Blair froze on the bench, her body unable to fully process the shock unraveling in front of her. Hazel—the little girl in the pink dress with a giggle so light it had briefly made Blair forget her old wounds—ran straight into Jonathan's arms, throwing herself at him with the pure joy only a child could muster.
"Daddy!" she squealed.
Jonathan bent down to catch her, lifting her small body into his arms with an ease that spoke of familiarity. It was natural—so effortless—as though he'd done it a thousand times.
"Hazel, I told you not to run off so far..."
His words trailed off as his eyes met Blair's. She was still seated on the wooden bench beneath the magnolia tree, utterly still. For a fleeting moment, something shifted in Jonathan's gaze—from relief at finding his daughter, to confus
