Page 194 of Broken Destiny

My eyes moved steadily down the page until they reached the final note at the bottom.

And then everything stopped.

Six weeks pregnant.

Emma!

My knees weakened, and I dropped into the chair behind me, the breath leaving my lungs in a rush.

That was my daughter.

Our daughter.

A wave of emotion surged through my chest, colliding all at once. My hands trembled as I pressed them against my face.

Jiya had not moved on from me.

Emma was not Cole’s child.

She was mine.

The little girl who climbed into my lap.

The little girl who wrapped her arms around my neck.

The little girl I played tea party and built sandcastles with.

She was mine.

A smile spread across my face before I could stop it, growing wider and wider until it felt impossible to contain. A laugh escaped my throat, as tears stung the corners of my eyes.

I had always felt a connection to Emma—something I could never explain. From the moment I first held her, there had been a pull between us.

Now I understood why.

Any anger I had left shattered completely.

The pieces no longer fit.

Nothing I had believed about Jiya made sense anymore.

She was the mother ofmychild.

After everything I had accused her of… after the cruel words I had thrown at her… after the way I had turned my back on her when she needed me most… the fact that she had kept the truth from me suddenly made sense.

She had tried to tell me.

Somehow, my mother had made sure I never saw the truth.

And because of that, Jiya had carried our child alone, endured everything alone, protected our daughter alone—all while I had been blinded by lies.

Enough time had already been wasted.

I pushed myself to my feet, energy surging through my body like a spark catching fire.

I needed to see her.

I needed to hold her.