Kara didn't sleep that night. How could she, when every time she closed her eyes, she saw Zia's face reflected in Xavier's? The same stubborn tilt of the chin. The same sharp brows. The same storm in their eyes.
She'd spent five years hiding the truth. Now, it stood on the edge of discovery. One wrong step and everything could fall apart.
The morning came pale and cold. Kara stood in the kitchen of the small apartment she'd rented with Zia, pouring cereal into a chipped bowl. Zia hummed as she colored at the table, completely unaware that the world was tilting beneath them.
Kara flinched when the knock came.
Three sharp raps.
She knew who it was before she opened the door.
Xavier.
He didn't wait to be invited. He stepped in like he belonged there, eyes scanning the small space, settling briefly on the girl at the table.
Zia looked up. Smiled. "Hi again."
"Hey, kid," Xavier said, but his voice lacked its usual cold edge. Then to Kara, quieter, "We need to talk."
She gestured to the hallway. Once they were out of earshot, he leaned in.
"Who is she to me?"
Kara's heart stopped.
"She's my daughter."
He narrowed his eyes. "That's not what I asked."
She stayed silent.
"I'm not stupid, Kara. She has my eyes. My mouth. Even my temper, apparently. Is she mine?"
Kara looked away. "Why does it matter? You walked out on me long before she existed."
"Don't twist it. I never would've left if I knew"
"You don't remember," she snapped. "That's the problem. You don't remember any of it. The contract. The wedding. Me."
He flinched like she'd struck him. "So it's true. We were married."
Kara nodded, eyes burning. "But not like the fairytales. You called it a business deal. You laid out the rules."
Xavier's jaw tightened. "And you broke one."
She looked at him. "So what now? Are you going to sue me? Threaten to take her? You don't even remember being her father."
He stepped closer. "I don't need memories to know what's mine. And if she's mine, no one will take her from me."
Kara's voice trembled. "Then maybe you should remember why I ran."
Silence stretched.
He broke it. "Let me see her again. Let me spend time with her."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I need to know her. Because every time I look at her, something breaks inside me, and I need to understand why."
Kara wanted to say no. But Zia's laughter floated down the hallway like a song. And she couldn't deny her daughter a chance to know her father even if that father was broken.
She gave a stiff nod. "One hour. Supervised. Then you leave."
Xavier's lips curled slightly. Not a smile. But something close.
That evening, Zia sat beside Xavier on the couch, legs swinging, asking him questions like he was a stranger and a hero all at once. Kara watched them from the kitchen.
She didn't know how to feel.
Hope was dangerous. So was forgiveness.
But the most dangerous thing of all? The way Xavier looked at Zia with awe, with confusion, and maybe... just maybe... with love.