Chapter 163. Father - Son Talk

Ellis’s POV

I couldn’t believe this was happening. Not in the sense that it felt unreal, but in the way reality itself felt too fragile, like a glass sculpture I was terrified of touching too hard. I had spent the entire morning with my children—my children—and every second of it felt like a gift I hadn’t earned.

Breakfast had been a disaster in the most human way possible. Burnt pancakes, scrambled eggs that somehow ended up too dry and too watery at the same time, flour dusting every surface like fresh snow. Solara laughed endlessly, Cayden complained about the smell, and I stood there, spatula in hand, utterly useless and yet inexplicably happy. We didn’t manage to create a single dish that could be called delicious, but no one truly cared. We ate anyway, picking around the worst parts, teasing each other, laughing. It wasn’t about the food. It was about being t