Mia didn't get much sleep. She saw Adrian every time she closed her eyes: the way he looked at Luna, the sadness in his voice, and the way he looked at her without saying anything.
She was tired by the time the sun came up.
Luna, as always, was bright and happy as she sang while eating porridge at their small kitchen table. She swung her feet with each spoonful.
"Can we see the big dog downstairs today, Mama?" she asked.
"Maybe," Mia said, her hands shaking as she scrubbed the dishes.
"Miss Rosa said she was making cookies. "Can we have some?"
"Of course."
"And—Mama?"
"Yes, dear?"
Luna turned the spoon. "Is the sad man coming today?"
The plate slipped out of Mia's hands and splashed water on the counter.
"...what, sad man?"
"The person who gave me a weird look." Luna swung her little legs again. "He looked like he wanted to cry. I don't know why. "Did I do something wrong?"
Mia's lungs tightened. "No, Baby. You did nothing wrong."
Luna nodded slowly, as if she were taking it all in. "Okay. I liked his eyes."
Mia stopped moving.
She didn't know how to use that sentence.
She felt bad that she liked his eyes, of course. You have the same ones.
A loud knock on the door of the flat cut her off.
Her heart sank into her stomach.
No.
"He wouldn't—not this early."
"Mom?" Luna's voice got quieter, which showed how worried she was.
"It's okay," Mia said in a low voice, trying to stay calm. "Stay here." Don't move.
She washed her hands, took a shaky breath, and then walked to the door on legs that didn't seem strong enough to hold her.
Her fingers were just above the latch.
Another knock—this one was calmer, more controlled, but still strong.
"Mia." His voice. Very deep. Shh. Too well-known. "Can we talk?"
Her heart skipped a beat.
She opened the door a little bit.
Adrian stood in the hallway with his hands in his coat pockets, a clean-shaven jaw, and a perfect suit. He didn't look like the cold CEO that everyone was afraid of.
He looked tired.
And human.
He said softly, "Good morning."
She took a big gulp. "It's not even seven."
"I know." He stopped for a moment. "I couldn't wait."
Her stomach tightened. "Adrian—"
"I'm not here to take her away," he said softly. "And I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk."
She looked at him. He looked strong, polite, and calm, but something in his eyes shook with barely controlled emotion.
She hated it because it hurt her chest.
Before she could say no, a small voice behind her said,
"Who is it, Mama?"
Mia's blood turned cold.
"No one, baby—"
But Luna had already made her way inside the small entrance area, dragging her blanket behind her like a cloak.
As she saw him, her gray eyes—his gray eyes—got bigger.
The world seemed to stop in that small hallway.
Adrian's breath caught in a big way. His hand moved a little to the side. He froze all over when he saw the child who looked just like him. Her hair. Her eyes. The look on her face.
It hit him like a punch.
"Hi," Luna said quietly, holding on to her blanket. "Are you a sad man?"
Mia's heart nearly stopped.
Adrian's lips parted, letting out a sharp, clear crack of emotion.
"I—" His voice stopped working. He coughed. "I'm Adrian."
Luna said, "That's a strange name," and she wrinkled her nose.
He blinked once, shocked. Then, to my surprise, his lips moved. "I guess so."
"What's your favorite snack?" she asked, as if that were the most important thing for anyone at the door to know.
"Uh..." Adrian looked confused. "I don't really eat snacks."
Luna gasped, as if he had just confessed to a crime. "That's too bad. Mama always gives me food.
He muttered, "I see that," and his eyes softened with love he couldn't hide.
Mia got in front of Luna before the moment could last any longer. "That's enough now. Luna, my love, go get your shoes. We are going to see Miss Rosa on the floor below.
"Cookies?" Luna got better.
"Yes."
Luna screamed and ran away, with the blanket following her.
Mia shut the door a little bit, making it hard for Adrian to see. "You can't just come here like this."
He said softly, "You told me not to push my way in." "So I knocked."
She glared at him. "That's not the point."
He took a slow breath and tried to stay calm. "Mia, can I come in?"
"No."
He nodded slowly, and pain showed in his eyes. "Then can you at least go outside so we can talk without her hearing?"
Her chest got tight.
She didn't want to, but she stepped into the hallway and locked the door behind her.
He stood with his hands in his pockets against the wall across from her, as if he were afraid to do anything that would make her leave.
He muttered, "Thanks."
She held her arms tightly. "Say what you need to say."
He looked at her for a long time, his eyes tracing her features with such reverence that her heart raced.
"You really are doing a great job with her," he finally said.
She blinked, shocked.
"She is smart. Sure of yourself." Happy. "He took a drink. "You did a good job raising her, Mia."
She felt an unexpected and unwanted warmth on her chest.
She kept her face away from him. "That's not why you're here."
His voice got lower. "No. I figured out how we got here."
She became tense.
He kept going, choosing each word with painful honesty. "I know I hurt you." I know I was wrong. I know that I made you feel unsafe. And I can never change it back.
She opened her mouth, but he put a gentle hand on her.
"Just listen." His voice shook. "I push them away. I follow rules that other people made. Someone else made the world I live in. But you—you were the only person who made me feel alive.
Her heart hurt a lot.
"And I ruined it," he said. "I ruined us."
It was as if fog surrounded them.
Mia's throat tightened. "You didn't just kill us, Adrian. You broke my heart. I was by myself. With a child. Scared. And you—" she swallowed hard, her voice shaking. "You made me think you didn't want me."
He shut his eyes for a moment, and every line on his face showed how sorry he was.
"I was scared," he said. "Of my father." About what I would get when he died. Of losing everything I was told to keep safe. He spoke less loudly. "But I was more afraid of you."
She pulled away. "Me?"
"You made me feel," he said simply. "I didn't know what to do about it."
Mia turned her head away, trying not to cry.
"Adrian," she said softly, "we can't go back."
He moved closer slowly and carefully, stopping just short of getting too close to her.
He said softly, "I'm not asking to go back." "I'm asking for a chance to move forward." For her. For you. For us, no matter how long it takes.
She couldn't breathe.
She didn't believe him.
She didn't trust her heart.
But it was clear that he meant what he said.
He bent his head a little and spoke softly. "Let me be her father, Mia."
Her whole body shook.
Luna's soft voice echoed through the apartment:
"Mama! I can't find my other shoe!"
Mia looked away from the door and toward her child.
Adrian's eyes were angry, raw, and unrelenting when she looked back at him.
Not force.
Not in charge.
A promise.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said softly.
She trusted him.
That scared her more than anything else.