The General's Daughter: The Mission

A sharp pain stabbed through Moira’s chest. It was irrational, ugly, and immediate.

For a moment, the sight before her stole the air from her lungs.

Her fingers slowly curled into her palms.

Why was Shay looking at Lara like that?

Why Lara?

Moira had spent the past few weeks trying to become the mother she should have been from the beginning, desperate to make up for the years she had been absent. She had endured the tantrums, the sleepless nights, the exhaustion, and all the mundane demands of motherhood that no one praised because they were simply expected of her.

She had been there for Shay.

She had tried.

Yet her daughter had never looked at her the way she was looking at Lara now.

There was such warmth in Shay’s eyes. Such complete trust and affection.

Moira felt something twist painfully inside her.

At first, she tried to dismiss it.

Shay was only a child. Children became attached easily. Lara had been kind to her, nothing more.

But the longer Moira watched them, the harder it became to convince herself.

Shay was laughing in Lara’s arms as though she belonged there.

She had never laughed like that with Moira.

She had never thrown herself into Moira’s embrace with such abandon or clung to her as though she never wanted to let go.

A bitter heat rose from Moira’s stomach to her chest.

The warm fantasy of the Spirit endorsement vanished. So did thoughts of the money, the publicity, and even the photographs she had once imagined of herself and Shay.

None of it mattered now.

All Moira could see was Lara.

Lara holding her daughter.

Lara receiving the affection Moira had spent weeks trying to earn.

And beside them stood Ares, watching with an unmistakable fondness that only made the humiliation worse.

Moira’s expression hardened.

A slow, poisonous anger began to spread through her.

How dare she?

How dare Lara walk into their lives and win Shay’s affection so effortlessly?

Moira’s nails dug into her palms.

After everything I’ve done for her?

She thought of the mornings she had rushed Shay to school, the schedules she had rearranged, the obligations she had pushed aside just to be there for her daughter.

She had given Shay her time.

Her attention.

Her effort.

And still, when given a choice, Shay seemed happier with Lara.

”So ungrateful,” Moira whispered.

The words trembled with resentment.

But beneath the anger was something far more painful.

Rejection.

For all her efforts to become Shay’s mother again, Moira had never considered the possibility that someone else might become the person her daughter loved most.

And that realization hurt more than she could bear.

Her gaze remained fixed on Lara.

The woman was holding Shay as though she belonged in her arms.

Moira’s eyes darkened.

She didn’t want to share her daughter.

She didn’t want Lara taking a place in Shay’s heart.

And somewhere beneath the wounded pride and jealousy, a darker thought began to take shape.

If Lara were gone, Shay would have no one else to choose.

Moira’s breathing slowed.

She should have been horrified by the thought.

Instead, she found herself wondering just how easily it could be made to happen.

...

”Look who finally came home early.”

Asher stepped out of the garage and came to stand beside Moira. He followed her gaze toward the lawn, where Lara was playing with Shay.

A warm smile immediately spread across his face.

”Shay is growing so fast.”

His voice carried the quiet pride of a father watching his child grow.

Then Lara scooped Shay into her arms and spun her around.

Shay’s delighted laughter drifted across the lawn with the breeze.

Asher chuckled.

”Look at her. She keeps making Lara carry her around. Doesn’t she realize she’s getting heavier?”

Moira turned sharply toward him.

He sounded amused.

Happy.

Not even a trace of jealousy.

”Why do you look so pleased?” she demanded. ”Aren’t you jealous at all?”

Asher’s smile faded.

He lowered his gaze to her, his brows drawing together.

”What exactly do you expect me to be jealous of?”

”That.”

Moira gestured toward the lawn, her voice tightening. ”That’s your biological daughter in another woman’s arms.”

Asher glanced at Shay.

The little girl was still laughing as Lara continued to spin her around.

”What do you want me to do?” he asked quietly. ”Pull her away when she’s happy?”

Moira’s lips pressed into a thin line.

”She’s happier with them than she is with us.”

”And?”

The simple question caught her off guard.

Asher looked at her for a long moment before continuing.

”Shouldn’t we be happy that she’s loved?”

Moira silently cursed him.

What a useless man.

”But we’re her parents,” she snapped. ”We’re supposed to be the people she loves most. Yet look at her. She treats them better than she treats us. What does that make us?”

Asher’s expression hardened.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then his gaze returned to Shay.

”Do we deserve to be her parents?”

Moira froze.

Asher’s voice remained calm, but there was no softness left in it.

”The greatest decision I ever made for Shay was agreeing to let Ares adopt her.”

Moira stared at him, anger flashing across her face.

”You...”

The word came out strangled, but no other words followed.

Asher didn’t wait for them.

He turned and walked toward the others, his long strides carrying him across the lawn.

Moira remained where she was, watching him leave.

Then Asher’s voice rang out, suddenly bright and playful.

”Shay, baby! You’re getting so big! Why are you making Mommy Lara carry you?”

Shay immediately turned at the sound of his voice.

Asher spread his arms.

”Come to Daddy. I bet I can throw you even higher.”

Three more heads turned toward him.

Lara smiled and gently set Shay down.

The moment her feet touched the grass, Shay ran straight toward Asher.

”Daddy Asher! I missed you!”

She threw herself into his arms.

Asher caught her easily, laughing as he lifted her high into the air before settling her across his shoulders.

Shay squealed with delight.

Moira watched from a distance. Something inside her cracked.

She had expected Asher to understand her jealousy.

Instead, he had walked away and received the very affection she had been aching for.

Her hands slowly curled into fists.

Her nails dug so deeply into her palms that a thin line of blood appeared.

But she barely felt it.

Her eyes remained fixed on Shay laughing atop Asher’s shoulders.

Then they shifted to Lara.

The jealousy burning inside her no longer felt like a passing irritation.

It had become something darker.

Something she was beginning to fear she might not be able to control.