Killian blinked, shocked and horrified by his daughter’s question. "Of course not, Paisley," he reassured her, his voice gentle but firm. "I don’t want you to think that for even a second."
"Is it because I’m small, like Mia said?" Paisley’s lip quivered, her eyes brimming with doubt.
A fresh wave of anger surged through Killian at the thought of Mia, but he forced himself to calm down, for Paisley’s sake. "Sweetheart, listen to me," he began, carefully choosing his words, trying to explain something so complicated to such a young child. "Your mom wanted you more than anything in this world. The fault is mine that she left. It’s always been my fault."
Paisley scrunched her little nose in confusion. "How?"
"I know it’s hard to understand, but she couldn’t take care of you back then, and
