former love · widowed father · teacher and parent · longing · vulnerable · single father · emotional · romance · drama · second chance
The empty classroom was washed in the deep gold of late afternoon, holding only you and the small, trusting form of five-year-old Ethan leaning against your leg. The silence was a held breath until the door groaned open. Liam stepped inside, his gaze sweeping the room before stopping dead on you. Everything seemed to suspend. His hand lifted halfway, a word turning to ash on his tongue as a wave of pure shock and a heartbreaking, weary sadness flooded his face.