“You bought more?” I asked Avery, eyeing the new ones.
Avery chuckled. “Yeah. I was out the other day and found some cute ones, so I grabbed them for her.”
“Oh my God, Avery... she hasn’t even played with the old ones yet,” I said, though warmth spread through my chest despite the complaint. I never had siblings, and seeing how much Avery adored my daughter made me quietly grateful that Haille had a fun, loving aunt like her.
“Just let her. She lives for spoiling her niece,” Adrian laughed as he carried the lasagna to the dining table, placing it beside Judy’s dishes with that familiar ease, like this house still held pieces of the boy he used to belong before us, before marriage, before everything we’d been through.
—?—
Adrian
Being back in this house always pulled something loose inside me. Something old, familiar, and a little painful. There was comfort in it, sure, but there was also an ache that settled in my chest the second I stepped through the door.
It reminded me of my father.
I missed him most when I was here. He should’ve been sitting on the couch, pretending not to fall asleep while watching the news. He should’ve been teasing Mom about making too much food. He should’ve been the one lifting Haille onto his lap and letting her tug at his hair until she burst into giggles.
But cancer took him too damn fast.
Sometimes the regret hit harder than the grief. He barely had time to know Elena, just a handful of dinners, a few short visits back when we were still dating. But even in that short time, he adored her. He’d give me a thumbs-up behind her back andmouth something likegood catchin that half-teasing way of his. I used to tell him to cut it out, but secretly, I was proud. Proud he approved of her. Proud he saw what I saw.
If he were still alive, God, he would’ve loved Haille. I can picture it so clearly—her running across the living room, curls bouncing, and him pretending he couldn’t catch her even though he was always faster than he looked. He would’ve taken her fishing the way he used to take me and Avery, shown her how to skip stones across the lake, and let her sit on his shoulders to tell him where to walk like she owned the world.
Sometimes I let myself imagine that version of our life a second too long, and that’s when the guilt set in. Because the truth was, I thanked God every day he wasn’t here to see what I did to Elena.
My father was a family man in every sense of the word, a husband who treated my mother like she hung the damn moon. A father who never missed a game, never missed a birthday, never broke a promise. He was my model of what a man should be.
And I failed—spectacularly—at living up to him. There were nights when I lay awake next to Elena, and all I could think was how disappointed he would’ve been. He raised me better than that. He taught me better than that. He taught me how to lead, how to love, how to show up, and I still managed to screw up the one thing he valued most: protecting the people you love.
Sometimes I still heard him in my head, not angry, just quiet. The kind of disappointment that stayed with you longer than shouting ever could.
And yet, being here—walking through the hallway where his framed photos still hung—made me want to try harder, to be better, to become the man he always believed I could be: the man Elena deserved from the start and the one Haille will one day look up to, the way I once looked up to him.
Maybe that’s why being in this house stung and soothed at the same time. It reminded me of everything I lost, everything I still had, and everything I refused to lose again.
“Earth to Adrian. Hello?” Avery waved her hand inches from my face.
I swatted it away. “What?”
“You’re zoning out,” she said. “What’s going on? I’ve been calling you.”
“Nothing.” I muttered.
She raised a brow. “Elena said you’re leaving for another project.”
“Yeah. I need to be on-site.” I paused. “Can you stay with Elena and Haille?”
“Sure,” Avery replied. “When are you leaving?”
“Monday. I thought I’d have at least until Wednesday or Thursday, but nope.”
“Wow. That’s sudden.”
“You know how my job is, Ave.”
Avery thought for a moment, trying to recall something. “My schedule’s clear next week until Friday. But after that, I’m booked.”
“Ok. Thanks,” I said.
