Chapter 42

Forty-Two

Chloe

"Mama!" Adele shrieked the minute I stepped into her preschool class. She rose to her feet, toddling towards me as fast as her legs could carry. "Mama!"

"Della! Della!" I mimicked, running towards her as well.

I picked her up when she reached me and hugged her tightly. Her teacher laughed at the sight and shook her head.

"Y'all are too dramatic. You saw each other this morning for Christ's sake."

"Mama, I draw bear!" Adele said, pulling away from the hug so she could smile at me. My heart clenched every time she did that. Every time she smiled, she looked a lot like her father. Her hair was blonde. The only similarity she shared with me. The rest of her face was all Nathan's. His dark brown eyes, his pointed nose, and his plump lips. She had his face pasted on and while it had taken a while.to get used to, it still hurt whenever she smiled.

Which was every fucking time.

Adele's social skills were a hundred times better than mine. And that was saying a lot. She was