The morning light spilled softly through the curtains, but for once, I wasn’t the first awake.When I stumbled downstairs, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, laughter drifted from the kitchen.I froze in the doorway.Sebastian stood by the counter, sleeves rolled up, hair damp as if he’d just showered. A frying pan hissed on the stove, the smell of butter and sugar thick in the air. Anastasia perched on a stool beside him, swinging her legs and giggling every time he flipped a pancake too high and nearly missed catching it.“Again, Daddy!” she squealed, clapping her small hands.My chest tightened. The word hit harder than I expected. Daddy. She’d said it so easily, like it had always been waiting on her tongue, patient for the right moment to be spoken.Sebastian grinned at her, eyes crinkling in that familiar way that once undid me completely. “One more,” he said, mock-serious, “but don’t tell your mother I almost burned the last one.”Anastasia giggled, whispering loudly, “Secre
Last Updated : 2025-11-07 Read more