Third person POV Riley walked out of the hospital doors like a storm barely contained, her face tight with anger. The argument with the nurse still echoed in her mind, each word digging deeper into her chest. Aiden followed a step behind her, his little hand clutching the hem of her coat. The air outside was thick and hot, but Riley barely noticed. She was replaying everything—Kaelen’s signature on those papers, the nurse’s accusations, and the gnawing humiliation of realizing he’d truly left. That was when Darren’s voice broke through the noise. “Riley?” She stopped abruptly. He was leaning against his car not far from the hospital entrance, his jacket slung over one arm, looking for all the world like he’d been waiting for her. The concern on his face looked genuine, but there was something faintly smug hiding behind his eyes. Riley didn’t bother to hide her irritation. “Yes?” He approached slowly, his tone gentle. Are you okay?" She laughed bitterly.

Kaelen hadn’t stepped into that house for half a year.The moment he opened the door, a faint trace of his daughter’s favorite lavender scent hit him, mixing with something unfamiliar, some type of cheap perfume, floral and sharp. He stood there for a moment, his hand still on the doorknob, letting the weight of the memories settle.Everything looked the same, yet different. The furniture, the photos, the faint dent on the hallway wall where Mirella had once crashed her toy car—none of it had changed. But the energy in the place felt off, as if time had kept moving here while he had been stuck elsewhere.He’d spent the last six months practically living in hospital corridors and labs. His life had been reduced to blood reports, medical scans, and sleepless nights beside his daughter’s bed. Coming back here now, to this quiet, familiar space, almost felt unreal.He exhaled slowly and stepped inside.He wasn’t here to linger. He just needed something important—something he couldn’t

Kaelen didn’t expect to bump into anyone on his way out of the diagnostic wing, much less someone who pulled his attention away from the weight crushing his chest. But the moment he saw the woman sitting on the short stone ledge near the building’s entrance—head bowed, fingers knotted over a brown envelope—he slowed.She wasn’t crying, not exactly. She just looked… defeated. And somehow still trying to look like she wasn’t.Kaelen hesitated before walking closer. “Are you alright?”Her head snapped up, surprise flaring before she masked it with a small, polite smile. She wiped her palms on her skirt as if embarrassed to be caught looking vulnerable.“Oh—yeah. I’m fine,” she said lightly. “Just another job rejection.” She lifted the envelope a little. “Nothing new.”Her tone was casual, but the strain behind her eyes wasn’t. Most people flinched under stress but she seemed determined not to bend.Kaelen found himself stepping closer instead of walking away. “They rejected you just

“Run the numbers again. I want every department to understand that we are not slowing down.”Kael’s voice carried across the conference room as he closed the file in front of him. After hours of discussions, projections, and tense negotiations, the room finally settled into a quiet hum. His directors exchanged tired smiles, but he could see it clearly—progress. There was real, solid progress. His company wasn’t just recovering; it was climbing toward the place he’d fought for years to reach since before he left.And for the first time in weeks, he let himself feel it. Pride. Relief. And maybe even a little hope.When the room cleared, he leaned back in his chair and exhaled, rolling his stiff shoulders. “We’re getting there,” he murmured to himself. “Slowly, but we are.”He barely had three seconds of silence before his phone buzzed.He glanced at the screen.Jordan.“What now?” he muttered and answered. “Yeah?”Jordan didn’t waste time. “Kael… Riley has officially filed for cu

“I need you to understand something,” Kaelen said quietly, his voice steadier than he felt.The lawyer looked up from her files, surprised. She had just warned him that mothers were favored, that courts often looked at fathers as second choices. But Kaelen wasn’t ready to leave without saying what had been burning inside him.He stood, planting both hands on the edge of her desk. “You said mothers are always favored,” he said, “but do you know what people forget? Fathers love their children too.”The lawyer’s expression softened, but he continued before she could respond.“I have been there for my daughter every single day. I know her favorite colors. I know what she eats when she’s happy, and what she refuses when she’s sad. I know the way she likes her blankets tucked in. I know the sound she makes when she’s pretending not to cry, because she thinks she has to be strong for me.” His voice shook, but he didn’t stop. “I know everything about her. Not because I had to, but because I