เข้าสู่ระบบ*Will* I glance at my watch for the third time in five minutes, my heart racing. Brandy is late, and the last thing I need is for this meeting to start without her. The room is filled with my colleagues, their chatter and the clinking of coffee cups rising and falling like the tide, but all I can think about is what could go wrong without her there to help. I rub the back of my neck, feeling the weight of expectations pressing down on me. The door swings open, and I turn, half-expecting to see Brandy rushing in, flustered but ready to take her seat. Instead, it’s Kiera… my Kiera…striding confidently into the room, a folder tucked under her arm. She flashes me a smile that instantly calms the storm brewing in my chest. “Hey,” she whispers as she slides into the chair next to me, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Brandy is out of commission. I’m here to save the day.” I blink, momentarily stunned. “What’s going on?” I whisper back, leaning closer. “Where’s Frida?” “Don’t worry.
*Kiera* "Okay, now stir, stir,” I chant, holding the bowl while Frida moves the whisk in a jerky pattern. “Keep stirring. Tight circles, remember?” “Here, like this,” says Will, trying to reach in and take over, one of the few bad habits I have discovered him to have.. I playfully slap his hand away. “Babe, she can do it. Just give her a sec.” Frida furiously churns the eggs into the top inch of cinnamon roll mixture, an excited smile on her face. “Am I doing it?” “Dig deeper,” I say on a laugh. “You gotta mix the whoooole bowl.” We’ve finally made it to the last day of her wearing the arm cast. The break look great, so she gets the cast off first thing tomorrow. To celebrate, we’re baking some cinnamon rolls as a gift for Tina. Frida stands at the counter on her kitchen stool. She’s perfected the art of balancing on one foot, keeping the weight off her healing leg. That cast will be on for another week, maybe two, then that will come off too. Will checks the time
*Kiera There’s a tremor that goes through him. It’s a vulnerability from what he is asking. He’s been so careful with me, always letting me set the pace, but this is the one thing he’s been hesitant about. I feel how much he wants me, feel it pressed against my core, but there’s always been a wall up. I never pushed it, but now he is asking me to break it down. I have never wanted anything more. “Are you sure, Will?” “Yes. I need you. Please.” Those words are a benediction. I lean in and kiss him deeply, my tongue slipping into his mouth. He sighs against my lips, the sound pure relief. His hands slide under my shirt to the small of my back, holding me tight. His tongue tangles with mine. This is no longer a negotiation. This is a promise. He is trusting me. He is giving himself to me. And I will take such good care of him. My hands down his chest. His muscles are tense, straining against the thin cotton of his shirt. My fingers find the hem and I tug upwards. He breaks our kiss
*Will* “I’m not mad,” I assure her, one hand on her thigh. Kiera raises a dark brow. “You’re not?” I shake my head, smiling with relief. “No, I’m glad.” It’s not as if I didn’t know. Anyone can see the way they are together… laughing and singing and making jokes. In those moments of play, she reminds me the most of Vera. They’re so different in personality in all other respects. But loving Frida brings out the best in both of them. Kiera is just the sort of joyous, fun-loving parent Frida deserves. I’ve been finding my own way into parenting, shifting from being the uncle she only saw on video calls and holidays to being a daily fixture in her life. Ours is a quieter kind of love, the love of stillness. Arms to hold her, words of comfort to share. She goes to Kiera when she wants to laugh and play. She comes to me when she’s tired, when she’s sad and grieving, when she needs the world to stop spinning quite so fast. Both kinds of love are worthwhile. And Frida deserve
*Will*“What is wrong?” I can i stantly see it on her face and in her eye as she approaches me, something is bothering her.Kiera lets out a small sigh, “it’s our wedding.”I blink, I somehow did not see this coming, “our wedding how?”“By keeping everything quiet and rushing like we did, I denied my family a lot. I hurt them, Will. I think I’m really only just now realizing how much I hurt them. Something Frida said tonight opened the wound fresh.”“What did she say?”She brushes her hand down my arm again. “She said Vera promised her she could be the flower girl at your wedding.”I go still, my heart clenching tight. The picture is so easy to paint in my mind. I can all but hear Vera’s voice saying the words, followed by Frida’s little cheer of excitement. “Frida would have made an excellent flower girl.”“Yeah, I feel bad,” she goes on. “We really messed up that part, I think. My family has said how much they wished they could have been there. I wish we could make it up to all of t
*Kiera*“Did you have fun today, min lille mermaid?” I tuck Frida into bed with her stuffed animals, and she nods, her eyes bleary with fatigue.Will and I washed the rainbow tiger stripes from our faces as soon as we got home, but Frida cried when Will told her she had to wash off her glittery unicorn. With a gentle nudge from me, he relented. Our new deal is that Frida can wear her face paint to bed tonight, and we’ll wash it off in the morning. Also in the morning, she has to eat two eggs and take her vitamins without complaining. It feels like an even trade.“Are you leaving?” she murmurs.“I don’t have to. I can sit right here while you fall asleep. Want me to sing ‘Part of Your World’ again?”Her mouth turns down into that little pout I’ve come to love so much. She reaches for Teddy the Bear, wrapping her casted arm around him. “They said you’re leaving.”I’m distracted, fluffing her pillows. “Who said what, honey?”“A mommy. At the apples. She said you’re leaving.” She swallows
*Kiera* My heart pounds in my chest as I feel the weight of Will’s grip. He’s not just holding me; he’s anchoring himself to me as if I’m his lifeline. I can feel the heat radiating off his skin, the sweat mingling with the frantic energy coursing through him. I know he’s trapped in that nightmare
*Kiera* I did have fun and I will admit it was nice being out, spending time with a friend and not constantly having to worry about Frida, her i juries and the pending adoption, not to mention my relationship with Will… not that I was able to totally forget it… But in the end I almost can’t wait t
*Kiera* The evening air wraps around me like a soft blanket as I step onto the rooftop bar, the city skyline shimmering under the glow of a thousand lights. I can see Marissa waving enthusiastically from our table, her smile bright enough to rival the stars. This is my escape… a night of laughter,
*Will* I glance at the clock on the wall for the tenth time, its hands ticking away the minutes since Kiera left. It feels like an eternity. I know I should be happy for her, excited even, that she’s out with Marissa at that new bar… and do not get me wrong, part of me are, I do want her to have f







