Chapter 3 – The Father Who Forgot How to Breathe
Her name was Rebecca.
She didn’t give her last name.
Not at first.
She sat with them on a bench like it was the most natural thing in the world, as if she hadn’t just been chased across a park by billionaire twins in identical navy outfits.
Noah asked questions.
Precise ones.
“What is your profession?”
“I teach.”
“Which domain?”
“Small humans who don’t want to sit still.”
Nora laughed again.
Grant heard it clearly this time.
It hit him harder than any business loss he had ever taken.
Because it didn’t sound trained.
It sounded alive.
Rebecca turned to him.
“They don’t laugh often,” she said quietly.
Grant’s jaw tightened. “No.”
A pause.
“Since their mother died,” he added.
Rebecca didn’t react the way people usually did.
No pity.
No over-apology.
Just understanding.
“I’m sorry,” she said simply.
And somehow that was worse.
Because it was real.
Noah looked between them. “What is your emotional proximity to grief?”
Rebecca considered that.
Then answered carefully.
“It shows up everywhere,” she said.
Nora tilted her head. “Like glitter?”
Rebecca smiled. “Exactly like glitter.”
Grant watched his daughter laugh again.
Something inside his chest cracked slightly.
Not breaking.
But loosening.
Like something that had been clenched too long.
May you like
He realized he had not been breathing properly.
Not for a long time.
