~CELINE~
I didn't mean to eavesdrop.
I was just coming to check on Caesar. Just doing what I always do—making sure he wasn't in someone's way, wasn't touching something too expensive, wasn't being...too much.
But I heard it.
The tiny, innocent voice that belonged to my entire world. And the stunned silence that followed.
"Maybe you can be my daddy?"
My breath caught so hard it hurt.
I watched Hunter freeze. I watched the panic flicker across his face, the way his body tensed like he'd been shot. And then—
He bolted. Like he couldn't get away fast enough.
I press a hand against my chest. It's stupid. I know it's stupid to feel this kind of hollow.
But it still stings. More than it should.
I step into the study, my movements robotic. Caesar sits there on the floor, smiling like he
