Two Hearts

Some Things Can't Be Ignored

Laura's POV

I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard the same two words.

I'm sorry.

They should have made me feel better. Somehow, they made everything worse.

When I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror the next morning, I almost didn't recognize the woman staring back at me.

My eyes were red. My face was slightly swollen from crying. I looked exhausted. There was no way I could go into the office looking like this.

So I called my manager, explained that I wasn't feeling well, and asked if I could work from home. Thankfully, she agreed immediately.

After a cool shower and thirty minutes of trying to make myself look like a functioning human being, I was finally ready to face the day.

The day.

Not Daniel.

I definitely wasn't ready for Daniel.

I headed downstairs and started making breakfast before the kids woke up. Experience had taught me that Markus and Ellia required at least three reminders, two warnings, and one miracle to leave the house on time.

A few minutes later, I heard familiar footsteps. My heart immediately tightened.

Daniel.

Of course.

I had no idea what this morning was supposed to look like after everything that happened yesterday. I'd decided to be polite. Cool. Distant. At least as distant as someone could be while living in the same house.

Daniel, however, was always unpredictable. He walked into the kitchen looking just as terrible as I felt. His hair was messy. His eyes were tired. And judging by the shadows beneath them, he hadn't slept much either.

"Morning," he muttered.

I turned toward him.

"Coffee?" It was mostly a courtesy offer.

He nodded and immediately stole a piece of bacon from the serving plate.

"Ew!" I slapped his hand lightly. "That's for breakfast!"

"Fine, fine." He raised both hands in surrender. "I'll shower and come back."

I stared after him as he left. Completely normal. As if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't disappeared. As if he hadn't broken my heart. As if he hadn't stood outside my bedroom door whispering apologies in the middle of the night.

Men were unbelievable.

Breakfast itself was surprisingly peaceful. The kids talked enough for four people. Markus and Ellia argued over something involving a soccer ball, a bicycle, and a squirrel.

I wasn't entirely sure what the squirrel had done.

Daniel pretended to look at his phone. I pretended to listen to the kids. We were both pretending.

Then his phone rang. We exchanged a look.

"Father," Daniel said.

I groaned immediately.

"That can't possibly be good news."

He actually smiled.

While he spoke, I only half-listened.

But then I heard:

"Tonight?"

And then:

"The photos are already finished?"

Uh-oh. Wedding photos.

When he ended the call, he sighed.

"Father is coming tonight. The photographs are ready."

For a moment, I didn't know what to say. His grandmother would arrive on Sunday. That suddenly felt far too close. We still hadn't solved several important problems.

Like the fact that we slept in separate bedrooms. Like the fact that Daniel still ran away every time things became complicated. Like the fact that neither of us had any idea what we were becoming.

"Wonderful," I said finally. "If Erik is coming, we should probably prepare for another disaster."

Daniel laughed. Actually laughed. And somehow that made me smile too.

Then he asked a question I wasn't prepared for.

"You must've gone to bed early."

"What?" The word came out much sharper than I intended.

"When I got home."

His eyes were on me.

Watching.

Waiting.

And I instantly knew I'd made a mistake. Because I froze.

Daniel's POV

The moment Laura reacted, I knew.

She froze. Not dramatically. Not obviously.

But I saw it.

Laura had heard me. Every word. Every single word. Which meant she hadn't been asleep. Which meant she'd been lying there the entire time.

Listening.

And somehow, that realization terrified me more than saying the apology in the first place.

Panic settled heavily in my chest. If she'd heard me... Why hadn't she answered? Why hadn't she said anything? Was she still angry? Had I ruined everything?

The rest of breakfast passed in a blur.

Eventually the kids grabbed their backpacks. Laura announced she would be working from home. And twenty minutes later, I was sitting alone in my office parking lot. Engine off.

Hands gripping the steering wheel. Staring straight ahead.

What now?

I knew she was home. I knew we needed to talk. I knew I wanted to talk. The problem was...

I still had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to say. I leaned my head back against the seat.

For God's sake. I started the engine again. And drove home.

On the way, I called my assistant.

"Reschedule everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything." I hung up before she could ask questions.

One advantage of being CEO was that nobody argued when you changed your plans.

When I pulled into the driveway, I sat in the car for another minute. Just breathing. Preparing. Trying to gather enough courage to walk inside my own house.

Ridiculous.

But true.

The house was quiet when I entered. Not empty. Just quiet. I knew Laura was there. I could almost feel her presence.

As I approached my office, I heard the familiar sound of typing. Fast. Focused. Determined.

I stopped outside the half-open door. Then knocked.

Laura looked up. The surprise on her face was immediate. She definitely hadn't expected to see me again.

"Did you forget something?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes."

"What?"

I looked directly at her.

"This conversation."

For a second, she just stared. Then she slowly closed her laptop. Stood up. And walked toward me.

