Chapter 29
COLE
At the end of April, I stood by the large window of my office, staring out at the city.
Sunlight reflected off the buildings across the street, casting long shadows that stretched across the pavement far below.
Liam had preserved the office I used to work in, and when I rejoined him to help with the company’s photography projects, it slowly became a place where I met clients for both my photo shoots and the company’s corporate work.
My office phone rang.
I picked it up. “Hello?”
“Cole!” Lucas’s excited voice burst through the receiver.
Just hearing his voice made me smile, as if it flipped a switch somewhere inside my chest. “Hey, buddy,” I said, sitting down.
“My tooth fell out again.”
I laughed, leaning back slightly in my chair as I imagined his proud little grin.
“You know what my brother and I used to do when that happened?”
“What?”
“We would bury the tooth in the backyard under a tree for good luck.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“But then the tooth fairy won’t find it there,” Lucas said softly. “And I won’t get my dollar.”
“Oh, he’ll find it alright,” I said. “And he’ll give you more than a dollar for that tooth.”
“Really?”
“Truly.”
Lucas sounded satisfied with that answer, and after we hung up, I made a mental note to swing by Jiya’s house later that night. The thought came naturally, the same way it always did when Lucas or Emma crossed my mind. Those visits had become part of my life.
I leaned back in my chair, waiting for the new project photos to arrive. While the computer screen refreshed, my thoughts drifted elsewhere entirely.
Stephanie.
The thought of breaking up with her had been sitting heavily in my mind for weeks.
Even though she was beautiful, something between us felt hollow.
Conversations with her rarely lasted more than a few minutes before they fizzled out.
There was no depth, no spark of curiosity, and no shared interests that made me want to keep talking.
Even when we sat across from each other at dinner, the silence between us sometimes felt louder than any conversation.
She was the first woman I had dated since my wife passed away.
And she was not what I was looking for in a life partner.
We were simply too different. Our goals, our mindsets, and the things that mattered to us existed in completely separate worlds.
Every time I tried to picture a future with her, the image refused to settle into place. It always felt forced, as if I were trying to fit two pieces of a puzzle together that had never belonged in the same box.
Without meaning to, my mind drifted to Jiya.
I had been worried about her ever since her encounter with her birth mother.
I remembered one evening when we sat together at the docks, quietly watching the sun sink toward the horizon as the sky shifted from orange to yellow to bursts of pink across the water.
Normally, Jiya would have pointed out the beauty of it, but that evening she said nothing.
She didn’t mention the visit.
Not once.
Instead, she buried herself in work, as if keeping busy could keep the feelings away.
I knew she hadn’t truly dealt with what had happened.
I could see it in the heaviness that sometimes contained her, and in the way her gaze drifted somewhere far away even while she stood beside me.
I didn’t want to push her to talk if she wasn’t ready, but I still worried. I wanted to be there for her.
Standing on that dock, I wrapped my arms around her, and the moment I touched her, I felt it again—the familiar tingling that always came with her presence.
Seeing how her biological mother had treated her stirred something fierce inside me, a protective instinct that made me realize just how deeply I cared for her and how strongly I wanted to shield her from anyone who could hurt her again.
It had been happening more and more lately.
My feelings for her had quietly grown into something deeper.
Moments between us replayed constantly in my mind—at the hospital when she gave birth to Emma, in her kitchen when I told her I was moving into the apartment, and in her bedroom when she asked for help tying the strings of her dress.
Each memory stirred the same reaction inside me—a restless flutter low in my stomach.
I wanted to talk to her about it, to know if she felt anything at all, or if this was only in my head. I considered speaking to Jack, to Liam, and even to Silvia, but saying the words out loud would make them too real, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for the answer.
Ever since the night of the fireworks on New Year’s Eve, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.
I could still picture that moment on Liam’s terrace—the sky bursting with colour behind her, the feel of her beneath my arm, and the way her eyes met mine in that quiet pause between explosions of light.
That memory had carved itself into my mind and refused to fade.
