Two Hearts

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Daniel POV

The moment Laura slammed the door in my face and said, “Fine,” I froze.

What did I say wrong this time?

Yes, I knew she had been expecting an apology for what had happened earlier. But it had all been a misunderstanding. None of it had been directed at her.

Honestly?

I didn't know how to apologize. I never had. I was direct, blunt, and the people around me either learned to live with it or they didn't.

Only...

Laura wasn't like everyone else. Not even close.

I'll apologize later, I told myself. The problem was—how?

That question stayed with me all the way into the next day.

The morning was complete chaos.

No matter how hard Laura tried, the children kept finding new problems. Missing shoes. Missing homework. Missing absolutely everything.

I was already on my way out when Laura finally lost patience and used her angry-mother voice. The one that made even me want to sit down and behave. It was obvious they were going to miss the bus.

So I offered to drive them. The words left my mouth before I could stop them. And for the first time, I saw genuine gratitude in Laura's eyes. She even thanked me.

Honestly, it felt like an achievement worthy of a trophy.

When I asked if she was going anywhere, she shook her head and explained she would be working from home. And then, for reasons I still couldn't explain, I offered her my office.

She said she'd think about it. I had a feeling that wasn't entirely true.

When I got into the car, I let out a long breath. Maybe she'd see this as part of my apology.

Maybe.

The drive to school was somehow worse than the chaos at home. Markus and Ellia argued the entire way. They shoved each other. Accused each other. Defended themselves. Started new arguments before finishing the old ones.

By the time we reached the school parking lot, I was counting the seconds until freedom.

Then Ellia turned toward me.

"Are you picking us up too?"

I blinked. Was I? Maybe I should. Maybe Laura would see that I was actually trying. In my own way.

"Yeah," I said. "Of course."

Ellia's face lit up instantly.

"Be here at three!" And then she was gone.

I drove to the office. Meetings. Reports. Emails.

For the first time all day, everything felt normal. Strangely enough, that realization bothered me. Because the more time I spent around Laura and the kids, the more I started noticing something uncomfortable.

Maybe all the noise and chaos wasn't unusual. Maybe it was normal. Families were loud. Messy. Complicated.

People interrupted each other. Argued. Forgot things. Needed things. And somehow kept functioning anyway.

I wasn't used to normal. Nothing in my life had ever been normal. I'd built my own rhythm years ago. And lately, it felt dangerously close to falling apart.

At least work hadn't changed. What a relief.

At the office I knew exactly who I was. I was in control. People listened. People obeyed. Nobody argued. Nobody challenged me. One look was usually enough to silence an entire room.

The day passed faster than expected. And the closer it got to evening, the more uneasy I became.

Photoshoot. Dinner. My father.

The whole thing felt like a disaster waiting to happen.

Family photos? Fine. Couple photos? Absolutely not. Wedding photos? A complete nightmare. And even before the discussion started, I already knew one thing.

Laura would hate it too.

As much as we argued, there were still things we agreed on. Neither of us wanted wedding photos.

I picked up the children at exactly three. As if I did it every day. Thankfully their energy levels had dropped significantly.

I glanced at them through the rearview mirror.

"We have a guest tonight."

Ellia immediately sat up straighter.

"Who?"

"My father."

"Erik?" she asked. The way she said it sounded more like a statement than a question.

I frowned.

"Yes."

"He's nice," Markus said immediately. "He showed us around the house."

"Yeah!" Ellia agreed. "He let us explore everything."

Wonderful.

My father was now the favorite. And I hadn't even bothered showing up that day. I stared at the road. Said nothing. And silently prayed dinner wouldn't turn into another disaster.

When I got home, I headed toward my office, already mentally reviewing everything I still needed to discuss before dinner.

The office door opened suddenly. And someone walked straight into me.

Laura.

The impact wasn't hard, but it was enough to throw her off balance. Instinct took over. My hands shot out and grabbed her shoulders.

For a second, neither of us moved.

Her eyes widened. Mine probably did too. Everything seemed to stop.

She was closer than she'd ever been before. Close enough for me to notice the tiny golden flecks hidden in her eyes.

Close enough to catch the faint scent of her shampoo.

Close enough for my brain to completely stop functioning.

What the hell?

Laura froze.

Not angry. Not defensive. Not ready for battle.

Nervous. She looked nervous.

And somehow that unsettled me more than her anger ever had. Because suddenly I wasn't the only one affected by whatever this strange thing between us had become.

My grip tightened for the briefest second before I realized I was still holding her.

I let go immediately. Almost too quickly. As if I'd touched something I wasn't supposed to.

Neither of us spoke.

The silence stretched.

Awkward. Dangerous. Confusing.

Her gaze dropped first.

Good.

Because I wasn't entirely sure I remembered how to breathe.

"Uh... you're home already?" Her voice sounded different. Higher. Less certain.

