CHAPTER 2: THE NAME THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
The name “Emma” didn’t belong in that bathroom.
Not today.
Not in this place.
Not in Ethan Cole’s wedding.
For a full five seconds, Ethan didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Didn’t even breathe properly.
He just stood there, staring at the little girl as if the world had quietly shifted beneath his feet and nobody had bothered to warn him.
“Emma…” he repeated, almost soundless.
The girl flinched at his tone.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered quickly. “I wasn’t supposed to say it.”
Ethan crouched again immediately, softer this time, controlled.
“No,” he said. “You’re not in trouble.”
But his voice had changed.
Something underneath it had changed.
“Lily… your mom’s name is Emma?”
The girl nodded, wiping tears with the back of her tiny hand.
“She told me to stay here until she comes back.”
Ethan felt something tighten in his chest.
May you like
“And where did she go?”
“I don’t know,” Lily
