Mannie’s POV
“You can ask me for anything. It is not a burden,” he said, his voice deep and steady. His eyes lingered on me for a moment before he looked away. “You can go now.”
He waved me off, then turned and walked back to his car. The sleek black vehicle roared to life, sending up a faint cloud of dust that brushed against my face and hair as he drove off into the night.
I stood there, watching until his car lights disappeared down the road. The air felt quiet again, heavy with everything that had happened.
Then, I suddenly laughed — not because anything was funny, but because my chest was too tight to cry. “At least,” I murmured to myself, “I should be happy he didn’t enter to see the kids.”
The laughter faded quickly, leaving behind a strange ache in my heart. I took a deep brea
