LOGIN3RD POV:“Of course you can,” he smiled, handing Amelia a whisk. “We can make a mess together.”His heart was just so full, seeing them even talking to him again after he questioned if he was visible today. The next ten minutes were filled with laughter, clattering bowls, and a whole lot of spilled batter. Even Hannah found herself smiling as Elijah pretended to faint dramatically when Amelia accidentally flung flour at him.“Mom, he’s so funny when he’s not trying too hard.” she whispered with a giggle.Elijah heard and his mouth went wide making Amelia laugh again. Hannah’s chest tightened with something warm and she just chuckled.Eventually, the brownies went into the oven half the batter somehow on the counter and everyone stood around waiting. Elijah leaned against the island, crossing his arms, that familiar glint in his eyes.You can do this…you can do this…He cheered himself on as he thought this would be the perfect time to ask for what he wanted.“So,” he started, speaking
3RD POV:“Yes, promise you are not cry?” Andrew added and Hannah chuckled and sniffled raising up her pinky and the three of them interlocked the fingers and she kissed it.“I promise.” They all smiled and she watched as they walk off and Elijah only let out a breath and waved at them which they ignored.Watching them walk into that pristine building with confident steps made something swell in her chest. Pride, yes but also fear.They are growing up so fast. She muttered and heard as Elijah hummed and she glanced at him.Staring at him with his glistening felt weird to her and it made her shiver because this fragile, peaceful life felt borrowed. Like a dream she’d wake up from.*****************The day passed in a blur of meetings and design revisions. At one point, Kara reminded her that she hadn’t eaten lunch yet, and Hannah only smiled faintly. Her mind wasn’t on fabric lines or client emails; it kept drifting to the morning to the small smile on Andrew’s face, to the light in Am
3RD POV:THREE DAYS LATER:After the meeting with Mrs Martinez, Hannah had been withdrawn from Elijah, and Elijah had noticed it too. She just kept pondering the entire conversation. During the weekend, she worked on different sketches, projects and documents in the home office and played with the kids and prepared them for school, completely ignoring Elijah’s existence.Today however was the children’s first day at their new school. The morning light filtered softly through the wide kitchen windows, casting golden lines across the tiled floor. Hannah moved around carefully, checking bags, lunch boxes, and name tags for what felt like the fifth time. She spoke with the chef and the kids nanny a couple times and they had assured her everything was arranged.She’d always been particular about details, but today it wasn’t just about organization. It was nerves, hidden behind her calm efficiency.Amelia sat on the counter, swinging her legs while adjusting the yellow ribbon in her hair.
HANNAH’S POV:I nodded slowly and found myself saying even though I didn’t seem to care about Elijah. “Flora, you can’t keep something like that from him. He deserves to know.”She smiled sadly. “Maybe. But for now, I want to keep it between us. Please.”There was something so fragile about her then, I couldn’t bring myself to argue. Her eyes, once sharp and judgmental, now carried a weight of regret.“Of course,” I said quietly. “Whatever you decide.”“Thank you.” She exhaled shakily, her shoulders relaxing a little. “You’re a remarkable woman, Hannah. Elijah was lucky then, and he’s lucky now.”The compliment hit deeper than I expected. I was about to respond when I saw her expression change, her eyes darting toward the restaurant entrance.I turned and froze in my spot when I saw who it was, Janet.She was storming toward us like a hurricane in heels, her hair disheveled, her eyes wild. Heads turned as she slammed her bag onto the table, nearly toppling Flora’s tea.She looked like
HANNAH’S POV:“Good afternoon.” I greeted professionally and returned a small polite smile, walking over and taking the seat across from her.“You look beautiful,” she said, her voice calm, warm even and I couldn’t even pretend like I was taken aback by her compliment.I cleared my throat and placed my bag on the table and said trying to find words to say., “Thank you. You look… well.” She let out a soft laugh. “That’s kind of you to say.”Okay…Who was this and what have you done to Mrs Martinez?For a while, silence sat between us and it was an awkward yet loud one. The waiter arrived, took our orders, and left quietly. Then she folded her hands on the table and sighed.“I imagine you must be wondering why I asked to see you.” She broke the silence and I nodded, letting out a breath I had no idea I was even holding.“I was, actually and hoping it was not you, or just for business reasons.” I retorted, looking into her eyes so she doesn’t think she could intimidate me. She nodded, h
HANNAH’S POV:THE NEXT DAY:“I love your nail color!” Kara gushed, as she stared at them making me smile.Yesterday was so much fun, I couldn’t even describe it. I never knew how much I missed spending with my children until I actually did. Amelia looked like she wasn’t about to give me hypertension a few days ago, she was so much healthier and she was growing and I was so happy.At some point, as she requested the type of the color of nails she wanted for her nails, I just stared at her and thought to myself I really do have a beautiful child. After the salon, we stopped at the spa and I was surprised when I saw the security handed me Elijah’s black card. I was skeptical about using it but I thought for a second, what’s the worst that could happen. So after watching a movie, we went shopping, got bags, shoes, accessories, more for Amelia and got a lot of things for schools for both her and Andrew, being on FaceTime with him until he finally joined us.We had both Jacob and Elijah ca







