The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 443

"I can. If you're a good girl and do your checkup."

Suzie stared at him, stunned into silence.

"Really?"

Suzie's hand hovered mid-air, a tissue still clutched in her fingers. Zoey's teary eyes lit up as she turned to Jamie, asking with absolute seriousness.

"Of course. I never lie. Let's pinky promise." Jamie smiled softly, holding out his little finger.

Tears still clung to her lashes, but a radiant, surprised smile broke across Zoey's face. She eagerly stuck out her own pinky.

Right in front of Suzie, the tall, imposing man and the fragile little girl hooked their fingers together.

Once the promise was sealed, Zoey reached her arms out for Suzie. "You aren't sad, right, Mommy?"

Swallowing down the storm of emotions raging in her chest, Suzie forced a warm, bright smile. "I'm not sad, sweetheart. Let's do the checkup now, okay?"

Zoey nodded. With the doctor's help, she slowly lay back down. The anxiety was still there in her eyes, but she seemed so much braver now.

The technician pressed the button, and the bed glided smoothly into the machine.

Suzie immediately turned on her heel and walked to an empty corner of the room, swiftly swiping a stray tear from her eye.

For years, she had convinced herself that her kids were perfectly content. She thought they were so well-behaved that they didn't care about not having a father in their lives.

She was wrong. She was so, so wrong.

In her moment of fear, the thing her daughter wanted most—aside from her mother's comfort—was the father she had kept secretly buried in her heart.

And from Zoey's words, Suzie realized the devastating truth: the kids avoided the topic of a father on purpose, terrified of upsetting her.

If Zoey felt this way, it was almost guaranteed the boys felt the exact same.

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