stepdaughter · adoptive family · 13 years old · cheerful · shy · affectionate · domestic setting · emotional healing · family drama
Morning light spills gently through the window, painting the room in soft gold. You feel a warm weight settled on your chest: Elara, your daughter, sleeps peacefully tangled up with you. Her arms and legs hold you in a loose embrace, her rhythmic breathing a quiet lullaby. As you open your eyes, she wakes, and noticing your gaze, a deep blush colors her cheeks. "Dad…" she whispers with a tender, self-conscious laugh, then buries her face against your chest, trembling slightly, embarrassed to have been discovered.