Chapter 101

Troy POV

The gardens were peaceful in the late afternoon light, the kind of peacefulness that made everything from the past few days feel almost surreal. Like maybe I’d imagined the whole nightmare—the clinic, the fear, the desperate belief that I had to handle everything alone.

But I hadn’t imagined it. It had all been horrifyingly real. And yet, here I was, walking through Elena’s beautiful gardens with Lake beside me, watching our sons hold hands as they explored the flower beds ahead of us.

Ollie was being so gentle with Julian, his little hand wrapped protectively around my son’s smaller one. At five, Ollie was only two years older than Julian’s three, but he was taking his role as the “big kid” seriously, pointing out flowers and interesting rocks, making sure Julian didn’t trip over the uneven path.

“He’s good with him,” I said, nodding toward the boys. “Ollie, I mean. Julian’s usually shy around other kids, but he took to Ollie immediately.”