Always, Darling

Chapter 8

~ Ｔ Ｈ Ｅ Ｏ Ｄ Ｏ Ｒ Ｅ ~

A week had passed, and it was official. Nadia was my daughter.

Eden had pulled a lot of strings along with Arya and James: setting up meetings with social workers, arranging for a custody hearing here in Haiti, and securing a passport for Nadia. This week had been tiring for us, especially for Nadia as she was forced to relive the trauma of her abandonment in order to prove that she was legally an "orphan," a term that I could tell bothered Nadia more than anything. To her, she was simply waiting for her mother who was still alive but not able to care for her.

I understood the reason for needing to verify that Nadia had no family. International adoption unfortunately had a history of human trafficking, which I had learned when Ava and Arya were in the process of adopting Parth. That was why they had hired a private investigator to find any remaining family, to ensure that he wasn't stolen from a family who loved him.

Most of the formalities were over now, and all that was left was for Nadia and I to sign the release papers at the orphanage. Then we would be free to go back to Miami, to our home.

It was early morning, barely eight o'clock, as we walked to the orphanage. Nadia was dressed in an old baggy t-shirt and sweatpants that a nurse had given her. She wore a hat on her head to hide her matted hair that I could tell she felt embarrassed about. Simon thankfully had made an appointment at the salon soon after our flight was scheduled to land, and Ava, Arya, and Claire had already bought an entire wardrobe for her.

As we walked in the warm sun, I occasionally glanced at Nadia whose head was lowered, her hands buried in her pockets. She seemed worried, which was understandable given all the changes she was going through.

I walked to the side, bumping my shoulder against hers and getting her attention. "You okay?"

Nadia averted her eyes, focusing on the road before us that we walked on. "I don't know. I just...I don't know."

"It's okay if you're scared," I said. "I would be too, moving to a new country to live with people you barely know. I can't even imagine what's going through your head."

Nadia sighed. "I'll be okay. I just need some time."

We continued the walk silently until we reached the gates of the orphanage. I pushed against the metal and started walking but stopped when I didn't feel my daughter's presence. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a frozen, scared girl who didn't want to be here. God knows what had happened to her behind the doors of this run-down home.

I extended my arm towards her and took her hand, squeezing it. "I got you, amore. It'll be okay."

A small smile pulled on her lips, the first I had seen since meeting her. And it was beautiful. The way it reached her eyes, small wrinkles near the corner, the dimples that left small indents in her cheeks, a childlike look about her, and more than ever, it was clear that she was her mother's daughter.

She held on to me tight as we entered the courtyard. Unlike when I had first come, there were no children playing, no sounds of giggling or laughing or playing; only silence.

"Why is it so quiet?" I muttered.

"That's how it is when we have visitors," Nadia said. "They send the younger ones to their rooms while us older ones finish our chores. Then they warn us to be quiet or..."

"Or?"

Nadia shook her head, tightening her grip around my hand. "I don't want to talk about it."

I raised her hand to my lips, placing a gentle kiss against it. "I understand, but I'm here when you're ready."