Please Come Back, My Love novel Chapter 309

Chapter 309

Julian stared at the mark on my skin his breathing becoming shallow. “The little girl with the scraped knee,’ he whispered. “I remember… when the police found me, one of the officers mentioned a brave little girl who d gotten hart helping them find me. But they never told me who…”

“Victoria must have overheard the adults talking about it later,” I said. “She took credit for something I did.”

“All these years, Julian’s voice cracked. “All these fucking years, I thought I owed her everything. And it was you. It was always you.”

Lila, who had woken up and been listening quietly from the couch, suddenly perked up. “Mommy, you saved Daddy?” she asked, her voice filled with wonder.

“Yes, baby,” I said softly. “A long, long time ago.”

‘Like a superhero!” Lila exclaimed, then looked at Julian with the simple logic of a child. “Daddy, if Mommy saved you, why were you mean to her?”

Despite everything, Julian let out a choked laugh, though his eyes were bright with tears. “You’re absolutely right to ask that, sweetheart. I made a very big

mistake.”

“She manipulated both of us,” Julian said, his voice hardening with anger as he looked back at me. “She let me believe a lie for twenty years and watched me hurt you because of it.”

The weight of this revelation settled over me. All those years of feeling inadequate, of wondering what Victoria had that I didn’t—and it had all been built

on a lie.

Julian’s hand reached for mine, his fingers trembling slightly. “The truth is that you’ve been saving me my whole life, haven’t you? When we were kids, when we got married, even now-you’re still saving me from myself.”

He took a shaky breath, his eyes never leaving mine. “I love you, Elena. I’ve loyed you since before I was smart enough to know what it meant. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the fact that I was too much of a coward to say it when it mattered.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. I’d waited so long to hear him say that—really say it, not just in the heat of passion, but as a simple, honest truth.

Lila climbed down from the couch and approached the bed, looking between us with wide eyes. “Mommy? Are you crying?”

I hadn’t realized I was until she said it. I wiped at my cheeks quickly, trying to compose myself.

“I’m okay, baby.”

‘Are they happy tears or sad tears?” Lila asked, her small face serious with concern.

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‘Both,” I said honestly. “Sometimes grown-ups cry when they’re feeling a lot of things at once.”

Lila studied me for a moment, then turned to Julian with the fierce protectiveness that always surprised me in someone so small. “Daddy, you made Mammy cry a lot before. That was very bad,”

“You’re absolutely right,” Julian said, his voice thick with emotion. “And I’m sorry. I never want to make Mommy cry sad tears again.”

She seemed to consider this, then crossed her arms in a gesture that was pure Elena. ‘If you want to come back to us, you have to be really, really good. Mommy deserves someone who makes her happy all the time.”

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12:39 pm PP

Chapter 309

Julian’s expression crumbled into something between a laugh and a soh. You’re absolutely right, baby girl. What do you think? Should I get a chance to

prove myself?”

Lila looked at me, her expression serious beyond her years. I knew what she was asking-she wanted my permission to hope, to let herself believe in the

possibility of a family.

I took a shaky breath, then pulled Lila onto my lap, holding her close. “We’ll see how he does,” I said finally, meeting Julian’s eyes over her head. “Winning

me back isn’t going to be easy.”

“Mommy says you have to prove yourself!” Lila announced, bouncing slightly in my arms.

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