Chapter 3

Sean came down the stairs with Eli in his arms, Vivian at his side.

The little boy looked about four or five, with delicate features that bore an unmistakable resemblance to Sean.

He squirmed in Sean’s arms, his hands tugging at Sean’s collar.

Sean didn’t seem bothered. He lowered his head and soothed Eli in a quiet voice, a faint smile on his lips.

They looked like a family.

Nikki’s fingers tightened around her coffee cup until her knuckles turned pale.

She had imagined that picture more times than she could count.

Now it was real.

Only she wasn’t the woman in it.

“Nikki,” Mrs. Zeller said, “Felix’s dad and I both think very highly of you. We’d love to have you as part of the family.”

Nikki forced a smile, but before she could respond, Sean’s gaze found her from the staircase.

He stood on the landing with Eli in his arms, his eyes moving past the crowd until they locked onto hers.

The moment their gazes met, the smile on his face froze.

It was as though he had been punched in the chest.

He looked at Nikki sitting by the window, with Felix beside her and his parents across the table.

From where Sean stood, they looked like a family.

The sight of it cut deep.

Eli kept squirming in his arms.

“Daddy, are we leaving or not?”

Sean didn’t move.

He couldn’t stop looking at Nikki.

His eyes moved from her face to the coffee in her hand, then to Felix beside her.

That should have been his place.

Vivian followed his gaze, and her expression changed instantly.

Nikki met Sean’s eyes without looking away.

She lifted her coffee and took a slow sip. Her movements were calm and composed, as though she were looking at a stranger.

Sean swallowed hard. The arm holding Eli suddenly seemed to go numb.

Nikki was wearing a pale blue blouse with a tiny pearl brooch pinned near the collar.

Sean had given her a pearl brooch once.

She had loved it and worn it nearly every day.

But this wasn’t the one he had given her.

The realization cut into him like a dull blade.

“Honey, Eli needs to use the restroom,” Vivian said, pulling him back to the present.

Sean finally looked down at Eli. His voice was rough when he answered.

“I’ll take him.”

Nikki looked away from him and met Mrs. Zeller’s eager gaze. A small smile touched her lips.

“Thank you, Mrs. Zeller. I really appreciate your and Mr. Zeller’s approval. Felix is a wonderful man. I feel lucky to have met him.”

She spoke softly, but every word carried clearly to Sean.

As he passed her table, his step faltered for a brief moment.

When he walked by, Nikki caught his familiar scent. It was the same clean, crisp scent she remembered from years ago, with a faint hint of wood.

Her lashes trembled.

A small ripple spread across the surface of her coffee.

She set the cup down and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as though nothing had happened.

After Sean took Eli to the restroom, Vivian caught him near the end of the hallway.

She tried to look unconcerned, but resentment twisted her expression.

“Nikki is already meeting his parents. It looks like things are getting serious. You can finally let her go now, can’t you?”

Sean slowly lifted his eyes.

The look in them was so cold that Vivian instinctively took a step back.

Sean had treated her gently for so long that she had almost forgotten what he was like underneath it all.

Even his own family knew he had a ruthless streak. He might have been a spoiled rich kid, but no one underestimated him when he was angry.

“Vivian, I have eyes,” he said through clenched teeth. “I can see for myself.”

His jaw tightened, and he looked as though something heavy were pressing down on his chest.

Vivian’s eyes filled with tears.

“Sean, you never used to talk to me like this. You weren’t like this before. Is it because Nikki is back? You and Nikki are over. We’re a family now. You need to remember that.”

“I remember,” Sean said, each word measured. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing here. But you need to remember something too.”

“What are you saying? Are you threatening me?” Her voice began to shake.

Sean drew a slow breath, as if forcing himself to stay calm.

“I’ve done right by you all these years. I have nothing to feel guilty about. But if you go running to my mom again and fill her head with nonsense, I promise you this. You’ll lose everything you have, piece by piece.”

Vivian’s knees buckled, and she nearly sank to the floor as tears spilled from her eyes.

“Daddy, don’t be mean to Mommy.”

Eli tilted his head up and tugged gently at Sean’s sleeve.

Sean looked down at Eli, a trace of his usual warmth returning to his gaze.

He crouched and picked him up, his voice softening.

“Come on, Eli. Let’s go play in the airplane upstairs.”

He carried Eli up to the airplane play structure on the second floor, and Eli happily climbed into the cockpit.

From there, Sean could see the table by the window downstairs.

Nikki was still there.

She sat with her profile turned toward him, her back straight and her posture composed. The line of her neck was long and graceful.

When she lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, the inside of her wrist showed.

Sean narrowed his eyes.

Was that a scar?

She hadn’t had it when they were together.

Laughter drifted up from downstairs, pulling him from his thoughts.

Nikki was smiling. Her eyes curved as she laughed, and she looked beautiful.

Felix’s parents were clearly pleased with her. The warmth on their faces made that obvious.

Of course they were.

Nikki was the kind of woman people found it easy to like.

Sean suddenly remembered the first time Nikki had visited his family home.

She had worn a white dress and tied her hair back in a ponytail. She had been so nervous that she kept rubbing her palms against her skirt.

Susan had sat on the sofa and looked Nikki over from head to toe before smiling.

Sean knew that smile too well.

It was the smile she wore when she disapproved but didn’t intend to say so outright.

That night, he had driven Nikki back to her dorm.

She had barely spoken during the ride.

When they reached her building, she had finally asked, “Sean, your mom doesn’t like me, does she?”

“No,” he had said. “You’re overthinking it.”

Nikki hadn’t argued. She had only smiled, then turned and walked inside.

Looking back, she had known even then.

She had known Susan didn’t approve of her, but she had kept it to herself.

She had carried that burden alone. She had worked herself to exhaustion applying to doctoral programs and trying to become someone better.

And what had he done?

Nothing.

He had thought loving her was enough.

Now, all he could think was that he had failed her.

Sean hit the glass beside him with his fist.

The pane rattled with a dull thud.

The sting in his hand brought him back to himself.

*

“I heard from Felix that you work in the ER,” Mrs. Zeller said. “That must be exhausting. Once you’re married, you could move to a less demanding department. It would be easier on you.”

Nikki stopped stirring her coffee.

She looked at Felix, confused.

When had she ever said she wanted to leave the ER?

Felix offered no explanation. He still wore the same mild smile, as though his mother had said nothing out of the ordinary.

Even Mr. Zeller, usually a man of few words, finally spoke up.

“She’s right. A young woman spending every day in the ER, surrounded by blood and traumatic injuries, just isn’t ideal. You’d be better off in an inpatient unit. It’s more respectable, like the work Felix does.”

Nikki set down her spoon, and the polite smile slowly faded from her face.

“Mr. and Mrs. Zeller, I don’t think working in the ER is any less respectable. A doctor’s job is to treat patients and save lives. There is nothing unrespectable about how we do that.”

The mood at the table changed at once.

Felix’s parents stiffened and looked toward him.

Felix quickly reached for Nikki’s arm.

“My parents didn’t mean it like that. Don’t you think you’re being a little too sensitive?”

Nikki turned to him without softening her expression.

“I never said I wanted to transfer. Why did you tell your parents that I did?”

She met his eyes without flinching.

“And I’m not being sensitive. I just have principles.”