—
It hit me one random Tuesday morning—Christmas Eve—when I was making coffee.
I turned around, took one look at my penthouse, and froze.
What. The. Fuck.
Three days. Three days since I found that tiny ginger menace, and my place didn’t even look like mine anymore.
There was a cat tree.
No.Twocat trees. One near the window, one by the TV, because apparently, I’d decided my living room needed options for climbing.
There were toys everywhere: little plush mice, a crinkly ball that wouldn’t stop making noise, and a damn feather wand lying on my couch like some kind of insult to my dignity.
The pantry?
Half of them were now filled with cat food in bulk. I’d even alphabetised the flavours last night without realising I was doing it.
And the worst part?
The kitten didn’t even sleep in the expensive cat bed I bought it.
No.
It slept in my bed. Curled right against my neck as if it owned the place.
“Unbelievable,” I muttered, running a hand down my face.
Trouble—yeah, that’s what I started calling it—jumped onto the counter, tail flicking, looking up at me as if it knew.
Like it was proud.
“You ruined me,” I told it, pointing the spoon at its face.
It just tilted its head and meowed.
My reflection in the window caught my attention, me in sweats, hair messy, hoodie covered in orange fur, holding a mug in one hand and glaring at a six-inch animal that had somehow domesticated me.
And as much as I hated to admit it…
I liked it.
The place that used to feel like a mausoleum finally had life again.
Because ofher.
Because of this kitten, she stopped to feed like she always does, feeding everything and everyone but herself.
I sighed and reached down to scratch its chin. “You’re lucky she’s a bleeding heart, huh?”
It purred, curling up right in front of the coffee maker. And I couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at my lips.
“Guess I’m officially a cat dad now.”
Chapter Forty
Joshua
