Chapter 10 Mia's Pov

Dinner passed quieter than I expected.

Not awkward...just… careful. Like we were all learning how to exist in the same space without stepping on invisible lines.

Lily sat cross-legged on her chair, swinging her feet as she ate, humming softly between bites. She didn’t complain once, which I took as a victory. Every now and then, she’d glance at me with a small smile, like we were sharing a secret only the two of us understood.

I liked that.

I liked her.

Ethan sat across from us, eating slowly, methodically. He didn’t say much, but he didn’t look uncomfortable either. His shoulders were relaxed, his jaw unclenched. That alone felt like progress.

I watched him when I thought he wasn’t looking.

The way he cut his food precisely. The way he paused whenever Lily coughed, his eyes flicking to her instinctively. The way he drank water like he was reminding himself to breathe.

This was the same man who had laughed softly beside me during movie night. The same man whose knee had brushed mine in the dark, whose eyes had held mine just a second too long.

And yet now, he felt… distant again.

Cold.

Not cruel. Never cruel.

Just guarded. Like he’d pulled himself back behind a wall I hadn’t noticed him building.

“Mia?”

Lily’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Yes, princess?”

She wrinkled her nose. “You’re staring again.”

I blinked. “At what?”

“At Daddy,” she said bluntly, then grinned wide before shoving another bite into her mouth.

Ethan cleared his throat. “Lily.”

“What?” she shrugged. “She is.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I am not.”

“You totally are,” Lily insisted. “You do it all the time.”

I risked a glance at Ethan. He wasn’t looking at me...his eyes were fixed firmly on his plate...but the faint redness creeping up his neck betrayed him.

That made my heart do a stupid little flip.

“She’s just teasing,” he said, voice low, controlled. “Eat your food.”

“Yes, sir,” Lily sang, clearly unbothered.

Dinner ended with Lily declaring she was “very full” and asking if she could watch cartoons before bed. Ethan nodded, reminding her to take her medicine first.

“I know,” she said, hopping down from her chair. “Mia already reminded me.”

I had?

Apparently so.

She grabbed my hand before I could react, dragging me toward the living room. “Come on. Sit with me.”

I glanced back at Ethan. He hesitated, then nodded once. “I’ll clean up.”

“You don’t have to...” I started.

“I want to,” he interrupted gently.

That gentleness surprised me more than anything else.

Lily tugged again, and I followed her to the couch. She curled up beside me, tucking her legs under herself and leaning into my side like she’d done it a thousand times before.

Something in my chest softened painfully.

“You’re comfy,” she murmured.

“So are you.”

She smiled, eyes glued to the screen. After a moment, she whispered, “You’re different from the other ladies Daddy brings around.”

I stiffened slightly. “Different how?”

“They don’t stay,” she said simply. “They talk too much. And they don’t cook. And they don’t play with me.”

My throat tightened. “Oh.”

“You stay,” Lily continued. “And you laugh with me. And you cried...fake cried...but it was still funny.”

I laughed quietly. “I did fake cry.”

“I know.” She tilted her head up at me. “But you stopped when I was really sad. That matters.”

I swallowed.

Kids saw everything. Felt everything.

“I like you,” she said again, like it was a fact carved into stone.

“I like you too,” I replied, meaning it more than I’d meant anything in a long time.

She yawned halfway through the cartoon, her head growing heavier against my arm. I brushed her hair gently, smoothing it back.

Ethan watched us from the doorway.

I felt his gaze before I saw him. When I looked up, he was leaning against the frame, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

But his eyes…

They were softer.

“You don’t have to carry her,” he said quietly. “I can.”

“She’s already asleep,” I whispered.

As if on cue, Lily mumbled something incoherent and snuggled closer.

Ethan hesitated, then stepped forward. He crouched and carefully lifted her into his arms, adjusting her weight with practiced ease.

“She trusts you,” he said after a moment.

My heart skipped. “I think… she just needed someone.”

His jaw tightened slightly. “She’s had a lot of people leave.”

“So have I,” I said before I could stop myself.

He looked at me then. Really looked.

The silence between us stretched...not uncomfortable, but heavy. Full of things neither of us knew how to say.

“I’ll put her to bed,” he finally said.

“Okay.”

He paused. “Thank you. For today.”

“You’re welcome.”

He walked away, Lily cradled against his chest, her arms loosely around his neck.

I stayed on the couch, staring at the blank screen long after the cartoon ended.

Why did it feel like I was standing on the edge of something fragile?

Later, after Lily was asleep and the house settled into quiet, I went to the kitchen to help clean up. Ethan was already there, wiping the counter.

“You don’t have to,” he said again.

“I want to,” I replied, echoing his words from earlier.

We worked side by side in silence. It wasn’t tense, but it wasn’t easy either.

“I didn’t expect you to stay this long,” he said suddenly.

“I can leave if you want me to,” I replied too quickly.

“That’s not what I meant.”

I turned to face him. “Then what did you mean, Ethan?”

He exhaled slowly, setting the cloth down. “I don’t want Lily getting attached to someone who might… disappear.”

My chest ached. “Is that what you think I’ll do?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t know you well enough.”

That hurt more than I wanted to admit.

“I’m not trying to replace anyone,” I said softly. “And I’m not asking for anything from you. I just… care.”

He studied my face, like he was searching for cracks, for lies.

“I’m not good at this,” he said finally. “At feelings. At letting people close.”

“I noticed,” I said gently, a small smile tugging at my lips.

He almost smiled back.

Almost.

“I had a nice time the other night,” I added quietly. “With you.”

He nodded once. “So did I.”

“But you’re pulling away,” I said, the truth spilling out. “And I don’t know why.”

He looked torn. “Because when things are good, they don’t last.”

I stepped closer, heart pounding. “Maybe this one could.”

He didn’t answer.

Not yes. Not no.

Just silence.

And yet… he didn’t step away either.

As I went to bed that night, Lily’s laughter echoed in my mind, and Ethan’s guarded eyes lingered in my thoughts.

I didn’t know if I could earn his affection again..