MasukNicole pov "Yes." I looked down at my hands. "When he was mean and cold, it was easy to stay away. I knew how to handle that. But now? He listens to Maple talk about dragons for minutes. He stops me in the halls to ask if I'm okay. Last week, he held me so carefully, like he was afraid of breaking me. His kindness is so much harder to handle than his cruelty."Parkville looked at me for a long time."What do you want?" he asked again, bringing me right back to the real question.I didn't answer quickly. I just let the thought sit there without making excuses or backup plans. I had been hiding what I wanted since I was nineteen, because back then I learned that wanting things was dangerous."I want him," I said again. "I want the version of him that is standing in front of me right now. Not because of the bond, but because he is the person I always cared about from a distance. I want to see if I can trust him with everything—the twins, my research, and myself. But I am terrified of wa
Nicole's POVThe door to Parkville's study was open. He was expecting me. He always knew before I told him, and I had stopped trying to figure out how.His desk was a mess of stacked journals, half-finished tea, and his usual reading lamp. He sat in his wheelchair by the window. When I knocked on the frame, he looked up. His expression held no pity or alarm. He was just entirely present."Close it behind you," he said.I closed the door. Then I sat in the armchair across from him. Neither of us spoke for a moment. Outside, late morning light moved across the courtyard. "I've heard," Parkville said. He never needed a long introduction."I know," I said."Marlon told me this morning." He picked up his tea, looked at it, and set it down. "He was concerned.""Marlon is always concerned.""He loves you," Parkville said flatly as he looked toward the window. "That is not a criticism. It is just true, and you know it.""I know," I agreed quietly."I'm not going to tell you what to do," he
Tate pov There is a long pause. I hold my breath in the kitchen, waiting.Finally, I hear Nicole sigh. "Fine. Just stay in the tub." She raises her voice, shouting toward the kitchen. "Hey, tall man! Can you come here?"I smile to myself. Tall man. It seems that is what they are using to address me."Coming," I say.I get up from the table and walk down the hall. I lean against the bathroom doorframe. The room is full of steam, smelling of sweet baby soap. The twins are submerged in bubbles, splashing each other.Watching Nicole manage them is an eye-opening experience. The moment I walk into the bathroom, the twins splash the water, their faces lighting up."He is here!" Maple cheers, pointing at me."The tall man!" Rosy squeals, kicking her feet in the bubbles. They are completely happy to see me.Nicole wipes a stray drop of water from her cheek and looks at them firmly. "Stay still so I can bathe you guys," she orders.They keep wiggling, completely ignoring her. I step closer to
Tate's POV I don't bring it up at breakfast. I sit at Nicole's kitchen table and eat toast. Maple insisted on helping, though Nicole handled the toaster. He proudly spread the butter himself, leaving it thick and uneven, before presenting it like a prize. I drink the coffee Nicole made. She didn't ask how I take it; she already knew exactly how I liked it from our time together before she left. I just sit and watch my children. Maple sits directly to my left. He chose that seat himself. He talks non-stop about a dragon story he thought of last night. He even climbs down to grab a big picture book from the living room. He thumps it onto the table and points to a page. "See?" Maple says, tapping a picture of a red dragon. "He has scales. Scales mean he likes the hot sun. He can't go to the cold snow place because he'll freeze!" "That is a very good point," I say. He looks happy with himself and climbs back onto his chair. Rosy sits across from me. She has been watching me since
Nicole pov I wrap my hands around my mug. I think about the walls I built, and the reasons I built them. I think about keeping every piece of information in my own hands. Then I look at the man sitting across from me."They came a few weeks early," I say.He doesn't move."I was in the lab," I say. "Late. Working. I had been having back pain for days, and I told myself it was just from the chair. But then I stood up to reach for a beaker, and I felt a sudden, sharp pop. My water broke right there on the linoleum floor. It completely scared me." I look down at my mug. " I remember it was Marlon that found me trying to clean it up, pale as a ghost. He drove me to the clinic."I paused then continued."Rosy came first," I say. "She was efficient, she cried immediately, loudly, like she wanted everyone to know it." I feel a small pull in my chest at the memory. "Professor Parkville was in the corridor. He had a stroke months before and was still recovering, but Marlon called him, and he
Nicole's POVI hear the knock and freeze. I wasn’t expecting anyone. Marlon always texts first before coming. Amber brings pastries and never comes this early. So who could it be?My heart stutters as I stand in the hallway, hand resting on the frame. I take one steadying breath and open the door.Tate is standing there.I blink, stunned. “Tate?” My voice comes out sharper than I intended. “What are you doing here?”He looks composed on the surface—dark circles under his eyes—but I can see the weight he’s carrying. “I’m here to see you,” he says quietly.I glance over my shoulder toward the twins’ room, panic rising fast. “Not yet, Tate. You need to leave. The kids”He ignores me completely and steps inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click.I want to scream at him. I want to shove him back out into the hallway and tell him this is my space, my life, and he doesn’t get to just walk into it whenever the mood strikes. But Rosy and Maple are still asleep just down the hall,







