When 20-year-old Kara Bennett moves to Boston to escape her post-high school drama with her daughter, she didn't expect to fall straight into it in the form of Austin Mayer.
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All Kara Bennett...
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"HI, KARA. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME."
"Lucas, what are you doing here?"
The question mark in Sarah's eyes dimmed into another question with the name reveal, the same question keeping my mind busy as well. Is he here because he knows? I looked at my phone, Austin's message still on the screen. Did Austin betray me? He changed his mind and let Mila tell Lucas about Sophie. He wouldn't do that.
Lucas held up his arms in surrender, taking cautious steps toward me. "I mean no harm. I just want to talk about..." His eyes softened. "Sophie."
Then, I found myself seated across from him at a corner table. I watched him for a while, thinking how he'd grown into a good-looking man. His features became sharper, his hair a few shades darker. His green eyes still held that boyish glint when he smiled, though. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what was coming next.
Austin stabbed me from my back and rendered me vulnerable to any attacks. The timing was perfect. Maybe he was indeed Mila's brother and I didn't see this coming. This was the plan all along. Together, they planned my ending, and the clock was ticking toward the end.
"I bumped into Mila a while back," Lucas started. "She recently told me about Sophie, saying that you told her to tell me." Liar. "Knowing Mila, I don't think you'd do such a thing, but I wanted to come and confront you. If it's another game she's orchestrated, I'm sorry on her behalf."
His politeness was something I never saw coming. I always prepared myself for a fight, thinking he would threaten me or embarrass me. Now, the man in front of me was picking his words cautiously as if he didn't want to hurt me. He was vastly different from the boy I remembered back then.
"I didn't tell her to call you at all," I replied. He gave me a knowing smile. "But she's right. I mean, Sophie is your daughter. I didn't tell you because we were—the thing between us happened under the influence. You were going to college. I didn't think you'd want to do anything with us. But I wanted her, Lucas. She's my daughter."
Lucas nodded. "Of course."
"I'm both her mother and father now. I don't expect anything from you. I wish Mila never told you about her. If you're here to take cus—"
"—Kara." I stopped to listen to him. "I mean no harm. Of course, she's your daughter." He took a breath and looked into my eyes. "I want to be there for her from now on — for you, too. She's my daughter, too, Kara. I know we weren't anything back then and it was a mistake, but maybe it was actually fate."
Lucas wants to be a part of our lives. Sophie's life.
"I—I'm still confused. I can't wrap my head around the fact that I have a daughter, but I knew that I wanted to be a father to any hypothetical children I would've had. Now that I know Sophie is my daughter, I really, really hope I can be here for her. I'm not seeking to impose anything, but if I had known back then before you gave birth, I would've still wanted the same."
