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AURORA’S POV

I grabbed the photo from his hands before I could think twice. My fingers trembled around the edges. “This was taken outside the daycare,” I said. “That is the gate. That is his coat.”

Cassian stepped closer, eyes locked on mine. “And that is not just a warning. It is a promise. She is not done.”

I turned the photo over. Nothing there. Just the smooth coldness of threat, wrapped in ribbon. “She cannot just get away with this. This is stalking. It is illegal.”

“She is not afraid of the law,” Cassian said. “But maybe she should be.” He reached for the box again. “I am taking this to the police. I do not care what it costs.”

I hesitated. “Do you think they will believe you? Or me? Or will they just see the Viero name and pretend nothing happened?”

His jaw tensed. “Then I will not go as Cassian Viero. I will go as a father. A furious one.”

I almost said thank you, but it lodged in my throat. Instead, I stepped back. “You think this proves something? That you are fighting now?”

He shook his head. “No. This proves nothing. But I am not leaving again. Even if you want me to.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. The silence between us felt crowded. Thick. The walls were breathing it in and out like a living thing.

“You think I want you gone?” I finally said. “You think this is about me forgiving you overnight?”

Cassian crossed his arms. “No. I think this is about Leo. And I will not disappear from his life again.”

“You left before,” I said sharply. “You signed that contract. You let me walk away.”

“I let you,” he repeated, voice quiet now. “I let you go because I thought you were better off without me.”

“And now?” I asked. “What makes now so different?”

He looked straight at me. “Now I know what I am fighting for. Now I have seen his eyes. Heard his laugh. Watched him sleep.”

I closed my eyes. His words sank deep. It was easier when he stayed away. Easier when he did not care.

“You think saying that makes this better?” I asked. “You think being here now fixes everything?”

“No,” he said. “But not being here would make it worse.”

My hands were still shaking. “You are not staying in this apartment. Do not even ask.”

“I was not going to,” he said softly. “But I will be outside. Every day. Until she stops. Until you believe me.”

I almost laughed. “What, like a bodyguard with a broken heart?”

His voice tightened. “Like a father who already failed once and refuses to do it again.”

I turned away, biting the inside of my cheek. “Leo does not know you yet. He is still learning my face. My voice. He has been through enough.”

“I will wait,” he said. “As long as it takes.”

“And what if it takes years?” I asked, staring at the wall. “What if he never wants to know you?”

Cassian’s answer came without pause. “Then I will still wait. Because he deserves the chance.”

I exhaled slowly, trying to quiet the rush inside me. The fear. The fury. The part of me that wanted to believe him.

“I need space,” I said. “Do you understand that?”

“I do,” he replied. “But I need you to understand something too.”

I turned. “What?”

“I am not leaving,” he said. “Not this time. No matter how many doors you close.”

My throat felt tight. “That is not fair.”

“None of this is fair,” he said. “But I am not doing this for fairness. I am doing this for Leo.”

I looked at him, really looked. He looked wrecked. Not in the polished way men cry in movies. In the real way. Like he had not slept. Like everything inside him was unraveling.

“I do not want him hurt,” I said quietly. “That is all.”

“I know,” he said. “Neither do I.”

We stood there, just breathing, like two people who had been fighting the current for so long, we forgot what still water felt like.

Then Leo cried from the bedroom.

I flinched.

Cassian stepped toward the hallway, then stopped himself. “Do you want me to—?”

“No,” I said quickly. “He is not ready. And neither am I.”

He nodded once. “I will wait outside.”

I followed him to the door. “Do not make promises you cannot keep.”

He looked back. “I already did. I am here to fix them.”

The door shut behind him.

I turned toward the bedroom. Leo’s cries were soft now. Drowsy. I picked him up, holding him close, pressing my cheek to his.

“It is okay,” I whispered. “I have got you.”

But my own heart felt far from okay.

CASSIAN’S POV

I stood outside her apartment, the photo still in my coat pocket. The wind was cold. The city moved around me, loud and restless. But I felt still.

I could not protect Leo if I was not near him. I could not protect Aurora if she did not let me in. But I could be here.

The doorman looked at me like I was trouble. I probably was.

I sat on the bench across the street. Twenty feet from the daycare. Ten steps from the lobby. Eyes on every angle.

My phone buzzed. Bastian.

I let it ring.

He had done enough damage.

Instead, I stared at the entrance. Counting the seconds. Listening for anything strange. Watching every face that passed.

The fear came like waves. What if I failed again? What if she was right? What if I was only making things worse?

But I stayed.

Because love does not ask for comfort.

It asks for persistence.

And this time, I would give it everything.

Even if I was the last one standing.

AURORA’S POV

Leo was asleep again. One hand curled against my chest. His breathing even. Peaceful. I should have been, too.

But I was not.

I sat by the window, watching the shadow on the bench across the street. Still. Unmoving.

Cassian.

He had not left.

Even after everything.

Even after I told him to.

A knock came at the door.

I stood, heart jumping.

But it was not Cassian.

It was another box.

No ribbon this time.

Just a note.

Typed again.

Two words.

Look deeper.

And beneath the note—

Another photo.

This one of me.

At the hospital.

Holding Leo.

The day he was born.