Dark Lord Seduction System: Taming Wives, Daughters, Aunts, and CEOs novel Chapter 873

Chapter 873: Legacy: Peter’s Bloodline

"You, Mom." I leaned down, pressing my forehead against hers, breaths mingling. "You taught me what it meant to sacrifice for family. To put others first. To love without strings or scorecards."

Our noses brushed; I felt her exhale shakily against my lips. "Everything I am, everything I’ve built—it started with you. And now... now we get to build something together. Something new. Something that’s ours in a way nothing else has ever been."

"Our baby."

"Our baby."

I kissed her.

Not the soft, gentle brush from before. This one was deeper. Longer. The kind of kiss that sealed unspoken promises, that wove souls tighter together. Her lips parted beneath mine, and I tasted salt from her tears, sweetness from her joy, the faint echo of everything she was and everything we were becoming.

Her hands slid up to cup my face, fingers trembling at first, then steadying—pulling me closer as if to say yes, always yes.

When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathing hard—chests rising and falling in sync, foreheads still pressed together.

"I love you," I said, voice rough. "I love you, and I love our baby, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving that to both of you. Daily reminders, gold-plated if necessary."

"I know," she whispered back, a soft laugh threading through. "I love you too. Both of you. My son. My man. My... the father of my child." She chuckled at the absurdity, shaking her head. "How did we get here, Peter? How did any of this become our life? One minute I’m changing your diapers, the next we’re... this?"

"Does it matter?"

She thought about it. Really thought—brow furrowing in that familiar way.

Then: "No. No, it doesn’t. What matters is that we’re here. Together. And that we’re going to face whatever comes... together. Even if it means explaining to the baby why their family tree looks like a pretzel."

"Together," I agreed, grinning. "Always."

My hand was still on her stomach. Hers was still covering mine.

And somewhere beneath our joined touch—impossibly small, barely even real yet—

Our baby waited.

Growing.

Becoming.

Loved before they even existed.

The meal arrived—delivered by ARIA, who left it on a tray outside the door without knocking but pinged me mentally. I retrieved it while Linda protested half-heartedly that she really wasn’t hungry, then watched her devour every bite once the savory aroma hit her nose.

"Pregnancy cravings already?" I teased, stealing a cracker when she offered.

"Or just my body finally realizing it needs fuel after a day of emotional gymnastics," she shot back, smirking.

I sat beside her while she ate, sneaking small bites when she playfully fed them to me, keeping the conversation light and easy. We talked about nothing important—her day before the world tilted, the grocery store run with Jasmine, the over-the-top cheese display that had apparently left her sister in awe, declaring it "the eighth wonder of the world."

Normal things.

Simple things.

The kind that reminded us both that life kept rolling, even when it threw curveballs like this.

When she finished, I took the tray and set it aside. Then I returned to the bed, gathering her in my arms once more.

"Thank you," she whispered, nestling closer.

"For what?"

"For coming. For being here. For not... for not making this weird. Or weirder, anyway."

I laughed softly. "It is weird, Mom. It’s incredibly weird. But weird isn’t bad."

"That’s the second time you’ve said that tonight."

"Because it’s true." I tilted her chin up, making her meet my eyes. "We’re going to figure this out. Day by day, step by step. And it’s going to be okay. Better than okay. It’s going to be us—complete with flowcharts and all."

Her eyes searched my face one more time.

Then she stretched up and kissed me.

Not a passionate kiss. Not a hungry one. Just a soft, gentle press of lips against lips—the kind that said thank you and I love you and I trust you all at once.

When she pulled back, her eyes were clearer than they’d been since I arrived.

"Stay with me tonight?" she asked. "Not for... anything. Just... stay?"

"I wasn’t planning on going anywhere."

She smiled—a real smile, tired but genuine.

"Good."

I reached over to turn off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness broken only by the faint glow of city lights through the curtains. Linda settled against me, her head on my chest, her hand resting over my heart.

"Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you. You know that, right? Not because of the sex, the pleasure, or the... the whatever. I loved you before all of that. I’ll love you after."

"I know, Mom." I kissed her forehead. "I love you too. Always have. Always will."

Her breathing evened out as sleep finally claimed her—real sleep, not the restless exhaustion of before. Her body grew heavy against mine, warm and trusting.

I stayed awake a while longer.

My child. My blood. My genes. My legacy.

I would’ve been abandoned—shuffled through foster homes like an unwanted package, passed from stranger to stranger until I disappeared into the system’s cracks. I never knew my birth mother. Never had a single relative anywhere.

Never had anyone in the world who shared my DNA, my features, my history written in chromosomes.

For my entire life, I’d been alone in that fundamental, biological way. Connected to people through choice, through love, through circumstance—but never through blood.

Until now. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

I would see my eyes in another face. My smile on smaller lips. My blood running through veins I hadn’t built but had helped create.

The thought hit so hard I had to close my eyes against the sudden burn of tears.

Me—Peter Carter, who’d faced down enemies, built empire, conquered everything in my path—crying over a poppy-seed-sized cluster of cells.

Real family. Blood family. The kind I’d never had. The kind I’d secretly, desperately wanted my whole life, even when I pretended I didn’t need anyone.

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