I sat beside him, but not too close. Not yet. “You’re not,” I said gently. “You are the foundation we built everything on. I haven’t changed. Mila hasn’t changed. The only thing that’s changed is that a ghost knocked on the door, and I didn’t slam it in his face.”He leaned forward, elbows on his kn
He looked at me for a long time, then said quietly, “What if he wins her over, Emily? What if he comes in and makes her love him just enough to get attached… and then he leaves again? What then? Do you have any idea what that would do to her? Because I do. I’ve seen that kind of heartbreak. I’ve liv
My breath caught.“No,” I said quickly. Too quickly, maybe. “Ivan, no. This isn’t about me wanting Tristan back. That part of my life is done. Dead. You—” I reached out, trying to take his hand, but he didn’t move, didn’t reach back. “You are the only man I want. The only one Mila has ever known. Yo
E M I L Y“You did what?”Ivan’s voice snapped through the quiet living room like the crack of a whip. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t explosive. But it was sharp, tight with disbelief, laced with disappointment. The kind of voice that made you sit up straighter, that made you feel like you’d touched some
“I’m not,” he said hoarsely, raising his eyes to mine. “I don’t hate him." Lies. "I just… I wish it was me. I wish I’d been better. I wish I could’ve given her that love. But I didn’t. I failed. I failed both of you.”A part of me wanted to believe that. To accept his pain as penance, to think maybe
“I know,” he murmured, his voice barely audible. “I know I missed it. All of it. And I know I don’t deserve a second chance. But I’m asking anyway. Not for me. For her. Because I want her to know that I didn’t forget about her. I want her to know she has a father. Even if she never calls me Dad.”A