Jerica instinctively reached for his hand, her fingers intertwining with his as she gently squeezed him. "That sounds like love," she whispered. "She just wants you to have the peace she never had."
Jared looked at their joined hands for a long moment, his thumb brushing absently against hers. "I didn't understand it," he admitted. "I thought she didn't get it, that she was asking me to forget everything she'd been through. But then…" He looked up, his gaze locking with hers, intense and unflinching. "Then I realized how much I'd ignored you…"
Jerica's breath caught in her throat.
"I was about to quit, Jerica," he said, his voice deep and steady, though it trembled at the edges. "I thought maybe… maybe I could do what my mother asked. Maybe I could let go of everything and try to build something better. Something real." He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers. "I want to build us a family. I want a life with you."
