Tears shimmered in Cecilia’s eyes.
Looking into Maya’s eyes felt like looking into her daughter’s all over again.
Once, those eyes had been filled with hope, love, and dreams for the future. But the last time Cecilia had looked into them, they had been clouded with heartbreak, disappointment, and pain.
Even so, they still held the quiet conviction of a daughter who had chosen to stand by the man she loved, even if it meant turning her back on the family she had known all her life.
They were the last eyes Cecilia had seen before Malia walked away.
Now, more than twenty years later, those very same eyes were looking back at her.
In an instant, every emotion she had carried with her for more than two decades came rushing to the surface.
Her fingers tightened around the handle of her pu
