Chapter 195
“Are we leaving Mama?”
The words hit her in a different way than she expected.
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She turned around instantly, and there he was, her little baby…standing in the doorway with those wide, innocent eyes. There was no anger in them, just a question. Just quiet curiosity.
An overwhelming wave of emotion rushed through her.
She didn’t even think–she crossed the room in quick steps, scooped him up into her arms, and hugged him tight. She pressed her face against his small shoulder, breathing him in.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “So sorry for ignoring you earlier”
The first tear slipped from her eye and slid down her cheek.
Aiden’s tiny arms wrapped around her neck, holding on just as tightly.
He patted her back, soft little pats, like he thought he could comfort her the same way she always comforted him. The gesture made
something inside her crack open.
Mia let out a small chuckle, but it was tangled with her tears. “It’s okay, Mama,” he said in his little voice, so calm,.
She pulled back just enough to look at him and carried him to the bed. Sitting down, she settled him on her lap, feeling his small weight against her legs. It grounded her in a way nothing else could right now
Aiden pulled away from the hug and tilted his head, looking at her closely. Then, with a seriousness far too big for someone so small, he lifted his tiny hands and wiped at her cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Mama,” he said softly.
Mia chuckled again, but this time it sounded like she was right on the edge of breaking completely.
She wiped her face quickly, trying to hide the tears, because if she kept crying, Aiden would worry. And if he worried too much, he might start crying with her, and she can’t let that happen.
“Bad man made Mommy cry,” Aiden said suddenly, the words so matter–of–fact that Mia almost didn’t process them at first.
Her hands froze where they rested on his tiny back. For a moment, she just sat there.
She sniffed once, her eyes still locked on his face. She was confused, did she miss something?
“What bad man, baby?” she asked softly, her voice gentle but filled with concern.
Aiden’s little voice was calm when he replied, “The bad man on Mommy’s laptop.”
Mia choked on air. Literally. Her throat caught, and she had to swallow hard, her body jolting slightly from the shock.
Oh, God.
He saw Alex’s picture on her laptop?
Her heart pounds painfully, her mind racing a hundred miles a minute. She had left the screen up when she was having a meltdown… his
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Chapter 195
curious eyes off course caught the face she was trying so hard to hide.
Oh God…
What was she supposed to tell him now?
She looked down at him, her little boy’s eyes wide and curious, waiting for her to say something. He didn’t look angry. He didn’t even look
scared. He just looked like he was ready to believe whatever came out of her mouth next.
And that was the worst part.
It hurt, physically hurt…to think about lying to him again.
But how could she tell him the truth? How could she explain Alex Blackwell and everything in between to a child who still thought monsters only lived under the bed?
Her throat felt tight. She cleared it, her voice low and uneven.
“He is not a bad man, baby.”
Aiden tilted his head to the side, studying her like he was trying to solve a puzzle. His small brows squeezed together in the most adorable expression of confusion.
The sight of it nearly broke her. She wanted to scoop him back into her arms, hug him so tightly the world couldn’t touch him, shield him forever from anything that could hurt him.
“But he made Mommy cry,” he said simply, as if that fact alone proved his point.
Mia shook her head quickly, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. She had to hold them in. Crying now would only make him think
he was right.
“He didn’t make Mommy cry, baby,” she said, forcing a little smile onto her face. Her voice was gentle but it wavered slightly at the edges.
Aiden stared at her for a long moment. His eyes were so trusting, so open…it was almost too much to take.
“Okay baby?” she added softly.
After a second, Aiden nodded, as if that settled it.
Then, without missing a beat, he asked, “His Mommy friend?”
Mia blinked. The question caught her off guard, and she coughed lightly, trying to hide just how strange and uncomfortable the moment suddenly felt.
She had no idea what exactly he meant by “Mommy friend” in his little head, but she didn’t want to dig too deep into that. She just hummed in response, pretending she understood and brushing past it before he could ask anything else.
She needed to change the subject. Quickly.
“Baby, about what you asked before,” she began carefully, “about us leaving…” She paused for a moment, making sure she had his full attention. “We are not leaving, baby. Okay? Mommy is sorry for worrying you, okay?”
Aiden’s eyes softened, and he nodded again. Then he suddenly threw his little arms around her in a fierce hug, like he was the one trying to protect her now.
Mia’s chest ached in the best and worst way at the same time. She hugged him back tightly, pressing her cheek against his soft hair.
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“I will protate you, Mama,” Aiden said with such seriousness in his tone that it made her lips tremble with the urge to smile. “Aiden won’t let bad man hurt Mama.”
A soft chuckle escaped her lips despite everything.
She pulled back slightly, holding his small face gently in her hands. “It’s protect, baby,” she corrected with a smile.
“Protet,” he repeated proudly, grinning up at her.
Mia’s smile deepened. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, making him giggle loudly, that pure, unrestrained sound that always made her heart feel lighter no matter how heavy her thoughts were.
But then her eyes lingered on him, really lingered…and the smile faded just a little.
Her son’s first impression of his father’s face… was that he was a bad man.
Her stomach sank. This was so wrong. Completely, painfully wrong.
How on earth was she supposed to fix this?
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