Chapter 93

Millie drifted into unexpectedly personal territory, her words tumbling out before she could stop them.

She glanced at Ari, a weary sigh echoing inside her chest.

If she was honest, none of this was truly meant for Ari's ears-she was confessing to herself, sorting through the ache she still carried.

Moving on wasn't about erasing the past. It was about stripping it of its power.

Brandon-his memory, his mistakes-no longer held sway over her life.

Nothing he did could touch her now. Or so she desperately hoped.

She almost laughed at the irony of spilling her heart to a child.

Surely Ari couldn't grasp the tangled mess of adult regrets. But before Millie could say more, Ari wrapped her in a fierce, earnest hug, as if determined to shield her from the world.

Ari's tiny arms barely circled Millie's waist, but the embrace radiated a stubborn comfort.

"I'm not going to call him Dad," Ari mumbled in a gentle tone.

"We're both going to be alright," she went on; her voice barely more than a breath."My birth parents didn't want me, but that's just because they weren't the right ones. Finding you-that's the part that matters. You're my real mom now."

Ari lifted her chin, eyes bright with tears but shining with stubborn hope. "When you leave him, you'll find someone better, too. Just like I found you."

Millie blinked, caught off guard by the depth in Ari's words.

Emotion rose in her throat, too fierce to swallow. She pulled Ari into a fierce embrace, clutching her as if to anchor them.both.

Ari hugged her back, small arms locked tight.

In that moment, blood ties meant nothing. It was as if fate itself had stitched their hearts together.

Millie found herself utterly speechless, unable to capture the storm inside her chest. Words simply wouldn't come.

But Ari was right-they would be alright.

No matter how unpredictable life became, every hardship they survived brought them closer to the sunlight on the other side.

···

The wind swept through the night with a biting chill.

In one of the club's private rooms' fading light, Brandon sat curled up, pouring wine down his throat as darkness closed in.

The heavy stillness did nothing to warm the air, nor to soften the ache pounding behind his eyes.

He couldn't stop replaying the look Millie had given him-icy, distant, final. Every time her voice rang out in his mind, it pierced deeper."Don't push me into hating you."

The words spun on an endless loop, refusing to fade.

He lost track of how long he sat there drowning in regret, until the door creaked open and Darden strode quietly inside.

Darden hesitated for a moment, taking in all the empty bottles scattered across the table before quietly closing the door and dropping into the chair beside Brandon.

"Talk to me, man. What's going on?" Darden asked, his tone low with concern. He'd never seen Brandon drink this much ever before.

Brandon only shook his head, searching for words that refused to come.

"Is Vivian's condition getting worse?" Darden queried, his brow furrowed.

Brandon froze.

For a split second, he realized he hardly thought of Vivian the entire day.

His thoughts were consumed entirely by Millie and that little girl.

"If Vivian's sick again, shouldn't you be with her right now?" Darden pressed, thinking he was on the right track after seeing Brandon's reaction.

But Brandon just shook his head, slow and wordless.

Darden's worry deepened, his voice trembling. "Is it that bad? Is she...is she running out of time?"

Brandon shook his head, dismissing the thought. "It's not about hehe said quietly, tipping a steady pour into Darden's glass.

Darden took the drink, offering a relieved half-smile. "Man, you had me worried for a second."

They clinked glasses in the gloom and let the silence settle in around them. Darden sensed the weight pressing on Brandon but chose not to pry any further.

Brandon turned his glass slowly, the liquor catching faint streaks of amber light.

No matter how much he drank, sobriety clung to him.

If anything, the more he drank, the sharper Millie's face etched itself in his mind.

After a long, uneasy pause, Brandon finally broke the silence.,how are things with Alyssa these days?"

Darden blinked, caught off guard. Why did Brandon always circle back to Alyssa during their recent conversations? The focus he put on that relationship was odd, almost obsessive.

Unable to hold it in, Darden leaned forward and demanded to know why.

Brandon absently rolled the ice in his glass, his expression impossible to read.

"Just curious," he answered in an even tone.

In truth,Brandon had no idea why he cared so much.

Maybe watching Darden fumble through his own mess with Alyssa would help Brandon untangle the knots in his own head.

Darden let out a weary sigh, settling deeper into the sofa before downing half his drink.

"Same old story, honestly," he admitted. "Half the time I have no idea what's going on with her anymore. She's been throwing herself into work lately, which came out of nowhere. I mean, for years she was all about shopping and living it up, never gave a damn about anything serious. Now, suddenly,she's all business?"

Brandon shot him a look that made Darden shift uncomfortably, self-conscious under the scrutiny.

"No, wait, that's not how I meant it," Darden stammered, rubbing at his jaw. "She's actually doing something for herself now. I heard she's gotten into secondhand luxury appraisals-guess all those designer handbags I bought her finally came in handy."

Brandon stared into his drink, lost in thought.

What had Millie been doing these days,really?

Three whole weeks had slipped by since they filed for divorce, and aside from the fact that she was working on adopting Ari, he was completely in the dark about her life.

Darden, sensing the tesion had eased, leaned in. "Alright, man. Spill it. What's actually going on with you?"

Brandon took another measured sip, the liquor burning down his throat, and then quietly recounted everything that had unfolded that afternoon.

Darden's eyes widened in sudden realization.

So this wasn't about Vivian at all-everything came back to Millie and that little girl.

Knowing how desperately Brandon had always wanted a child, Darden couldn't say he was shocked.

"Look, you didn't even know she was sick. That's not on you," Darden assured him,clapping him on the shoulder."Just focus on making sure she gets the best treatment now."

From Darden's perspective, Brandon had handled meeting an unrelated child far better than he'd anticipated-especially given how prickly the man could be.

Darden's eyes traveled across the litter of empty bottles.

In all their years of friendship, he'd never seen Brandon like this.

Brandon just sat there, silent.

"If you really want kids, you know adoption is always an option," Darden ventured, trying to sound practical. "Family, close friends-there's always someone who'd be happy to have you step in."

Brandon gave a slow shake of his head,dismissing the idea.

It just wasn't the same.

He couldn't put the reason into words, not even for himself.

The urge ran deeper-a stubborn longing for a child that belonged to him and Millie, no one else.

But then there was Ari. She wasn't his or Millie's by blood, and yet, somehow, Brandon found himself accepting her without hesitation-because Millie had.

The feeling crept in, quiet and unexplainable,as if some invisible thread had tied them together.

When Ari's tiny hand lightly patted his to comfort him, Brandon felt it down to his soul-a jolt of fate he couldn't explain.

For a fleeting moment, an image surfaced in his mind: the deep blue tanzanite stone locked away in his safe,its brilliance secret and untouched.

Somehow,that gemstone and this moment felt bound by the same strange thread of destiny.

Losing his temper with Millie in front of Ari was something he wished he could take back-it stung more than he cared to admit.

Darden broke the silence, lifting his glass to clink against Brandon's with a knowing look. "Come on,don't spiral. Overthinking won't fix anything. You still haven't handled things with Vivian."

His words cut straight to theheart of it as he continued, "Right now, it's smarter to put some space between you and Millie. And the kid, too. I mean, you have Vivian to worry about now, right?"

Darden added, his tone gentler, "Vivian's got maybe half a year left, if that. Just... take it one step at a time."

Brandon pressed his fingers to his temples as another wave of pain rolled through his head.

In the end, he could only manage a silent nod.

He knew what he had to do-deal with Vivian first, beore anything else.

She was running out of time.

Once it was over, he'd finally have the chance to explain everything to Millie.

And in his heart, he trusted that when that moment came,Millie would understand.