Chapter 191

Chapter 191:
Sensing her stillness, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’ll head back for now,” Millie said quietly, her tone even. “I’ll come by in the morning.”
She turned to leave, but before she could take another step, Brandon reached out and caught her wrist.
“Millie,” he said, his voice steady but low. “It’s been days since we last saw each other. Don’t you think it’s time we talked?”
Talk? Was there truly anything left to say?
A few steps away, the silver light of the moon spilled across the surface of the lake, turning the ripples into sheets of soft glass. Brandon’s voice cut through the silence again, this time firmer.
“At the very least… about the child. I deserve an explanation.” His grip remained firm. “You never gave me answers. And I can’t face them—my grandparents—without knowing the truth.” Get full chapters from.net
Millie turned her face away, her gaze drifting into the darkness.
After her session with Rita, she had drifted aimlessly, unsure of what to do next. Sometime later, Charles mentioned that the charity event’s funds were finally being allocated and asked if she’d like to see where the resources were directed. Curious about how the money from the tanzanite sale had been used, she accepted.
That was how she found herself standing in front of a welfare center in Crobert. She had purchased a painting at the auction—Ari’s painting—without knowing it would lead her here. Maybe it was fate. Or maybe… the child she lost had found another way to stay close.
Tanzanite. A donation. A painting bought on impulse. All of it had woven a path that led her to Ari.
The young girl had been left at the shelter long ago, discarded by her biological parents because of a chronic illness. For years, her condition had gone untreated. The fundraising event became a turning point.
After only a handful of encounters, Millie felt something deeper, as if it had been meant to happen. So she made a decision. She would adopt Ari. She would make sure she received the medical care she deserved, give her a proper education, and walk beside her through every stage of life.
But there was one problem—Millie wasn’t thirty yet, the legal minimum age to adopt. So she reached out to the only person who could help: her mother.
That afternoon, she found herself standing outside her mother’s small business, watching silently from across the street. After several long moments, she took a breath and called out for the first time in ages,
“Mom.”
Millie’s mother agreed to help with the adoption paperwork. Though the legal process would take time, it had already begun. Officially, Ari would be registered as Millie’s younger sister—but everyone involved knew the truth. Millie was the one who longed to be Ari’s mother. And Ari understood that, too.
When Ari expressed her wish to attend school, Millie found a small private preschool in Crobert, one that respected children’s privacy and emotional needs. Maybe it was the early abandonment or the years spent in a quiet welfare center. Or maybe it was just her age. Whatever the reason, Ari often seemed unsure, like she was still learning how to move through the world.
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