Mary's POV:Elowen's small hand stayed on my cheek for a long time after I asked the question.The kitchen was quiet around us—the refrigerator humming, the clock ticking, the morning light shifting across the floor in slow golden arcs. I could hear my own breathing, shallow and uneven, and I could hear hers, slower, steadier, like she was the one holding me together instead of the other way around."I don't want to never see Dad," she said finally.The words landed softly, but they landed hard. I felt them in my chest, in my throat, in the places where I had been storing all the hope I hadn't let myself feel for years."Of course not, baby," I said. "You'll always see him. Nothing will ever change that."She pulled back slightly, just enough to look at my face. Her eyes, those dark, serious eyes that saw too much and asked too many questions, searched mine for something I couldn't name."But I'd even more not want to see you sad."The words hit me like a physical blow.I had spent th
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