"For what?"
"For not giving up on me. For calling me on my bullshit. For being brave enough for both of us when I couldn't be."
"Always." She pressed a kiss to my jaw. "But tomorrow, you're going to have to be brave, too. Leo deserves to see that his father loves him. That you're not going anywhere."
"I'm not," I promised, meaning it with everything in me. "I'm staying. For both of you. Forever, if you'll have me."
She smiled through her tears. "Forever sounds perfect."
We went inside together, and I walked her to her bedroom door. She paused, looking up at me.
"Will you come to breakfast tomorrow? Please?"
"I'll be there." I touched her face gently. "I promise."
"Okay." She rose on her toes and kissed me softly. "Goodnight, Cassian."
"Goodnight, Isla."
I watched her door close, then moved down the hall to Leo's room. He was asleep, his face peaceful in the soft glow of his nightlight. I sat in the chair beside his bed—the same chair where Isla and I had held hands just days ago.
"I'm sorry, little man," I whispered. "I'm sorry I've been gone. Sorry that I let fear win. But I'm going to be better. I'm going to try."
Tomorrow, I'd make pancakes with him. Tomorrow, I'd prove that I could stay. Tomorrow, I'd start learning how to be the father—the man—they both deserved.
It terrified me. But staying terrified me less than losing them.
And maybe that was what courage really was—not the absence of fear, but choosing love anyway.
I stayed there for a long time, watching my son sleep, gathering the strength I'd need for tomorrow.
For all the tomorrows after that.
Because I was done running.
It was time to stay.
CHAPTER 22
Isla
Iwoke to sunlight filtering through my curtains and the distant sound of voices drifting from somewhere in the penthouse.
For a disorienting moment, I lay there blinking at the ceiling, my mind catching up with consciousness. Then last night came flooding back—the balcony, the tears, Cassian's confession.I love you. I'm staying.
My heart stuttered. Had he meant it? Or would I venture out to find him gone again, another excuse manufactured, another day of careful distance?
I'll be at breakfast tomorrow. I promise.
Only one way to find out if he'd keep that promise.
I sat up, running my hands through my tangled hair. My pillow wasn't damp with tears this morning. Instead, I felt something fragile and cautiously hopeful stirring in my chest.
After a quick wash and pulling on one of Cassian's shirts over my sleep shorts, I padded down the hallway. Leo's room was empty, his bed unmade, Rex abandoned on the pillow.
The voices grew clearer as I approached the kitchen—Leo's bright chatter interspersed with Cassian's deeper tones, patient and warm.
He was here. He'd actually stayed.
