Fake Dating My Ex's Favourite Hockey Player Chapter 160

EPILOGUE

LACEY

I park three streets away from Gracelyn Angels' Orphanage, and by the time we finish the walk, my cami is plastered to my skin. I can't tell if it's sweat, nerves, or some unholy combination of both. Either way, I could wring the thing out.

I stop just short of the gate and take a long, shaky breath, trying to summon enough courage to step inside.

Julie — who literally flew back from Montreal a day early just to be here, and then walked all three scorching streets beside me with a smile bright enough to blind the sun — nudges me. "You're becoming a mum, not losing a kidney. Try having a little sunshine about you."

"This is easy for you to say," I mutter. My voice wobbles. "You're not the one in my shoes. What if she hates me?"

"You've been meeting this kid for months," Julie says, twirling her ponytail off her sweaty neck. "If she hated you, she'd have let you know five months ago. And she's what—two? Three? At that age I liked anyone who called my Barney backpack cute."

"Julie."

She sighs—finally serious—and wipes sweat from her forehead. "First of all, can we panic somewhere shaded? A library? A gym? A bush? Anything? And second, you're going to be a great mother, Lace. This has been your dream since we were old enough to have dreams."

"I know."

"Then why are you keeping the poor princess waiting? She's probably ready to go home with her new mum. Don't let your nerves disappoint that little sweetheart. Lorelei is an angel."

"I know," I whisper.

"So... can we step in now?"

It takes me a moment. My hands are shaking. My head feels floaty — possibly from nerves, possibly from low blood sugar, possibly from the fact that I idiotically didn't wear sunscreen even though today feels like the surface of the sun.

I don't want to be sunburnt on the day I take my daughter home.

I've spent eight exhausting, confusing, terrifying months trying to make this happen. Every form. Every meeting. Every heartbreak. And all of it became worth it the day they matched me with Lorelei.

They didn't know her exact age when she was brought in — not long after I'd made the decision to adopt — but she couldn't have been two. It was fall. She'd been left on their doorstep wrapped in a thin blanket, crying so hard her whole body shook. No name, no ID — just a damp scrap of paper she'd chewed on, with Lorelei scribbled across it in rushed handwriting.

Watching her these past months — bright, sweet, giggly, so full of life despite everything — hit something deep and painful in me. She'd been abandoned in the same way I'd been hurt: by people who should've protected us. And somehow, she still smiles.

We're the same, in this odd, aching way.

So I'll take her home. I'll love her in all the ways no one ever loved me. And she'll love me back. We'll be each other's family. She'll never sit alone in sadness the way I had to. We'll always have each other.

That's the promise I made. And it's one I intend to keep.

"Hope."

Julie blinks. "What was that?"

"You asked me last month if I wanted to change her name. Give her something new so she never has to carry the burden that came before." My throat tightens, but I keep going. "And I do. I hate remembering how sad and lonely I was when—" I pause at the way Julie wrinkles her nose. I laugh weakly, blinking back tears. "When those who shall not be named left me, and when she who shall not be thought of stole my husbands away."

I shake my head. "I never want her to feel that kind of loneliness. Or be tied to anything that hurts. So... I'll name her Hope. Because with me, she'll always have an olive branch. A way forward. A place to land."

Julie looks at me for a long moment, then smiles — soft, proud, and a little teary. "You've changed a lot, Lace."

"Good changed?"

"Amazing changed." She wipes a stray tear off her cheek. "Are you ready now?"

I let out one more trembling breath.

"Yeah," I say. "Let's get Hope home."

THE END

Author's Note;

We've finally reached the end of the main story. I spent so long trying to figure out how to say goodbye to these characters, and I'm so glad I got to do it this way. Thank you for reading, for commenting, for supporting, and for letting this story into your hearts. It truly means everything.

Bonus chapters will be coming soon — and so will the first three chapters of my next book, The Biker's Bride Wants Revenge, launching on January 1st. It's a completely different world, but still sharp, fun, and a little unhinged in all the best ways.

See you next year, and happy holidays!

— Miss Anonymous x