He stood there under the rain drumming against his umbrella, his heart pounding.
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Then Grace’s next words pierced him.
“It’s strange, you know. He doesn’t even know she is his daughter.”
Mika held his breath.
He whispered to himself, “Our daughter?”
Even the rain could not drown out that truth.
He took a step back, staggering.
Everything made sense now.
The necklace.
The little girl’s face.
What he felt when she laughed.
The pain in Grace’s eyes.
Mika had fallen in love with that little girl for weeks without understanding why.
Now he knew.
It was his blood.
And he had abandoned her before she was even born.
He could not wait any longer.
His heart pounded wildly. His shirt was soaked, but he did not care.
He pushed open the door to Grace’s hut, his chest tight, his eyes burning.
Grace rose from the floor, shocked.
“Mika—”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he cried, his voice breaking. “Why didn’t you tell me she was mine?”
Tears ran down Grace’s cheeks as she tried to stay strong.
“Because I didn’t want your pity,” she shot back. “Because you left me once without a word. I thought you would disappear again. I thought that if I told you, you would come for her and leave all over again.”
“I didn’t know,” Mika whispered. “I didn’t know I had a daughter. But now I know, and I feel it in my soul.”
He fell to his knees. It did not matter that the floor was wet. It did not matter that Hope was watching them from behind the curtain with wide eyes.
“I love her. I want to raise her. I want to be in her life every single day.”
He looked up at Grace, his voice trembling.
“And I want you too. I don’t want to lose another day. Please… will you marry me?”
Grace covered her mouth, overwhelmed, trembling.
At that moment, Mika’s phone vibrated.
A voice message from Tiana lit up the screen.
“Mika, please, don’t make any decision before we talk. I have something important to tell you.”
He stared at the phone.
One choice would break a heart.
The other could break his.
Mika said nothing for a long time.
He looked at Grace—the woman who had once given him her heart.
Then slowly he turned his head and saw Hope.
She stood silently near the door, her small hands gripping the curtain, her eyes full of questions.
She took one small step forward.
“Are you really my daddy?”
Mika felt his heart break and come alive at the same time.
He knelt and opened his arms.
She ran into them without waiting for an answer.
He held her tightly, as if he had waited his whole life for that moment.
“Yes, my little star,” he whispered into her hair. “And I will never leave you again.”
Grace silently wiped away her tears.Generated image
Mika slowly stood up, pulled a ring from his pocket—the one he had been keeping since yesterday, the one meant for Tiana—and placed it gently on the wooden table.
“I love you,” he said softly. “Grace… but first, I have to finish something else.”
He turned and walked out into the evening light.
The wind had calmed. The sky was peaceful.
But miles away, a black car was speeding down the road toward the village.
Inside, Tiana sat with one hand over her stomach, her eyes red from crying.
She whispered to herself:
“It’s his… he just doesn’t know about the baby yet.”
Tiana was pregnant.
And Mika still did not know.
What will happen when he finds out?
He will be trapped between two choices.
Share your thoughts in the comments.
What should he do?
Choose Hope and her mother Grace—or stay with Tiana, who is carrying his son?
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