my pretty girl just stood still, listening, her face unwavering as the man continued.
