Chapter 31 Aurelia
AURELIA
Finn’s ice cream is melting faster than he can eat it. Chocolate drips down his hand, onto his shirt, and he doesn’t even notice because he’s too busy telling Cassian about the ducks we saw at the pond ten minutes ago.
“And there was a baby one! It was this small!” He holds up his sticky hands to demonstrate. “Can we get a duck, Da?”
“No,” Cassian and I say at the same time.
Liam’s already finished his ice cream and is eyeing Finn’s like he’s considering theft. “You’re getting it everywhere.”
“Am not!”
“Are too. Look at your shirt.”
Finn looks down and sees the chocolate stains. Shrugs. “It’ll wash.”
Cassian hands him napkins. “Clean up before your mam has a heart attack.”
We’re walking through Central Park on a Saturday afternoon. All of us. Julian insisted on a family outing after three weeks of successful visits. Said the boys needed to see their parents together outside the estate, doing normal things.
So here we are. Me, Cassian, the twins, Julian, and Nadia. Looking like any other family spending the weekend together.
Except we’re not like any other family, and this isn’t what normal looks like for us.
But the boys don’t know that. To them, this is just what Saturdays are now. Da comes over, we do things together, everyone’s happy.
Finn finally gets the ice cream under control and runs ahead to where a street performer is doing magic tricks. Liam follows, more interested in figuring out how the tricks work than being impressed by them.
“They have so much energy,” Nadia says, watching them go. “Where do they get it?”
I smile. “No idea. I’m exhausted just watching them.”
Cassian’s walking beside me, hands in his pockets, looking more relaxed than I’ve seen him in weeks. No suit today. Just jeans and a jacket. He could be anyone. Just a regular dad spending Saturday with his kids.
The magician pulls a coin from behind Liam’s ear and Liam immediately demands to see his hands. Wants to know where the coin really came from. The magician laughs and shows him the sleight of hand. Liam watches with intense focus, like he’s memorizing every movement so he can replicate it later.
Finn’s less interested in the mechanics, just claps and shouts, “Do it again!”
We watch for ten minutes before the boys get bored and want to move on.
“Carousel?” Nadia suggests, pointing to where it’s spinning nearby.
“Yes!” Finn takes off running.
“Walk!” I call after him, but he’s already halfway there.
We follow at a more reasonable pace. Buy tickets. The boys climb onto painted horses while the carousel operator helps buckle them in.
Cassian stands beside me watching them go around. Finn’s waving every time he passes. Liam’s gripping the pole with both hands, pretending he’s racing someone.
“This is nice,” Cassian says quietly.
“It is.”
“We should do it more often.”
“The carousel?”
“All of it. Getting out. Doing normal family things.”
I glance at him. He’s watching the boys with an expression I can’t quite read. There’s contentment there, but also longing. Like he’s trying to memorize this moment because he’s not sure how many more he’ll get.
“You want normal?”
“With them? Yes.”
The carousel slows. Stops. The boys jump off and immediately spot the playground.
“Can we?” Finn asks, already pulling on my hand.
“Go ahead.”
They’re gone before I finish the sentence.
We follow them to the playground and settle on a bench nearby. Julian and Nadia sit on the bench across from us, both watching the twins with identical soft expressions.
Finn climbs to the top of the jungle gym and shouts for everyone to watch. Then proceeds to climb down the exact same way he went up, like descending is somehow more impressive than ascending.
Liam’s on the swings, pumping his legs to go higher. He gets frustrated when he can’t get enough momentum and calls for help.
Cassian stands without me asking. “I’ve got it.”
He walks over and starts pushing. Liam goes higher, laughing every time the swing reaches its peak. The sound carries across the playground, pure and uninhibited, and I realize I haven’t heard him laugh like that in weeks.
Maybe longer.
Nadia nudges Julian. “Look at them.”
“I’m looking.”
“He’s good with them.”
“I know.”
“You were wrong about him. We both were.”
Julian doesn’t answer, just watches Cassian push Liam on the swing and eventually nods once. Quiet acknowledgment that maybe the man he wanted to keep away from his nephews isn’t the threat he thought he was.
Finn abandons the jungle gym and runs to the slide. Goes down head-first on his stomach and nearly gives me a heart attack when he almost flies off the end.
