Chapter 287
OLLIE
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The door opened, and Lyn walked in, his pretty face looking tired but kind like always. I liked Lyn a lot, especially after I found out he was Zade’s real mate, which meant Mama wasn’t going to leave Daddy for Zade like I’d been worried about. Lyn made Zade happy, and that meant our family could stay together.
“Hey there, little man,” Lyn said, noticing me standing there with tears on my face. “What’s going on?”
I couldn’t answer because my throat felt all thick and choky, so I just ran over and hugged him around the waist.
Lyn was tall and smelled like flowers and something clean, and he didn’t push me away or tell me to leave.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lyn asked gently, his hand stroking my hair in a way that made me feel a little bit better.
I nodded against his shirt, not trusting my voice yet.
“Outside?” he suggested, glancing at Riley and realizing that something must have happened between us again. Riley kept quiet and ignored us as usual, not saying anything. I was certain, if I was on fire, and I wasn’t close enough to hurt Lake, he wouldn’t even bother
with me.
I nodded again, and Lyn took my hand and led me out of Lake’s room, down the hallway to a quiet place where we could sit on some chairs by a big window. The sun was shining through the glass, making everything look warm and safe.
“Now,” Lyn said, settling down so he was at my eye level. “What’s got you so upset?”
Everything came pouring out of me like water from a broken dam. I told Lyn about being jealous of Lake, about wanting Riley to scent me and pay attention to me, about almost biting Lake because I was angry and jealous.
I told him about hearing the grown-ups talk about Sophia being dead, and how that explained why Riley was so sad but didn’t make
him happy like it was supposed to.
“And I heard Mama and Daddy talking,” I whispered, looking around to make sure nobody could hear us.
“They were talking about whether they’re still married or if they’re gonna get divorced. And everyone’s so sad and broken, and I feel like I’m the only one who wants our family to stay together.”
Lyn listened to everything without interrupting, his face serious but not scary. When I finished talking, he was quiet for a minute, thinking about what I’d said.
“Those are some pretty big feelings for such a little guy,” he said finally.
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Chapter 287
“It makes sense that you’re feeling overwhelmed and confused. A lot of grown-up things have been happening, and nobody’s really
explained them to you in a way that makes sense.”
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I sniffled, wiping my nose on my sleeve. “I just want Riley to love me like I love him. We’re supposed to be twins, but he acts like he
doesn’t even want me around.”
“Riley’s going through something really difficult right now,” Lyn explained carefully. “The person who raised him, Sophia, she hurt him
in ways that made it hard for him to trust new people or show love the way you do. It’s not that he doesn’t care about you – it’s that he’s
scared and confused and doesn’t know how to be a brother yet.”
“But he knows how to be Lake’s friend,” I pointed out, the jealousy creeping back into my voice.
Lyn nodded. “That’s true. But it is different, because Riley and Lake grew up together, and lived with each other for years so they went through scary things together, so Riley feels like Lake is the only person who understands what he’s been through. That doesn’t mean Lake is more important than you – it just means their friendship is different from what brothers have.”
I thought about that for a minute. It still didn’t seem fair, but maybe it made a little bit of sense.
“What about Mama and Daddy?” I asked. “Are they gonna get divorced like Tommy’s parents did?”
Lyn’s expression got sad and thoughtful. “I don’t know, sweetheart. That’s something they have to figure out together. But even if they decide they don’t want to be married anymore, they’ll always be your parents, and they’ll always love you and Riley more than anything in
the world.”
“I don’t want them to break up,” I said, fresh tears starting to fall. “I want our family to be normal and happy like other families.”
Lyn pulled me into another hug, holding me tight while I cried out all the big feelings that had been building up inside me for weeks.
“Sometimes families go through hard times,” he said softly. “Sometimes they have to break apart a little bit before they can figure out how to be strong again. But that doesn’t mean the love goes away, okay? Your mama and daddy love you so much, and so does Riley, even if he doesn’t know how to show it right now.”
I stayed in Lyn’s arms until I felt a little bit better, until the scary feelings got smaller and more manageable. He was right that these were big feelings for a little kid, but talking about them had helped somehow.
Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe Riley would learn how to be my brother, and maybe Mama and Daddy would figure out how
to be happy again.
I just had to be patient and trust that the grown-ups would fix things eventually. And in the meantime, I had to make sure that Mama and Papa never got to find out that I knew about this, they would never forgive themselves. All I was left to do was remain patient for a lot of things now, patient that Riley would love me, patient that Mama and Papa will fall in love with each other, patient that Grandma and Grandpa would not hate my mama anymore. Maybe if I was patient enough, I wouldn’t get jealous of Lake anymore.
Even if being patient was really, really hard.
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Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.

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