“How do you feel?” Laura asked her.
“I’ve always loved you and admired you. I went into journalism because of you.” Klara’s chin quivered. “I’m proud to be your daughter.”
She stood, reached for Laura.
And Laura took her daughter into her arms, unable to hold back her tears. “Oh, Klara,
Years of fear, grief, heartache seemed to pass through Laura at the pure joy of this moment. She felt Javier behind them, felt his strong hand on her shoulder as he did his best to support them both.
Klara gave a little sniff. “I hate knowing how much you suffered, and that I was a part of that.”
Laura drew back, wiped Klara’s tears away. “You were never to blame. You were a victim of it the same as I was. From the first moment I saw you for the first time at your parents’ house, you’ve been nothing but a joy for me.”
“I’m glad I know.” Klara smiled. “I’ve always wondered why my mother left me. Mom and Dad always said she had given me up because she wanted what was best for me. I always wondered why she didn’t try harder to overcome her problems or whether there was something about me she just didn’t like. But now I understand. You never really wanted to give me up, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.” Laura wiped her eyes with a tissue. “But Erik and Heidi have been such wonderful parents. They love you deeply. They let me be a part of your life. They are your true mother and father. I am so grateful to them.”
Klara wrinkled her nose. “I hate Al-Nassar even more now.”
“He died long ago in a prison cell, alone and broken,” Javier said. “Forget him.”
Klara looked shyly up at Javier. “When I heard Laura was my mother, I’d hoped you were my father.”
Javier drew Klara into his arms and hugged her. “I held you all the way to Stockholm. I’d never seen anything as precious or sweet as you in my life. I’ve watched you sleep, watched you play, watched you grow up. If you want to believe I’m your bio-dad, hey, that’s fine with me.”
For a moment there was silence.
Klara looked at both of them, clearly uncertain what to do next. Her world had just shifted on its axis. “I should go back. Mom and Dad will be wondering.”
Laura tried to reassure her with a smile. “This must have been very hard for them. Go to them. We’ll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes.”
Klara turned to go, then looked over her shoulder at them. “I want you both to know I love you.”
“We love you, too.”
Then she was gone.
Laura took a step, then sank onto the bed, a riot of emotion inside her. “Well . . . that was unexpected.”
“I’d say it went well.” Javier sat beside her, held her. “Everything turned out just fine in the end. My guess is that it only gets better from here.”
Laura looked up at the man she loved, the man who’d been her husband for nineteen wonderful years. “I couldn’t have gotten through any of this without you. Through all of it, you’ve been my support, my anchor. I don’t know how one man’s shoulders can possibly be so strong.”
He kissed her hair. “What is it your mother likes to say?”
“
He tilted her face up to his. “With the love I feel for you,
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