That afternoon he canceled his meetings and stayed outside with them, observing how naturally Chloe connected with his daughters while he still felt clumsy around them.
As the sun dipped low, Chloe suggested cleaning up.
“We can continue tomorrow,” she said.
“Every day?” Lily asked.
Chloe looked at Daniel.
“Yes,” he answered. “In fact, I’ll hire someone else for the heavy cleaning. Your focus should be the girls.”
Her eyes widened. “I can’t take the same pay for less work.”
“You’re doing more,” he said quietly. “Much more.”
That evening the twins chattered nonstop about colors and ideas. Daniel listened, stunned.
Later, he found Chloe alone in the kitchen.
“Can I ask you something about your life?”
She told him about losing her mother to cancer at seventeen, about supporting her grandmother and younger brother, about giving up art school.
“Would you go back if you could?” he asked.
She gave a small laugh. “It’s a dream. But dreams don’t pay bills.”
“What if I paid your tuition?”
The words came before he could reconsider.
“I can’t accept that.”
“It’s not charity,” he said. “It’s belief.”
Tears filled her eyes. “No one’s ever invested in me like that.”
“Then let me be the first.”