It was already closed.
“Sorry, baby.”
My voice barely worked.
I fed her.
I didn’t call Elon back.
That was the first decision I made for myself.
Two hours later, the front door opened.
“Maddie?”
I wiped under my eyes and walked into the kitchen.
Elon stood there holding grocery-store daisies and a box of chocolate.
“For my favorite girls.”
I looked at the flowers, then him.
“Thank you.”
He kissed my forehead.
“Missed you two.”
The lie came so easily that something inside me went still.
“Long day?” I asked.
“Brutal. Back-to-back meetings.”
“Did you even eat?”
“Barely.”
He loosened his tie and walked toward Sophie’s bassinet.
The moment he saw her, his face changed.
“There’s my girl.”
Sophie curled her fingers around one of his.
He smiled.
A real smile.
That hurt in a different way.
I wanted him to become simple:
