My Bestie's Dad Likes Me Wet-Chapter 105 COLLISION

NOVA POV

The funeral was small. Pathetic, really. It was just me, Sam, the boys, and three people I didn’t recognize who’d probably known my godmother from the bar or her dealer’s circle. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The pastor said generic things about eternal rest and God’s mercy. I stood there holding Phoenix’s hand while Asher clung to Sam’s leg, both boys confused about why we were looking at a box in the ground.

"Is Grandma in there?" Phoenix had asked earlier.

"She wasn’t your grandma, baby," I’d said, my throat tight. "She was... someone who took care of Mama a long time ago."

It was the kindest way I could describe a woman who’d starved me, housed me, and ultimately sold me out for drug money. But she was dead now, and speaking ill of the dead felt petty.

After the burial, we drove to her house which is a small, run-down place on the edge of town that smelled like cigarettes and piss. The landlord had given me a week to clear out her belongings before he rented it to someone else.

"You okay?" Sam asked as we pulled up. He’d barely spoken to me since the confession three days ago. The drive here had been awkward, filled with the boys’ chatter and heavy silences.

"Fine," I lied.

The house was worse than I remembered. Peeling wallpaper, stained carpet, furniture that should’ve been thrown out a decade ago. The boys immediately ran to explore, their voices echoing through the empty rooms.

"Don’t touch anything sharp!" I called after them.

Sam stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets. "Where do you want to start?"

"I don’t know. Anywhere." I looked around at the mess of a life my godmother had left behind. "Most of this is trash anyway."

We worked in tense silence, sorting through boxes of junk and old clothes. The boys played in the backyard, their laughter drifting through the open windows. It was a strange contrast to the depressing task at hand.

I was in the bedroom, bagging up clothes for donation, when Sam called out.

"Nova."

Not Elizabeth. Nova. I was Nova again now. No more hiding behind a fake name.

"Yeah?"

"You might want to see this."

I walked to the living room where Sam stood by the window, his face pale.

"What is it?"

He pointed outside. "That car. It’s been parked across the street for the last twenty minutes. And there’s another one at the corner."

My blood ran cold. I moved to the window, careful not to be seen. Two black SUVs. Tinted windows. The kind of cars that screamed money and power.

"Maybe they’re just—"

"They’re watching us," Sam said. "One of them has been taking pictures."

My heart started hammering. "We need to get the boys. Now."

"Nova—"

"Now, Sam!"

We moved quickly. Sam went out the back door to grab Phoenix and Asher while I frantically shoved the last of my godmother’s important documents into a bag. Birth certificate, social security card, the deed to the house—not that it was worth anything.

"Mama, why are we leaving?" Asher asked as Sam herded them inside. "We didn’t finish playing."

"Change of plans, baby. We’re going to get ice cream instead."

"Yes!" Phoenix pumped his fist.

We piled into Sam’s truck, and I tried not to look too obvious as I checked the mirrors. The SUVs didn’t move. Just sat there observing and watching us patiently.

"Are they following us?" Sam asked, pulling out of the driveway.

"I don’t think so. Not yet."

But my hands were shaking. Because I knew. Deep in my bones, I knew who’d sent those cars.

It can only Grant.

After six years, he’d found me.

We drove to a diner two towns over. It was somewhere public, somewhere safe. The boys got their ice cream and immediately made a mess of themselves. Sam and I sat in tense silence, pretending everything was fine while my mind raced.

"We should go back to Petals Creek," Sam said quietly. "Tonight."

"They know where the house is. If they were watching, they saw the address. They could—"

"Then what do you want to do?" Sam’s voice was strained. "Because sitting here waiting for them to make a move isn’t a plan."

He was right. God, he was right.

"I need to talk to him," I said.

"To who? Grant?"

I nodded. "If it’s him—if he’s the one looking for me—I need to face him. Explain. Try to make him understand."

"Understand what? That you kept his sons from him for six years?" Sam’s voice was harsh, then he seemed to catch himself. "Sorry. That was—"

"True." I looked down at my untouched coffee. "It was true."

We drove back to my godmother’s house as the sun was setting. The SUVs were still there, and this time I didn’t hide. I walked right up to the driver’s side window and knocked.

The window rolled down. Ivin looked at me with emotionless eyes. "Miss Hart."

"Tell him I want to talk," I said. "Just him. I don’t want any lawyers or threats.. I’ll appreciate a decent conversation"

He nodded . "Mr. Calloway will be in touch."

The window rolled back up. I walked back to the house, Sam watching from the doorway with the boys behind him.

"What did you do?" Sam asked.

"What I should’ve done six years ago."

That night, Sam took the boys to a hotel. I insisted. If Grant was coming, I didn’t want them anywhere near the fallout.

"Call me if you need anything," Sam said at the door. His hand lingered on my arm, a ghost of the affection we’d had before I’d shattered everything. "And Nova?"

"Yeah?"

"Don’t let him bully you. You’re not that scared girl anymore. You’re a mother. You’re stronger than you think."

He left with the boys, Phoenix and Asher waving goodbye through the back window, completely oblivious to the fact that their entire world was about to change.

I waited.

At 9 PM, there was a knock on the door.

I opened it. And there he was.

Grant Calloway. Six years older. Silver hair a bit longer. Lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before. But still him. Still the man who’d consumed me, destroyed me, given me the two most precious things in my life.

"Nova." My name on his lips sounded like a prayer and a curse all at once.

"Grant."

