The rest of dinner preparation passed in a lighter atmosphere, the acknowledgment of past pain somehow making room for tentative healing. By the time the girls joined them, Sunny’s smile came more naturally, her movements less constrained by constant vigilance.
After dinner, the bedtime routine unfolded with increasing comfort. Bath time, pajamas, teeth brushing — each step bringing them closer to the familiar pattern they’d established before everything had fractured.
“Story time?” Maddie asked hopefully, already reaching for the book on her nightstand — the same bear story Sunny had read on her first night back.
“Of course,” Sunny agreed, settling onto the edge of Maddie’s bed.
Liam lingered in the doorway, watching as his daughters arranged themselves on either side of Sunny, their small bodies automatically finding comfortable positions against her. The sight filled him with a profound gratitude that nearly overwhelmed him — this second chance they’d been given, the possibility of rebuilding what had been broken.
As Sunny read, her voice gentle and expressive, Liam noticed how quickly the girls’ eyelids grew heavy. The emotional toll of the day — the excitement of having Sunny back, the lingering fear that she might leave again — had exhausted them.
By the time the story ended, both were deeply asleep, little faces peaceful in a way they hadn’t been for days. Sunny remained seated between them, her own expression softened by the simple contentment of the moment.
Liam moved quietly into the room, sitting on the floor beside Maddie’s bed, his back against the wall. For a long while, they simply watched the girls sleep, the quiet broken only by soft breathing and the distant ticking of the hallway clock.
“I was afraid I’d never have this again,” Sunny admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
“So was I,” Liam confessed. “When I thought you were gone for good… it was like losing part of myself.”
Their eyes met in the dim glow of the nightlight, the physical distance between them belying the emotional connection of the moment.
“We should let them sleep,” Sunny said finally, carefully extracting herself from between the girls and putting them to bed.
Liam followed her from the room, closing the door softly behind them. In the hallway, the atmosphere shifted, the comfortable domesticity of the bedroom giving way to more complicated adult tensions.
“Would you like some tea?” Liam offered, not wanting the evening to end, not wanting to retreat to separate corners of the house.
Sunny hesitated, then nodded. “That would be nice.”
In the living room, they settled on opposite ends of the sofa, mugs warming their hands as rain began to patter against the windows. The storm that had threatened all day had finally arrived, wrapping the house in a cocoon of white noise.
“Today went better than I expected,” Sunny admitted, staring into her tea as if it might hold answers to unasked questions.
“For me too,” Liam agreed. “The girls are so happy to have you back.”
“And you?” The question was soft, vulnerable, her eyes finally lifting to meet his.
“I’ve missed you more than I can say,” Liam said simply, the words inadequate for the ache he’d carried during her absence. “Not just for what you bring to the girls’ lives, but for… for me. For how I feel when you’re here.”
The raw honesty in his voice seemed to reach something inside her. Sunny set hermug down, her fingers twisting together in her lap.
“I’ve missed you too,” she whispered. “Even when I was angry, even when I was hurt… I missed you.”
The admission hung between them, delicate and powerful. Liam fought the urge to close the distance between them, to gather her in his arms and never let go. Instead, he honored the boundary she’d established, letting her set the pace.
“Where do we go from here?” he asked.
Sunny looked at him, her eyes reflecting the same mixture of hope and fear he felt in his own heart.
“I don’t know exactly,” she admitted. “But I want to try. To see if we can find our way back. To each other.”
Hope bloomed in Liam’s chest, bright and tender. Slowly, giving her every opportunity to pull away, he reached across the sofa. Sunny hesitated, then placed her hand in his, their fingers intertwining.
The simple contact sent warmth spiraling through him. He shifted closer, drawn to her like a tide to the shore, inevitable and natural. Their faces were inches apart now, her breath mingling with his, the pull between them magnetic after days of careful distance.
Just as it seemed they might cross that final threshold, Sunny pulled back slightly, her eyes troubled even as her hand remained in his.
“Liam,” she whispered, “before we can truly move forward… there’s something I need to do first.”
