Chapter 10 - THE FIRST BIRTHDAY HE WAS ALLOWED TO ATTEND
The twins turned eleven in April.
For the first time, Ethan attended their birthday party.
Not as a billionaire.
Not as the CEO of Sullivan Group.
As their father.
We held the party in our backyard.
There were balloons.
Pizza.
A chocolate cake.
And twelve children running around with enough energy to power Chicago for a week.
Ethan arrived carrying two gifts.
One for Noah.
One for Sophie.
I had warned him.
“No cars. No expensive watches. No ridiculous billionaire gifts.”
He smiled.
“Understood.”
Noah opened his present first.
A book about entrepreneurship.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Build something that makes the world better.
Noah stared.
Then smiled.
“Acceptable.”
Ethan laughed.
Sophie opened hers.
A beautiful set of watercolor paints.
She gasped.
“Dad!”
The word slipped out naturally.
Everyone froze.
Ethan stared at her.
Sophie looked embarrassed.
“I mean—”
He knelt.
“You can call me whatever feels comfortable.”
She studied him.
Then smiled.
“Dad.”
Ethan's eyes filled.
I looked away.
Because I remembered the hospital room where Sophie had been born.
The way she'd cried.
The way I'd held her tiny hand.
The way I'd whispered that I would be enough.
And now she was calling someone else Dad.
It hurt.
Not because she loved him.
Because I wished she'd had the chance to say it ten years earlier.
Later, Ethan found me in the kitchen.
“Claire.”
I turned.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For letting me be here.”
I smiled faintly.
“It's their birthday.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
I looked toward the backyard.
Noah was explaining something to Ethan's assistant, who had apparently made the mistake of asking about his business idea.
Sophie was painting flowers.
The children were happy.
May you like
And for the first time, I allowed myself to be happy too.
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