Chapter 2

Emily got home from work and pushed open the door to her apartment at 603, Building 12, Southgate Estate, Serisport. The living room was a total mess.

Clothes were piled up on the sofa, three empty yogurt containers sat on the coffee table, and picture books and building blocks were scattered across the floor.

In the kitchen, a pot was soaking in the sink, its bottom covered in a layer of burnt black gunk.

"Lilibeth!" Emily called loudly.

A little head popped out from the room.

Lilibeth, three and a half, nicknamed Lily, had her hair in two cute pigtails. Yogurt was smeared all over her face, and breadcrumbs clung to her mouth. She wore bunny pajamas, was barefoot, and clutched a highlighter in her hand.

"Mommy, welcome home." Lily dashed over and wrapped herself around Emily's leg.

"What did you do?" Emily asked, taking a deep breath as she surveyed the disaster zone that was her living room.

"I wrote a letter to Daddy," Lily said, looking up at her with big, sparkling eyes. "I mailed him a package."

Emily's heart skipped a beat. "What package?"

"A divorce agreement," Lily said confidently. "Mommy, didn't you say you didn't want to be with Daddy anymore? So I mailed it to him for him to sign."

Emily paused, at a loss for words. "Where did you get a divorce agreement?"

"I found it online," Lily replied, running back to her room and grabbing her tablet. She expertly pulled up the browser history. "Look, Mommy, I searched for 'divorce agreement template download.'"

Emily stared at the search history on the screen, her mind going completely blank.

Her daughter was three and a half, and she could already search for divorce agreement templates online.

"Lilibeth," Emily said and crouched down, doing her best to stay calm. "Why did you do this?"

"Because you're not happy," Lily said. Her smile disappeared, and she looked at Emily with a serious face. "Every time you see Daddy's picture, you cry. Gwen's mom said unhappy people should get divorced, and then they'll be happy."

Gwen was Lily's best friend at kindergarten, and her parents got divorced not long ago.

Emily's nose prickled with emotion. "Lily, I'm not unhappy."

"That's not true, Mommy!" Lily cut her off, pointing toward the nightstand. "You hide Daddy's picture in your drawer and take it out every night. After you look at it, you cry. I saw everything."

Emily couldn't say a word.

"Mommy," Lily said, gently holding Emily's face in her little hands, almost like she was the grown-up comforting the child. "Do you still like Daddy?"

Emily stayed silent.

"So why aren't you with Daddy?" Lily pressed.

"Because..." Emily took a deep breath. "Stuff between grown-ups is complicated."

"How is it complicated?" Lily tilted her head, puzzled. "If you like someone, you stay together. If you don't, you split up. Mommy, you like Daddy, so why can't you be together?"

Emily was left speechless.

When she was about to say something, the doorbell rang.

Lily's eyes sparkled. "Is that Daddy?"

"No way," Emily said, standing up. "Richard doesn't know where we live."

She opened the door. Richard was standing there.

He wore a black coat over a crisp white shirt, his tie perfectly in place. His looks were striking. He had bold brows, intense eyes, a straight nose, and a jawline sharp enough to cut glass.

But his face held an expression she'd never seen before. It wasn't cold or distant. It was carefulness, like he was afraid she'd slam the door in his face.

"Emily," he said, his voice deeper and a bit rougher than it was three years ago. "Long time no see."

Emily stood frozen in place.

It had been three years since they'd last seen each other, and he'd grown much thinner. His cheeks were sunken, his cheekbones sharp, and shadowed bruises lingered under his eyes. The collar of his white shirt was slightly open, his collarbones jutting out.

She opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

"Daddy!" Lily burst out from behind Emily and wrapped herself around Richard's leg. "Daddy, you really came." She looked up at him, her eyes shining with excitement. "I knew you'd show up. Did you get the package I sent you?"

Richard glanced down at this little girl.

At three and a half, Lily was smaller than he'd pictured. She had two pigtails, with yogurt smeared across her cheeks.

But she was the spitting image of his childhood photos. She had arched brows, a straight nose, and a tiny dimple at the corner of her mouth when she smiled. She looked so much like him, and like Emily, too.

"I got it," Richard said, crouching down so he was eye to eye with Lily. "Daddy got your package."

"Did you sign it?" Lily pressed eagerly.

Richard glanced over at Emily.

Emily's face flushed and then turned pale.

"Lily, go to your room," Emily said, her voice trembling with emotion.

"No!" Lily shook her head, holding onto Richard's leg tighter. "I want to see Daddy sign it."

"Lilibeth," Emily called out.

"Mommy, please don't be angry with me," Lily pouted, her big eyes starting to well up with tears. "I want you to be happy."

Emily took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to steady herself.

"Come in," she said quietly to Richard.

Richard stood up and walked into the living room.

He looked around. The apartment was small, over six hundred square feet, but the living room was cozy and welcoming.

There was a hand-knit blanket draped over the sofa, a pothos plant on the coffee table, and Lily's drawings taped to the wall.

One of them showed three people: a tall one, a short one, and a shorter one. Next to the drawing, in wobbly letters, it said, "Family."

His eyes lingered on that drawing for a few seconds.

"Sit down," Emily said, pointing to the sofa. "Want some water?"

"No, I'm good," Richard replied.

They sat on the sofa with a pillow between them, keeping a bit of distance.