I stared at her for a second longer than necessary.

Why was she nervous?

Better question - Why was I noticing?

"Yes," I finally said. "I came back early. My father has a habit of arriving before he's expected."

Something about this felt wrong.

Different.

The cabin was supposed to help. It was supposed to make everything easier. Instead, it felt like we'd left something behind there. Something neither of us knew how to talk about.

Or maybe didn't want to.

"Right. Well... I should start dinner. The kids should be home soon."

"They already are."

She froze.

"I picked them up."

"Oh."

She paused.

"Okay."

And before I could say anything else, she was gone. I watched her disappear down the hallway. Longer than I should have.

As predicted, my father arrived early. Of course he did. I let him in and went to grab a bottle of wine.

I couldn't have been gone more than five minutes. Maybe ten. But when I returned, both father and Laura looked at me simultaneously.

My father's expression held disbelief. Laura's held confusion.

I narrowed my eyes. Something wasn't right.

"What?"

My father continued staring at me. Then he said,

"You took them to the cabin." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

The moment those words left his mouth, every muscle in my body locked.

Not that.

Anything but that.

I tightened my grip around the wine bottle. Not because I was angry. Because suddenly I felt exposed. And I hated that feeling.

My father's voice remained calm. Too calm. I knew exactly what he was doing.

So did he.

So did I.

"Dad." One word.

A warning. A plea. A command - Don't.

He simply smiled.

"Dinner?"

The cabin wasn't something I talked about. It wasn't something I explained. It simply existed. Mine. The one place in my life nobody touched. Nobody questioned. Nobody entered.

Until now.

And the worst part? I wasn't even sure why I'd taken them there. At the time it had felt natural. Obvious.

Now, sitting across from Laura while my father looked at me like he'd uncovered a state secret, I realized how impossible that actually was.

Laura POV

Dinner felt strange. Stranger than usual.

Now that Erik had revealed Daniel never brought anyone to the cabin, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Why us? Why there? Why now?

My entire understanding of Daniel had shifted. Every time I looked at him, the same question echoed through my mind - Who are you, Daniel?

I could hear Erik talking. The children arguing. Plates moving. Glasses clinking. But everything sounded distant. Muted. Like background noise.

At one point I reached for the salad. Daniel handed it to me automatically. Without asking. Without looking. As if he'd already known. Which somehow made everything even more confusing.

Daniel was a puzzle. A mystery. The question was— Was I supposed to solve it?

Not everyone is meant to untangle another person's broken pieces. Maybe some people stay mysteries forever.

I glanced at him again. Physically, he was sitting right there. Mentally? He seemed miles away. What was he thinking about?

Did he regret all of this? And why did I suddenly care? Wasn't I supposed to do what needed to be done and move on afterward? No attachments. No complications. No feelings.

I had no idea how long we'd been sitting there before Erik's voice suddenly pulled me back to reality.

"Earth calling Laura and Daniel!"

Both Daniel and I looked up immediately.

"What?" At the exact same time.

We stared at each other.

Again.

Erik sighed dramatically.

"Good. Nice to know at least part of the signal got through."

Neither of us responded.

"I said the photoshoot is this Thursday."

"This Thursday?" we both repeated. Simultaneously. Again.

It was becoming ridiculous. I stabbed my food slightly harder than necessary.

Erik continued.

"We'll need family photos."

"That's reasonable," I said automatically.

"Couple photos."

I immediately tensed. Daniel's fork froze halfway to his mouth.

Then came the part I dreaded most.

"And a few wedding-style shots."

I nearly choked. Daniel looked like he was considering jumping out the nearest window.

But neither of us argued. Because we both knew there was no escape.

Erik began discussing locations. Different backgrounds. Different outfits. Different ways to make everything appear believable.

"Would that location work?"

Daniel started answering.

"No, because—"

"The children would get bored." The words left my mouth automatically.

We both stopped.

Again.

Erik's amusement was becoming increasingly obvious.

"What about outfits?"

"We should keep it simple," Daniel said.

"Exactly." I didn't even know why I agreed.

Maybe because I genuinely did. Or maybe because we were somehow thinking the same thing.

I glanced toward him. Unfortunately, he was already looking at me. And I had absolutely no idea what he was thinking.

Eventually dinner ended. Plans were made. Details were discussed.

Erik finally left.

The children disappeared upstairs. And the house fell into a strange silence.

Daniel helped me clear the table. Which somehow surprised me more than it should have. More than once, I got the feeling he wanted to say something.

Something important.

Something he couldn't quite figure out how to put into words. The more time I spent around him, the less I understood him.

Because honestly?

Words didn't seem to be Daniel's strongest skill. And just when I thought he might finally say whatever was on his mind—

"Good night."

I stared at him for a second.

Then nodded.

"Good night."

And once again, we walked in opposite directions.

The strange thing was...

It no longer felt as easy as it used to.