He looked around the kitchen.
The marble counters.
The designer cabinets.
The expensive appliances.
Everything was flawless.
Perfect.
And yet something had always felt missing.
Lucas finished eating and began to drift toward sleep again.
Emily lifted him carefully and placed him in the cradle beside his brother.
Both babies now slept peacefully.
The room fell quiet except for the soft ticking of the wall clock.
Ethan stood there watching them.
His sons.
Two tiny lives that depended entirely on him.
Yet the person who had just comforted them, fed them, and soothed them was someone earning a modest paycheck.
A stranger.
Or maybe not a stranger anymore.
“You’re very good with them,” Ethan said.
Emily looked slightly embarrassed.
“I just try to treat them the way I would want someone to treat my own family.”
Ethan nodded slowly.
For the first time since his wife’s death, he didn’t feel the urge to rush back to the office.
Instead he pulled out a chair and sat quietly at the kitchen table.
Sunlight continued to stream through the tall windows, warming the room.
Emily began cleaning the bowl and utensils.
After a moment Ethan spoke again.
“Emily.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Thank you.”
She looked surprised.