Lily squeezed into the middle, looked at Emily, then at Richard, and nodded, satisfied.

"You guys talk," she said, patting her hands together. "I'm going to my room to draw." Then she ran off.

Emily and Richard were left alone in the living room.

There was a thick, awkward silence.

"You've lost weight." Richard broke the silence.

"So have you," Emily said.

Another silence fell between them.

"Lily..." Richard glanced at the closed door. "When did she learn to send packages?"

Emily gave a wry smile. "Last week, her kindergarten had a themed lesson about mailing letters. She picked it up instantly and got our neighbor Charlie to help her print out the divorce agreement."

"Charlie?" Richard asked.

"Charlie Valentine, the neighbor next door. He's in his fifties, a retired chef," Emily explained, glancing at him. "Lily said Charlie could cook and would bring flowers. He's the one."

Richard's expression visibly relaxed a little. "She also said she wanted you to marry Charlie."

"Kids say silly things," Emily said, looking away. "Don't take it seriously."

"I'm not," Richard said. He paused. "But if you really plan to marry someone else—"

"I won't," Emily cut him off, her voice coming out a bit too fast. Then she realized what she'd said, and her cheeks flushed.

Richard watched her cheeks flush, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

It'd been three years. Richard thought he'd gotten used to life without her. He worked fifteen hours a day and ran himself into the ground so he could crash at night and not think about her at all.

But now, she was in front of him, cheeks flushed, hair loose over her shoulders, wearing some plain loungewear. He realized he was only fooling himself. He never got used to it.

Richard's voice was rough as he finally spoke. "Emily, three years ago—"

Emily cut him off, standing up. "Don't bring it up. It's all in the past."

"It's not over," Richard said, standing up as well. "If it really was, you wouldn't keep my photo hidden away in your drawer."

Emily froze in place.

"Lily told me," Richard continued, sounding almost casual, like he was talking about the weather, but there was something brewing in his eyes. "She said you look at it every night."

Emily turned her back to him.

"Leave, Richard," she said.

"I'm not leaving," Richard replied.

"Why—" Emily started.

"I didn't sign the agreement," Richard said, pulling the wrinkled paper from his pocket. "And I never will."

Emily turned to face him.

Richard placed the paper on the coffee table, pinning it down with his finger.

"Emily, I know I screwed up three years ago. I didn't take good care of you, didn't do what a husband should. You had every reason to leave me," Richard said, his voice rough and low, like sandpaper scraping his throat.

"But it's been three years. Now I finally understand how to be a dad, and I know how to treat someone the way they deserve," he said, meeting her eyes. "Give me one more chance."

Emily's eyes grew misty. She opened her mouth, about to speak.

"Mommy, come," Lily called out from her room, sounding urgent and excited.

"What's wrong?" Emily walked over.

"Mommy, look." Lily pointed excitedly out the window. "Daddy's car. It's so big!"

Emily walked over to the window and glanced down.

Parked downstairs was a black Maybach. A man in a suit stood next to the car, craning his neck to look up at their window.

"That's my driver," Richard said, joining her at the window. "There's a car seat in the back. I got it for Lily."

Emily turned to look at him. "When did you get it?"

"Three years ago," Richard replied. "I bought it when you were pregnant. Never got to use it, though."

Emily's tears fell.

"You really are..." Emily choked out.

"Yeah, I'm dumb," Richard said, locking eyes with her. "But I can learn."

Lily stood between them, looking left and right, then let out a big sigh.

"You two are so silly," she said. "If you like each other, be together. Why make it so complicated?"

Lily grabbed Emily's hand in one hand and Richard's in the other, then put their hands together.

"Okay, you've made up," she said, clapping her hands. "Mommy, you can cry now. Daddy, give Mommy a hug."

Emily couldn't help but laugh through her tears.

Richard watched her smile, and a smile spread across his face.

He reached out and pulled Emily into his arms.

He held her so gently, like he was afraid she'd slip away again or shatter if he wasn't careful.

After letting herself cry in his arms for a bit, Emily finally looked up at him.

"Richard," she whispered.

"Yeah?" he murmured.

"If you ignore my texts again—" Emily threatened.

"I won't," Richard said, looking down at her. "I promise I'll never do that again."

Lily clapped her hands, cheering, "Yay! Mommy and Daddy are back together."

Then she dashed back to her room, grabbed her pink phone, and dialed a number like she'd done it many times.

She said, "Grandma, Mommy and Daddy made up. Yeah, Daddy hugged Mommy. Mommy cried, but it was happy tears. Okay, tell Grandpa I'll bring Mommy over for dinner this weekend."

After hanging up, she dialed another number.

"Charlie, my mom won't marry you anymore. She and my dad made up. Yep, my dad. He's here right now. Oh, and thanks for helping me print the divorce agreement. Bye-bye!"

Emily and Richard were speechless.

Lily hung up both calls, plopped down on the sofa, and crossed her legs like a little boss, looking totally satisfied.

"Mission accomplished," she declared. "You two carry on."

Emily buried her face in Richard's chest, wishing the floor would swallow her up.

Richard glanced down at Emily in his arms, then at Lily lounging on the sofa with her legs crossed, and couldn't help but smile.

It was a soft, quiet smile, and his eyes curved into little crescents.

For the first time in three years, Richard thought it was good to be alive.