“Careful!” I shout.
He just laughs and runs to do it again. Like the concept of injury doesn’t exist in his world.
An hour passes. Then another. The boys run from one thing to the next, endless energy, while we follow and make sure they don’t kill themselves doing something stupid.
Eventually they wear down and we head to a food cart for hot dogs. Finn insists on extra ketchup. Liam picks off the onions and gives them to his brother without being asked. They eat standing up, sauce getting everywhere, completely happy.
“This was a good idea,” I tell Nadia.
“I have them occasionally.”
“Occasionally,” Julian echoes with a smile.
We walk back through the park as the sun starts setting.
The boys are finally quiet, tired from running around all afternoon.
Finn reaches for Cassian’s hand without asking.
Just slips his small hand into his father’s and keeps walking like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Liam does the same on the other side.
Cassian looks down at them, then at me. His expression shifts into pure vulnerability. Raw emotion he’s not bothering to hide.
This is what he wanted. What he fought for. What he tried to take by force because he couldn’t imagine waiting any longer.
And now he has it—two boys walking beside him, holding his hands, trusting him completely.
I take a mental picture. I want to remember this exact moment. The four of us walking together while Julian and Nadia follow behind. Looking like a real family. Being a real family.
Back at the estate, the boys are exhausted. Bath time is quick because they’re too tired to argue about getting clean. Bedtime is earlier than usual.
I tuck Finn in first and he’s asleep before I finish pulling up his blanket. His face is relaxed, mouth slightly open, one hand curled under his cheek.
Liam lasts slightly longer. “Can we go to the park again next week?”
“Maybe.”
“With Da?”
“If he’s free.”
“He’s always free for us. He said so.”
My chest tightens. “Then yes. We’ll go again.”
“Good.” He closes his eyes. “I like when we’re all together. It feels right.”
The words hit me harder than they should.
He’s five years old and he already knows what family is supposed to feel like. Already recognizes that this, all of us together, is what’s been missing.
“Me too, baby. Me too.”
He’s asleep within seconds.
I head downstairs. Cassian’s still here, in the sitting room with Julian and Nadia. They’re all laughing about the park, replaying moments from the afternoon.
“Remember when Finn asked if we could take the ducks home?” Nadia’s wiping tears from laughing so hard. “Just casually. Like it was a reasonable request.”
“He was very serious about it,” Cassian says. “Had a whole plan for where they’d sleep.”
“In his room. Obviously. Where else would you keep ducks?”
Julian pours drinks. Hands them around. We sit together in comfortable silence, still smiling about the day.
This is what I wanted for my boys. What I’ve always wanted since I found out I was pregnant. A family. A real one. Not secrets and supervised visits and lies about who their father is. Just this. Normal days where everyone’s happy and the boys are loved by both parents.
Cassian catches my eye across the room. Smiles.
I smile back.
And for the first time in six years, everything feels right. Like all the pain and fear and separation led to this moment. To us sitting in this room together while our sons sleep upstairs, safe and happy.
Julian breaks the silence. “The boys seem really comfortable with you now.”
“They are,” Cassian says. “Took some time, but we’re getting there.”
“More than getting there. They adore you.”
Nadia sets down her glass. “Have you thought about increasing the visits? More days, longer hours?”
Cassian looks at me. Waiting for my answer instead of pushing for what he wants.
“I think we could do that,” I say. “If everyone’s comfortable with it.”
“I am,” Julian says. “This is working. Better than I expected.”
Nadia nods. “The boys are thriving. That’s what matters.”
We talk logistics for a while. Four days a week instead of two. Longer visits. Eventually working toward overnights when everyone’s ready.
Cassian listens, agrees to everything, doesn’t push for more than what’s offered. He’s learning patience. Learning that being their father means putting their needs first, even when it means moving slower than he wants.
By the time he leaves, it’s past eleven.
I walk him to the door out of habit. We stop in the foyer. Julian and Nadia are still in the sitting room, voices carrying down the hall.
“Thank you,” Cassian says quietly. “For today. For agreeing to more time.”
“You’ve earned it. Goodnight, Cassian.”
“Goodnight, Aurelia.”
He leaves, and I’m alone in the foyer with the memory of his smile and the way the boys held his hands in the park.
This is what normal feels like.
And I never want it to end.