Chapter 124

CLAUDIA. My heart flutters with what feels like flattery and embarrassment. I don't even want to look around me and see what everyone else's reactions are. I just smile and get to Aristea, putting my hands on her shoulders and pulling her upright. "You really shouldn't be kneeling like that," I tell her gently, watching as she stands on her own. "Especially not for me." She chuckles. "Why not for you? Besides, I look old and I am old, I know. But I'm still strong. I can handle a lot of shit, just you see." I stop. Did she just say shit? I don't know why that's such a big deal to me, but I have never heard anyone who's over our age say something like that. I end up smiling just as everyone else stays silent with shock. She holds my hands, and suddenly I feel a genuine kind of warmth running through me. I look into her eyes, and silent understanding passes through us. I can feel her real desire to take care of me, of my baby. I don't know if it's just the recent betrayals making me