He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 1015

Scarlett stood a few steps away, fighting back her own tears.

She didn't interrupt. She just watched quietly as Jacqueline clung to Zachary, letting years of repressed emotion pour out of her in loud, unapologetic sobs.

Zachary stood frozen, his broad shoulders trembling slightly.

It took him a long time to steady his breathing. Finally, his voice broke the air, rough and quiet.

"Mom."

It was a word he had replayed in his mind a million times.

During the years he spent wandering the streets as a homeless child, terrified and alone, he would cry himself to sleep wanting his mother. Back then, he truly believed he would never see her again. He hadn't even known if he'd survive the next day.

And during the darkest chapter of his life—the agonizing aftermath of losing his legs—he had wept for her every single night. The only thing that had kept him from surrendering to death was the sheer, stubborn desperation to see his mother's face one last time.

He remembered digging through trash cans, fighting stray dogs for scraps of food. He remembered lying in the gutter, beaten half to death and covered in his own blood.

The only thought that had fueled him through the hell was that he had to make it home. Even if he was going to die, he wanted to die in her arms.

He had imagined this reunion endlessly. He had always assumed he would break down and wail, pouring out all the agony and injustice of his life into her embrace.

But now, standing here, enveloped in the physical warmth of her love, he found he couldn't cry.

The forge of his life had tempered him into steel. He was a completely different man now. The suffering hadn't destroyed him; it had rebuilt him into someone untouchable. Someone strong enough to protect her.

Once Jacqueline's sobs finally began to subside, Zachary gently patted her shoulder.

"Mom, don't cry anymore. I'm home, aren't I?"

Zachary nodded. "Okay. Let's go home."

Only then did Scarlett step forward, holding Dawn. She beamed up at him.

"Zachary!"

Dawn, always the little mimic, immediately chimed in, "Zachary!"

Laughter rippled through the group, and even Jacqueline managed a teary smile.

"Dawn," Scarlett corrected gently, "you can't call him that. You have to call him Uncle Zachary."

Dawn immediately reached her little arms out.