Page 37 of The Hidden Daughter (The Lost Daughters #7)

‘Your daughter will keep Oskar’s memory alive every single day,’ his mother said.

‘Please accept my heartfelt apologies and know that from this day forward, you will be a member of our family. We will treasure you and our granddaughter, and treat you both with the respect you deserve. And you will help this grieving mother, because I miss my wonderful boy so much, and this will be like having a piece of him still with us.’

‘Thank you,’ Amalie said, even though she still felt a flicker of doubt as to whether she could trust her. ‘I’m grateful for the chance for us to stay together. Adoption would have broken my heart.’

‘And mine, too, Amalie. I couldn’t have let that happen.’

Amalie saw that Hope was hovering in the hallway, having clearly overheard what was being said but not wanting to intrude.

‘Hope,’ Amalie called. ‘We have wonderful news to share with you.’

Oskar’s mother bristled, her coldness not completely gone as Amalie passed her baby to Hope for a cuddle, now that she was fed and freshly changed.

Amalie could see that she was a woman she would always have to be on guard around, not to mention careful about just how much influence she had over her daughter.

‘We’re to return to Oslo,’ Amalie said. ‘We won’t be parted after all.’

‘That is wonderful news,’ Hope said. ‘Congratulations.’

Amalie glanced at her daughter’s grandmother, and as elated as she was, she knew better than to think it would be without its challenges.

But as Hope passed her baby back to her and she traced her eyes over her perfect little nose and pink mouth, her tiny hands fisted as she gazed back at her mother, Amalie knew that it would all be worth it.

She was a mother now, and there was nothing more important to her in the world.

‘Oh, and Amalie?’

She looked up.

‘I thought you might like to wear that dress to travel home in, since I wasn’t sure whether you had any other suitable clothes, and I’ll be certain to have some more outfits delivered to our home for you on our return.’

Amalie imagined she might feel like royalty travelling in such an outfit, and she wasn’t certain how she would nurse during the journey, but she gave her a polite nod, anyway.

‘That was very thoughtful of you, thank you. It will be nice to wear something fashionable now that I have my figure back somewhat.’

She knew it was silly, but Amalie couldn’t help wondering why Mrs Johansen wanted her dressed so impeccably for the journey, or who might be seeing them at the other end when they arrived for her to make such an effort.

But then again, there was a chance she was overthinking the entire situation and that his mother was simply trying to be kind and show her change of heart with gifts.

Either way, the outfit was stunning, and she didn’t intend to let Oskar’s family down now. If they wanted her well-heeled, then she certainly wasn’t going to complain.

Four days later, Amalie stood on the doorstep with Hope and hugged her goodbye, wondering how she was going to cope without having her by her side, as a constant source of comfort and love.

Her own family had turned their backs on her when she’d needed them most, but Hope had been her everything, and she only wished she had the words to express how much she’d come to mean to her.

‘I can’t believe it’s time to go. Thank you, for everything.

It goes without saying that I would have been lost without you.

’ Amalie couldn’t imagine what would have happened to her if she hadn’t found herself at Hope’s House, so she didn’t even let her mind take her there.

She’d had nightmares and woken up some nights in a sweat, tangled in her sheets as she imagined herself on the streets, begging for money and clutching her bulging belly, or more recently, holding her daughter against her body in a ragged blanket.

‘I want you to make me one promise before you go,’ Hope said, holding her tight.

‘Anything for you.’

‘I want you to promise that you’ll live a beautiful life full of happiness with your gorgeous daughter,’ Hope said.

‘You’ve suffered a great loss, but you’ve also been given a source of joy, so don’t ever forget that.

No one can take your daughter away from you unless that’s what you want, so you keep fighting to live that beautiful life together. ’

Amalie wished they’d had longer, that there had been time for her to ask Hope more.

But there could be no more questions, only goodbyes.

She realised then why she loved Hope so much—it was because she wasn’t afraid to tell Amalie to dream, to fight for what she wanted, and the only other person in her life who’d ever said those things was Oskar.

Which led her to imagine that Hope had suffered just as much as many of the girls who walked through her door, if not more.

‘I’ll never forget you, Hope,’ she murmured as they embraced one last time, ignoring Oskar’s mother clearing her throat impatiently on the footpath as she waited for Amalie to join her. ‘I only wish we weren’t going to be so far apart. I can’t imagine my life without you in it.’

‘And I will never forget you,’ Hope said, kissing first Amalie’s left cheek, and then her right. ‘Write to me, won’t you? Don’t let this be goodbye.’

‘I will. Of course I will.’

When she finally let go and joined Oskar’s mother in the car, Amalie stared after Hope until she couldn’t see her any longer, her heart aching.

And it wasn’t until they were far from Hope’s House that Amalie glanced at her finger and realised what was missing, what she’d left behind without even thinking.

She’d forgotten all about the box she’d made; the ring Oskar had given her was still in there, waiting to be discovered by the daughter who was instead safely in her arms. It had been such a whirlwind since her daughter had arrived, and it wasn’t until now that she’d even thought about it.

I’ll have her send it to me, Amalie thought to herself. But she knew in her heart that as much as she missed the ring, it was nothing compared to the pain she would have felt if she’d been forced to leave her daughter to discover the diamond one day.

That would have been a pain I’d never have survived.

‘I think I finally have a name for her,’ Amalie said, smiling down at her daughter. She’d been reluctant to name her until she knew they were going to stay together, and then she’d found it almost impossible to think of something that suited her.

‘I will call her Aina,’ she said. ‘I was thinking of naming her Hope, but I think this suits her, or at least it suits us and the journey we’ve been through.’

‘Aina it will be then.’

Amalie stared down at her daughter, whispering her name over and over as the baby gazed back at her, her fingers clutched tightly to Amalie’s finger.

Her name meant forever, it symbolised eternity, and she knew in her heart that there couldn’t be a name more suitable for the daughter she’d almost lost, but who was now going to be by her side for the rest of her life.