We stood there, staring at each other across the threshold, six years of silence and pain and longing hanging between us.

"Can I come in?" His voice was carefully neutral, but I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands clenched at his sides.

I stepped back, letting him enter.

He looked around the shabby house, his expensive suit completely out of place. Then his eyes landed on me, and the neutrality cracked.

"Six years," he said. "Six fucking years, Nova."

"I know."

"I looked for you. Everywhere. I cleaned up the video, fixed your scholarship, arranged everything so you could come back. And you just... vanished."

"I had to."

"You were pregnant." His voice broke on the word. "You were carrying my child and you didn’t tell me."

"I didn’t know when I left. I found out after."

"And you still didn’t come back. You still didn’t call. You still kept my sons from me for six fucking years." He took a step closer, and I could see the rage beneath the hurt. "Why?"

"Because I was scared! Because your daughter and your ex wife destroyed my life and I thought you’d—"

"You thought I’d what? Abandon you? Choose Lena over you?" Grant laughed, but it was bitter. "I disowned her, Nova. The day I found out what she did, I cut her out of my life completely. Because she took you from me."

I stumbled back, gripping the counter for support. "You disowned her?"

"She recorded us. Leaked that video. Ruined you on purpose because she was jealous. Did you really think I’d forgive that?" He ran his hand through his hair. "I’ve spent six years trying to find you. Six years wondering if you were alive, if you were safe, if you’d kept our baby or—" He stopped, his voice catching. "And then I come here for a business deal and I see two boys. Two boys with my face. Playing in a yard. Calling another man Dad."

"Sam has been good to them. Good to me."

"I don’t give a fuck about Sam!" Grant’s voice rose, then he seemed to catch himself. "I don’t care who he is or what he’s done. Those are my sons, Nova. Mine. And you kept them from me."

"I was trying to protect them!"

"From what? From their father? From having everything they could ever need?" He stepped closer, and I could smell his cologne, see the grey in his eyes that I’d never forgotten. "Or were you protecting yourself? Because you were too scared to face me?"

The truth of his words stings because he was right. I’d been running from more than just Lena’s revenge. I’d been running from him. From what we’d had. From the intensity of it all.

"What do you want from me, Grant?" My voice was shaking. "An apology? You want me to say I’m sorry for running? Fine. I’m sorry. But I can’t change the past. I can’t give you back six years."

"No. You can’t." He stopped right in front of me, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. "But you can give me the future."

My breath caught. "What?"

"Marry me."

••The words hung in the air between us, impossible and inevitable all at once.

"You’re insane."

"Maybe. But those boys are mine. And I’m not letting you take them away again." His voice dropped, became dangerous. "So here are your options, Nova. You marry me. You come back. You let me be their father—their real father—and give them everything they deserve. My name, my protection, my resources. Everything."

"Or?"

"Or I take you to court. I have unlimited resources and the best lawyers in the country. I will prove you kidnapped my children. I will get full custody. And I will make sure you spend the next decade in legal hell." He leaned in closer. "And you know I’ll win. Because I always win."

Tears streamed down my face. "You can’t do this. You can’t just—"

"I can and I will. Because I’ve lost six years with my sons. I’m not losing another day." His hand came up, cupping my face, his thumb brushing away my tears. "But I don’t want to fight you, Nova. I don’t want to take them from you. I want us to be a family. The family we should have been six years ago."

"What about Sam? The boys love him. He’s been their father—"

"He can still be in their lives. I’m not a monster. But I’m their father, Nova. By blood, by right. And it’s time they knew the truth."

I closed my eyes, feeling his hand on my face, smelling his scent, hearing his voice. And God help me, part of me wanted this. Wanted him. Wanted to stop running and go back to the man who’d loved me when I was Nova Hart instead of Elizabeth Moore.

"This isn’t fair," I whispered.

"Life isn’t fair. But I’m giving you a choice. Come back with me willingly, or I’ll drag you back through the courts." His forehead rested against mine. "Please, Nova. Choose us. Choose our family."

I thought about Phoenix and Asher. About the life I’d built in Willow Creek. About Sam and his patient love. About six years of running and hiding and pretending to be someone else.

And I thought about Grant. About the way he’d made me feel alive. About our sons who had his eyes and his stubbornness. About the fact that no matter how hard I’d tried, I’d never really stopped loving him.

"If I do this," I said slowly, "I’m not that scared girl anymore. I’m a mother. I have boundaries. I have conditions."

"Name them."

"The boys come first. Always. And Sam stays in their lives. He’s been their father for six years, and I won’t let you erase that."

Grant’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. "Fine."

"And you don’t get to control me. I’m not your possession, Grant. I’m a partner. An equal."

"Agreed."

"And if Lena—"

"Lena is gone. Out of my life. She’ll never hurt you again. I swear it."

I searched his face, looking for lies, for manipulation. But all I saw was desperation. And love. And a grief that matched my own.

"Okay," I whispered.

"Okay?"

"Okay. I’ll marry you."

Grant’s eyes closed, relief washing over his features. Then he pulled me into his arms, holding me so tight I couldn’t breathe.

"Thank you," he murmured against my hair. "Thank you, Nova. I swear I’ll make this right. I’ll give you everything. You and our boys. Everything."

This was the end of Elizabeth Moore and the rebirth of Nova Hart.

And the beginning of something I wasn’t sure either of us was ready for.Because with Grant, everything came with a cost.

And I had a feeling I’d be paying it for the rest of my life.