I held my breath as I stepped into the breezeway.

Knowing the kids would be frightened by what they’d seen, and quite possibly of me, I slowed my steps and approached them carefully. Upon reaching them, I dropped to my knees, and despite the urge to reach out and touch them, I placed my hands on my thighs.

I couldn’t stop the tears that fell from my eyes.

I wasn’t sure what I would do if they were scared of me.

Just the thought gutted me.

Swallowing, I looked up, and met Grandmama’s gaze.

Like me, tears fell from her eyes, creating wet track marks down her cheeks. After running her shaking hands through all three kiddos hair, one after the other, she reached over their heads with one hand and cupped my cheek. “I knew it,” she whispered, her voice so quiet I hardly heard her. “I knew when the time came that you’d fight. And fight you did.” Her chin wobbled, making my chest tighten. “I am so daggum proud of you.”

“I messed up,” I whispered, voicing my biggest fear. “I showed them what I never wanted them to see again”—my eyes flitted to Bella—“and now I’m responsible for fresh scars.”

Grandmama shook her head. “You did what you were supposed to. What any good mother would do. You protected your children.” A smile stretched across her face. “This time, Clara Rose, you didn’t let the monster win.”

My heart pounded all over again.

“Mama,” Liam said, pulling my attention from Grandmama to him. “I’m proud of you too.” His eyes watered; his lower lip quivered. “She was gonna hurt Dec. Just like Colin hurt me.” His words hurt worse than a knife to the heart. My baby had been hurt because I wasn’t strong enough to leave, to protect him. “But you stopped her.” I nearly lost it when the first tear fell from Liam’s eyes. “You kept your promise”—he paused—“you kept us safe.”

Without warning, Liam threw himself into me, wrapping his arms around my neck.

Unable to hold it back, a sob worked its way up my throat. “I love you so much, Liam.” Another sob. “So dang much.”

Liam’s arms squeezed me tighter. “I love you too.”

I don’t know how much time passed—a minute maybe—before he released me and took a step back. Wiping the tears from his eyes with the bottom of his shirt, he smiled at me. “I wish Aunt Shelby were here.”

I chuckled at that.

“Your daggum right,” Grandmama said. “She’s gonna be proud as all get out when I tell her. You may just be swimming in chicken wings and tacos from here on out, Miss Fancy Pants.”

I should’ve laughed at that but I didn’t.

My attention shifted as I focused on a silent Declan and Bella. Unlike his older brother, Declan wasn’t crying. Instead, he wore an unreadable expression on his face that made my anxiety increase three-fold. “Declan, baby, I’m so—” I started.

“I don’t like that woman,” he huffed, interrupting me. “She makes Bella cry.” His voice was stern, his tone serious. “I don’t like it when Bella cries.”

“I know baby,” I replied, running a single finger down the side of his face. “I don’t like it when my little princess cries either.”

Beside Declan, Bella’s tear-filled gaze dipped to the floor.

“I don’t want to see her no more,” Declan stated, throwing his arms up in the air. “She’s a witch and I don’t like witches.” Huffing out a breath, he continued. “I don’t like when people are mean to my sister. It’s not nice and—”

Bella giggled through the tears and Declan snapped his mouth shut. “What?” he asked, confused. “What’s funny?”

“You said Bella was your sister, doofus,” Liam said, rolling his eyes. “That’s why she’s giggling.”

Declan’s confusion only grew. “Well she is, ain’t she?”

“Do you want her to be?” Grandmama asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Again, Declan threw his arms up in the air. “I thought she already was!”

Bella chose that moment to lock eyes with me. Her tears had slowed but they still fell, breaking my heart. Gently taking her hands in mine, I whispered, “I love you, Princess. More than you’ll ever know.” She remained silent so I kept talking. “I’m so sorry if I scared you, baby. I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to hurt your…” My voice trailed off. I had no idea what to call Chastity. Right or wrong, I couldn’t bring myself to refer to her as Bella’s mother. That was a title that she didn’t deserve. “… I was trying to keep you safe.”

Bella’s chin wobbled. “I’m scared,” she whispered, crushing my soul.

Knowing I’d scared her broke something inside me.

I became everything I swore to never be…

“Baby, I didn’t mean to scare you. I only—”

“I not s-scared of you,” she interrupted, stuttering. “She d-did… She tried to h-hurt D-Dec”—her tears fell faster—“I don’t want her to hurt h-him.”

I squeezed her hands gently. “She won’t, Princess,” I said. “I promise.”

Bella nodded. “Okay,” she said, her chin wobbling. “I wanna go h-home.”

“We’re going home,” Brantley said from behind me, startling me. “Now.”

I dropped Bella’s hands, stood, and turned to face him. “Brantley—”

The expression plastered on his face caused me to snap my mouth shut.

He looked pissed.

And I mean pissed.

“Don’t say a word, Clara,” he said through gritted teeth. “We’ll talk about it when we get home.”

Instantly deflating, my shoulders slumped forward, and fear set in.

He’s going to take Bella from me…

“Daddy,” Bella fussed, her voice bordering on whiney. “Don’t be mean to C-Clara. She’s gonna c-cry again.” She hiccuped. “I don’t want her to c-cry.” Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I closed my eyes. “My belly h-hurts when she c-cries,” she continued. “Cause I l-love her.”

My eyes popped open.

My breath hitched in my chest.

Spinning around, I dropped to my knees in front of her. “You love me?”

Bella jerked her head down once. “Yes.”

Cupping her cheeks, I smiled through the tears. “You’re not scared of me?”

“No. Only h-her.”

“She will never hurt you, sweet girl, I promise.”

“I know,” Bella replied, taking a shaky breath. “Cause I have you.” Rendered speechless, I remained silent. It didn’t matter though because Bella kept talking. “Clara…”

Her eyes flitted to Brantley before coming back to me.

“Yeah, sweet girl?”

“Are you g-gonna be my m-mommy now?”

Heart nearly bursting, I mirrored Declan’s words to the little girl who’d become the daughter of my heart. “I thought I already was.”

Without saying a word, Bella slammed herself into me.

In return, I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight as she pressed her face against my chest and cried. Hard. Burying my face in her soft curls, I rubbed my hand up and down her back. “I love you, Bella Boo,” I told her. “Always, Princess.”

I meant every word.