"Do you have any idea how exhausting you are?"

I almost smiled.

"Probably."

"No." She folded her arms. "You don't."

And then it all came out. Everything she'd been carrying. Everything I'd been avoiding.

"One day you kiss me." Her voice trembled.

"The next day you disappear."

I stayed silent.

"Then you apologize." Another step closer. "Then you disappear again."

There were tears in her eyes. And seeing them felt like someone was driving a knife straight through my chest. Because this wasn't what I wanted. Not even close.

I listened.

For once, I didn't interrupt. Didn't defend myself. Didn't run. I just listened. Then she said the one thing that completely broke me.

"I don't need perfection, Daniel." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I just need honesty."

My hand moved before I could stop it. I brushed the tear away. Gently.

"I'm trying." My voice was barely above a whisper. "I know I'm making a mess of this."

"Then stop running." She wasn't angry anymore.

That somehow made it worse. Because she sounded tired. Tired of fighting for someone who kept walking away.

"I'm trying." And for the first time, it wasn't an excuse. It was the truth.

She looked at me for several long seconds. Then finally said:

"Try harder."

And somehow...

We both laughed. Not because it was funny. Because it was absurd. Because despite everything, we were still here.

Still trying.

Still refusing to give up on each other.

The rest of the day passed surprisingly peacefully.

We both worked from my office. I gave Laura my desk. She immediately accused me of owning enough spare laptops to supply a small country.

I laughed. She rolled her eyes. Normal. It felt normal. And maybe that was what scared me most.

Every few minutes, I caught myself watching her. The way she frowned when concentrating. The way she deleted entire paragraphs and started over. The way she chewed the inside of her cheek while thinking.

"You keep staring."

I nearly jumped.

"You weren't even looking at me."

"I didn't need to."

I had no response to that.

Laura smirked.

And returned to work.

God help me.

Dad arrived shortly after dinner. The children disappeared into the garden with a ball. Laura made coffee.

And the moment we were alone, my father started interrogating me.

"So?"

"What?"

"Progress."

I sighed.

"We talked."

His eyebrows rose.

"Talked?"

"We spent the weekend together."

His expression immediately changed.

"Alone?"

"Father."

"What?"

"Don't."

His grin widened. Unfortunately, that was exactly when Laura walked back in carrying coffee.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"No."

"Absolutely."

My father and I answered at the same time. Which only made him laugh harder.

Laura looked at both of us like we'd completely lost our minds. Maybe we had.

Finally, my father placed a large yellow envelope on the coffee table.

"The photographs."

Laura immediately reached for it.

"Can I?"

"They're yours too."

I sat beside her. Closer than I intended. Much closer.

And together we started flipping through the photographs. They were good. Very good. Natural. Warm. Real. Family pictures. Pictures with the kids. Pictures of all four of us together.

Then Laura stopped. Wedding photos. The first one showed the moment I kissed her. For a second, I wasn't in the living room anymore. I was back there. Back in that moment. Back in that kiss.

And the strangest part?

Nobody looking at that photo would ever believe it was fake. Because neither of us looked like we were pretending.

"Beautiful," Laura said softly. She carefully placed the photos back into the envelope.

"I'll organize them. Maybe put some around the house."

"Excellent idea," my father said.

"I trust you, Laura."

I frowned.

"What about me?"

My father didn't even hesitate.

"Daniel, I always trust you." Then he gestured around the room. "But let's leave building a home to the woman."

Laura burst out laughing. I looked offended. Both of them ignored me.

"When I first came here," Laura admitted, "it didn't feel like someone lived here."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"It's beautiful," she said quickly.

"But..."

"What?"

She glanced at me. Then wisely decided not to finish that sentence. My father nodded.

"My mother likes fresh flowers."

"Noted," Laura said.

"Anything else?"

"Yes."

Both of us looked at him. My father took a sip of coffee. Completely calm. Completely innocent.

Then he asked:

"When exactly do you two plan on sleeping in the same bedroom?"

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Laura stared at the coffee table. I stared at the wall. Nobody answered. Finally, my father sighed dramatically.

"Well." He looked between us. "Judging by your faces, I suppose I've found the problem."

Laura nearly choked on her coffee. I rubbed my forehead.

"Father..."

"What?"

"You never just ask questions."

He laughed. Then stood. Gathering his coat. Before leaving, he paused at the doorway. And looked back at us.

"For what it's worth..." His smile softened. "The way you two look at each other in those photographs..." He glanced at the yellow envelope. Then back at us. "My mother isn't the one you'll have to convince."

And with that—

He left.

The front door closed. Silence settled over the room. Laura slowly turned toward me.

"Well..." She exhaled. "That's not terrifying at all."

I groaned.

"Not helping, Laura."

But secretly?

For the first time in a very long time...

I wasn't sure my father was wrong.