CHAPTER 263

I spent the better part of the morning in the living room, trying to focus on a new puzzle with Lucas, who was steadily becoming my little mastermind. He was getting quicker at these, his tiny fingers piecing together shapes with a focused little frown that made my heart swell with love. As I leaned over to help him fit a corner piece, he looked up at me with his wide, curious eyes.

As Lucas and I played with his favorite puzzle on the living room rug, he was bubbling over with excitement, his little fingers working to fit pieces together. I loved these quiet moments with him—watching his expressions shift with each puzzle piece he conquered. I thought we were set for a peaceful morning until he glanced up with a question I hadn’t prepared for.

“Mommy,” he asked, looking at me with an innocent curiosity. “Why hasn’t Uncle Daddy William come to play? Did he… forget me?”

I felt my heart falter. William had been so present in Lucas’s life, even during our tangled, complicated act for the