Chapter 23 Godparents
KARA’S POV
Finally, it’s Saturday.
For the first time all week, I wake up without an alarm screaming at me to move, to think, and to brace myself. My body still feels heavy from the days that refuse to slow down, but today, today feels like a pause I badly need.
My phone buzzes on the bedside table, when I looked down to check it, I recognized that it's Sancha.
Sancha:
You’re coming tonight, right?
At Louisse’s place.
I smile faintly and type back.
Me:
She's been saying “big night” for weeks. What is it she's referring to?
Three dots appear and Disappear.
Sancha:
Just come and trust us.
That alone tells me everything and nothing at the same time. A few minutes later, Louisse followed.
Louisse:
Don't be absent tonight!
By six in the evening, I’m standing in front of my mirror, fully dressed, and studying my reflection like I’m trying to recognize myself again. White trousers hug my hips just right, clean and sharp, paired with a black top that clings to my curves without trying too hard. It's a simple and safe outfit that feels so comfortable.
I let my hair down as the curls soft from the half hour I spent wrestling with a curling iron. Thankfully, my hair is short. One small mercy in a life that rarely offers them.
“Good enough,” I murmur, grabbing my keys.
The drive to Louisse’s place is quiet as the city glowing softly as dusk settles in. I expect noise, chaos, the usual kind of party she would throw before. The loud music, too many people, and zero planning. What I find instead makes me slow to a stop. Her house is glowing as warm lights draped across the yard, elegant arrangements lining the entrance.
It’s refined and intentional.
There are guests already, but not many and only a chosen few. Some faces I recognize, others clearly outside our usual circle.
“What the hell,” I whisper under my breath, stepping out of the car.
Sancha spots me first.
“You made it!” she says, rushing over and pulling me into a hug. She smells like champagne and nerves.
“You weren’t kidding about the ‘big night,’” I say, glancing around. “This looks so expensive.”
She laughs, but it sounds tight.
“Just wait.”
That’s when I notice Louisse.
She stands near the entrance, greeting guests with a calm confidence I’ve never seen on her before. She looks stunning wearing a soft dress, glowing skin, and eyes steady and bright.
She looks older, not in years, but in presence.
“Since when did you turn into this person?” I mutter, walking toward her.
“Kara,” she says, smiling as she pulls me into a careful hug. That alone makes my chest tighten.
"You look beautiful.”
“You look…” I trail off, studying her. “Different.”
“I get that a lot now.” She chuckles.
When did now start?
The party begins slowly. Music hums in the background and laughter rises in gentle waves. This isn’t a reckless celebration. It’s something intimate and deliberate. And then Louisse taps her glass, the room quiets.
“There’s something I need to tell you all,” she says, one hand resting instinctively over her stomach.
The second she says it, I know. My breath catches.
“I’m pregnant.”
The words land softly, but they hit me like a wave.
“What?” I whisper.
Sancha gasps beside me, tears instantly spilling over. She sobs, but covering her mouth.
“I know,” Louisse says quickly. “I know this is sudden.”
My head spins with questions I don’t dare ask.
“How?”
“When?”
“Who?”
She meets my eyes, gentle but firm.
“I’m not ready to talk about that yet.”
Sancha breaks down completely, crying and laughing at the same time as she hugs Louisse tightly. I step forward as my own eyes are burning.
“You’re really…” My voice cracks. “You’re going to be a mom.”
Louisse smiles, radiant and terrified and brave all at once.
“Yeah.”
"I’m so proud of you.” I pull her into a hug.
"I want you both to be her godmothers.” She pulls back, eyes shining.
I freeze.
“Us?” I whisper.
She nods. “It would mean everything to me.”
Emotion swells in my chest, unexpected and overwhelming.
“It’s an honor,” I say softly. “Truly.”
The night feels lighter after that and fuller. Until the air shifts, I feel it before I see him. That familiar weight and that unmistakable presence. I turn slowly and there he is.
Finnian Matthew Stewheinz stands near the bar, impeccably dressed, one hand in his pocket, and eyes already on me.
And he’s smiling, not polite and not casual. That smile is deliberate and predatory. Like he just won something.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter.
Sancha follows my gaze and stiffens.
“He’s here?”
Louisse exhales.
“I invited him.”
My head snaps toward her.
"You what?”
“He’s an investor,” she says quietly. “And… he insisted.”
Of course he did.
Finnian lifts his glass slightly in my direction, his grin widening as our eyes lock. From the look in them, I can already tell that he’s enjoying this. Enjoying the fact that I didn’t expect him here, enjoying the way my shoulders tense, and the way my guard snaps back into place.
He then mouths, "Good evening, Engineer."
I force a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes.
“Looks like,” I whisper under my breath, “he thinks tonight is his playground.”
I square my shoulders.
“Too bad for him,” I murmur, lifting my chin. “I don’t lose games I didn’t agree to play.”
But as his gaze follows me across the room, sharp and unrelenting, one thing becomes painfully clear. Finnian Matthew Stewheinz didn’t come here by accident. And tonight, rest is the last thing he intends to give me.