Page 88 of Kingpin's Secret Baby

The thought sends a sickening wave through me, and I force myself to breathe past it. It’s over. We made it out.

I shift slightly, careful not to wake them, and glance at Fantasia. Her face is soft in sleep, the tension that usually hardens her features nowhere to be found. She looks… peaceful. Like she doesn’t have to fight the whole damn world right now. Like she doesn’t have to fight me.

Two years of drowning myself in anything that could make me forget her- anger, work, violence.

And now, she’s right beside me. The woman I never stopped wanting, the one who pushed me away every time I got too close.

But I couldn’t help it. She was the one thing I could never get enough of, no matter how hard she fought to keep me at arm’s length.

And now?

She’s in this bed. With our daughter. With me.

A soft knock pulls me from my thoughts. My body tenses instinctively, my protective instincts still on high alert.

I slip out of bed carefully, crossing the room with quiet steps before cracking the door open.

Desmond lingers in the doorway, hands buried in his pockets, his stance telegraphing hesitation. His attention drifts over my shoulder- to where Fantasia and my daughter are beginning to stir in the tangled sheets- before settling back on me. And when our eyes lock this time, his smile blooms into something radiant, pride softening every hard edge of him.

He’s happy for me. Not just because I survived, not just because I saved my daughter, but because for the first time, I’m not holding myself apart. I’m not keeping a foot back, hovering on the edges like a ghost. I’ve stepped in. I’ve stayed.

I had once told him I already had a family, that I wouldn’t walk away from my responsibilities. What I didn’t admit- what I didn’t even let myself fully consider- was that I was clinging to duty because it was safe. Because it gave me a reason to keep my distance. But now?

Now, my family isn’t just the one I inherited. It’s the one I’m choosing.

“You gonna let me take my niece to breakfast, or are you planning to stand there looking like you don’t trust me?” he asks, his voice light, teasing.

I huff a breath, shaking my head. “That all depends.”

I glance over my shoulder toward the bed. Fantasia is awake now, propped up on one elbow, sleep still clinging to her eyes. She looks between me and Desmond, then down at Valeria.

To my surprise, she nods. “Yeah,” she murmurs, voice husky with sleep. “That’s fine.”

I blink, glancing at her again to make sure I heard her right. No hesitation. No argument. Just… trust.

Desmond raises an eyebrow like he hadn’t expected an easy yes either, but he doesn’t question it. He steps inside, moving toward the bed with the same quiet carefulness I had earlier.

I watch as he kneels beside Valeria, brushing a gentle hand over her back.

Luckily, Valeria had taken a liking to Desmond despite just meeting both of us yesterday. Maybe it was because we looked exactly alike. She’d stared between us for a long time last night, her little brow furrowed in concentration, before finally declaring,“Two!”

Desmond had chuckled, ruffling her hair. “Twins, little one. Means there’s double the trouble.”

She had giggled, delighted, and from that moment on, she hadn’t been wary of him.

Now, as Desmond kneels beside her, brushing a gentle hand over her back, she looks up at him without fear. Without hesitation.

“Sweetheart,” Fantasia murmurs, brushing a thumb over her daughter’s cheek. “Do you want to have breakfast with your uncle?”

Valeria blinks again, then shifts, peering past her mother toward Desmond. Her small voice is hesitant. “Uncle Desi?”

He steps forward, crouching slightly so he’s closer to her level. “That’s right. You hungry?”

Valeria giggles, rubbing her eyes.

Fantasia hesitates for a split second, then sighs and kisses Valeria’s forehead. “Okay,” she murmurs. “Go eat, love.”

Desmond claps his hands together. “Perfect. Let’s go get you the biggest stack of pancakes you’ve ever seen.”

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