Two Hearts

A Seat for Him

Daniel POV

It was an ordinary Friday. Nothing special.

The most important meetings were already behind me, and the weekend was slowly approaching.

The weekend.

And what exactly was I supposed to do with it?

So far, I had managed to avoid Laura and the house. I spent most of my time at work, buried beneath contracts, reports, and endless meetings. More than once, I had slept on the office couch rather than drive home.

Nothing new.

I was reviewing a recently signed contract, making sure every detail was in order, when the door to my office burst open.

I didn't need to look up to know who it was.

My father.

And immediately, I knew this wouldn't be a pleasant conversation.

Again.

He closed the door behind him. Slowly. Calmly. At least that was a promising start. Without sitting down, he stared directly at me.

"Have you lost your damn mind?"

I leaned back in my chair as if nothing serious had happened.

"Good afternoon to you too."

The look he gave me could have frozen hell. Then he dropped the sentence that made my stomach tighten.

"Laura called me."

My expression changed instantly. Of course she had. Who else?

If something wasn't going according to plan, apparently the solution was to call my father. Typical.

"She says you aren't home."

"I am home."

"No," he snapped. "You're sleeping there. That's not the same thing."

I hated how accurate that sounded. It felt like I'd been caught doing something wrong. And I hated that feeling even more.

My father slowly began circling my desk. Like a predator.

"Do you think my mother is stupid?"

Silence.

"Do you honestly believe she's going to walk into that house and think you're a happily married couple?"

Still silence.

"Because according to Laura, you don't talk."

He took another step closer.

"You don't eat together."

Another step.

"You barely look at each other."

That one hit harder than it should have. I turned toward the window.

If only he knew. If only he knew how difficult it had become to leave that house every evening. Every single night, Laura cooked. Every single night, the house smelled like home. Like childhood. Like Sundays with my mother. Like something I'd spent years convincing myself I didn't miss.

And every night, I forced myself to leave. Because staying felt dangerous.

"Talk to her."

I looked back at him.

"About what?"

He stared at me as if I were the biggest i***t he'd ever met.

"Anything."

Silence.

"You married her."

Another pause.

"You brought her children into your home."

He pointed directly at me.

"The least you can do is learn their names."

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

Because the worst part was...

He was right. I knew Laura's name. I knew her ex-husband's name. Hell, I even knew the name of her lawyer.

But her children? I wasn't completely sure anymore.

My father looked at me for another moment before shaking his head.

Then he left.

The second the door closed behind him, frustration turned into anger.

She had called him. She had gone straight to him. Who did she think she was? Nobody had the right to interfere in my life like that.

Nobody.

I decide what happens. I decide when things happen.

She wanted to talk?

Fine.

We would talk.

Tonight.

The entire drive home I rehearsed the conversation in my head - Firm. Controlled. Clear boundaries.

The same way I handled employees, negotiations, and difficult clients.

Simple.

At least it should have been. Yet something about Laura was never simple.

On the surface, she looked fragile. Soft-spoken. Almost delicate. But beneath all of that...

She was stronger than most people I'd ever met. Life had beaten her down repeatedly. And somehow she was still standing. Still fighting. Still trying. Even when I wasn't.

When I pulled into the driveway, lights glowed warmly through the windows.

Just like every evening lately.

A strange feeling settled in my chest. There were people inside. People who expected me to come home. And instead, I'd spent days pretending they didn't exist.

I stepped inside.

Immediately, the familiar scent hit me - Dinner. Warm food.

Home.

The entire house carried that feeling now. And no matter how much I wanted to resist it...

I missed it. More than I wanted to admit.

I headed straight for the kitchen. Because if Laura was anywhere, she'd be there.

She stood by the counter preparing something. The moment she turned and saw me, she froze.

Surprise. Confusion. Disbelief. Like she'd just seen a ghost.

I leaned against the marble countertop and watched her. Waiting. Studying her reaction.

But neither of us spoke. The silence stretched.

"My father visited me at work today." My voice broke the tension. I tried to sound neutral. Calm. But even I could hear the edge underneath. I looked directly at her.

"Apparently, we need to talk."

Immediately, she set down the knife she'd been using. No hesitation.

"So your father visited your office." Not a question. A statement.

I let out a humorless laugh. "You're the one who called him."

Laura crossed her arms. I could practically see her balancing on the edge between restraint and anger. Maybe I was provoking her. Maybe I wanted to see how far she'd go.

"Because nothing is happening." Her voice remained calm. Too calm. The kind of calm that took effort.

"Something is happening."

"Really?" She laughed sharply. "Because from where I'm standing, you come home to shower and change clothes. That's not exactly building a marriage."

I felt irritation rising. She was being far more direct than I'd expected.

"Telling my father was unnecessary."

"No." She shook her head. "Necessary was talking to me." Her green eyes locked onto mine.

"I didn't call him because I wanted to complain."

Silence.

"I called him because I was running out of options."

That caught me off guard.

"I can't pretend to be married to someone who isn't even here."

The words landed harder than I wanted them to.

"Neither did I." I answered automatically.

Because it was true. I hadn't chosen this. Not really.

"Then act like you're part of it." She didn't back down. Not even a little.

And for the life of me, I couldn't understand why. Why was she trying so hard? Was it really just about the money? Or was there something else?

"You think I wanted any of this?" The words came out harsher than intended.

The entire situation felt absurd. The contract. The arrangement. The lies. Everything.

"No." For the first time, her voice softened. "But unlike you, I'm at least trying."

The honesty in that sentence hit me like a punch. Because she was right. She was trying. She had turned that empty house into something warmer. She cooked. She cared for the children. She filled rooms with life.

While I spent every evening running away from all of it. Running away from her.

"Forget it." She exhaled sharply.

I could see it. She was done. Completely done.

She turned toward the doorway. Toward the hallway. Toward leaving. And suddenly, irrationally, it felt like she wasn't just walking out of the kitchen. It felt like she was walking out of this entire arrangement. Out of my life.

Before I could think better of it, my arm moved.

My fingers closed around her wrist. Warm. Soft. Real.

For a second neither of us moved.

Her eyes dropped to my hand.

Then slowly lifted back to mine.

And suddenly the kitchen felt too small. Too quiet. Too close. What the hell was I doing?

Laura didn't pull away. She simply stared at me.

Waiting.

I released her immediately. The sensation lingered anyway. Like touching electricity.

I swallowed.

"Stay."

Her eyes widened slightly.

I took a breath.

Then another.

And finally said the one thing neither of us expected.

"I'll have dinner."