Chapter 96
The sweet, creamy scent of waffle cones hung in the air as Lucas and Sofia stepped out of the ice cream shop, the sun warming their backs. Sofia balanced a towering scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough in one hand and clutched a small chocolate mousse cake in the other. Her eyes sparkled, a true reflection of the childlike joy Lucas rarely got to witness firsthand.
He couldn't help but smile. Even though his motives today were questionable, moments like these were real. Unfiltered. Precious. "You happy now, cupcake?" he asked as they made their way toward his car.
Sofia grinned, already licking her cone. "Duh. This is like the best day ever. Ice cream and cake? What more could a girl want?"
Lucas chuckled, his heart swelling with a mix of pride and guilt. He hadn’t been the best father, far from it. But today he was trying, in his own flawed way.
Back at his new rented apartment, they climbed flight after flight of stairs, the building humming with the faint thrum