The next day, I wanted to bring it up and ask if she had felt it too. But her casual attitude made it clear that she hadn’t seen it the same way. She showed no sign that anything had changed between us.
So I buried the idea.
And signed up for a dating site.
That was how I ended up with Stephanie.
But comparing Stephanie to Jiya only made things worse.
With Jiya, conversation flowed effortlessly.
She had stood by me through some of the hardest moments of my life.
She got along with my brother and his family.
We laughed easily, understood each other without explanation, and she welcomed me into her world with openness.
And her kids…
I adored them.
Lucas and Emma had become part of my world. I had grown protective of Emma without even realizing it. Holding her reminded me of the fragile wonder of the first days after Chloe was born. And Lucas had a way of brightening even the darkest days.
Sometimes, I even caught myself thinking how perfect it all felt.
If only Jiya felt the same.
Evenings in my apartment felt lonely, even when Stephanie stayed over. The silence pressed against the walls, a reminder of everything missing. Jiya’s house, on the other hand, felt alive—filled with laughter, the smell of cookies and chai, and children running through the living room.
People often mistook us for a family when we were out together.
I still remembered the school play last month.
“Will you be coming with Mama for the play tomorrow, Cole?” Lucas had asked.
“Of course,” I had told him. “Your Mama already told me about it. I can’t wait. I’ll be taking pictures of the whole play.”
After the show ended, Lucas ran straight toward me.
“I’m so happy you made it.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” I said, hugging him.
One of his friends looked up at me curiously.
“Is this your father?”
Lucas’s shoulders slumped slightly. “No,” he said quietly.
Something in my chest cracked.
“I might not be his father,” I told the boy gently, resting a hand on Lucas’s shoulder, “but I’m much more than that.”
Lucas looked up at me then, his eyes searching mine.
“Much, much more than that.”
The truth was, I liked being there for Lucas and Emma.
But most of all…
I liked being there for Jiya.
Earlier that month, she had surprised me by planning my thirty-fifth birthday celebration at Liam’s house. I hadn’t seen it coming, and the care she put into organizing everything truly touched me. The gift she gave me—a pen engraved with my name—still sat on my desk.
Later that evening, I drove over to the restaurant to see Jack. He was wiping down the bar counter while I sat on a stool, sipping a soda.
“So,” he said casually, “you wanna break up with Stephanie?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… why?”
“I don’t see a future with her,” I said, placing the glass down harder than intended. “Something’s missing.”
Jack didn’t respond right away. Then he asked, “What about Jiya?”
I nearly slipped off the stool. “Jiya?”
I glanced across the restaurant. She was standing in the far corner, talking to a customer, her hair falling loosely over her shoulders. The warm lighting of the restaurant caught the soft strands around her face as she smiled politely at the person in front of her.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it,” Jack said, raising an eyebrow. “She’s beautiful, smart, caring, and a great mother.”
My nerves fired up all at once as I looked at her again.
“I don’t understand why you two aren’t together already. You’re perfect for each other. You’d make a great family. Even Maureen thinks so.”
“Maureen too?” I muttered.
At that exact moment, Jiya looked up and smiled at me.
Goosebumps erupted across my arms. No woman besides my wife had ever brought out such feelings in me the way Jiya did.
“Well,” Jack said, “think about it.”
“I don’t think she sees me as anything other than a friend.”
Jiya was one of the most remarkable women I had ever met. She had rebuilt her life from nothing and brought the restaurant back to life. Our bond had started with a fight and grown into respect and friendship.
I didn’t want to risk losing that.
Still… it felt like there was something more between us. Something profound and magical that could last a lifetime.
But what if it was only in my head?
“What an awfully long pause,” Jack said. “Have you already started thinking about it?”
I laughed nervously, shaking my head. “I don’t know if she wants to… and I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Just like you thought it wasn’t a good idea for her to co-run the restaurant?”
I sighed.
After paying my bill, I waved to Jiya to let her know I was leaving.
She walked over. “How’s it going?” she asked, giving me a quick peck on the cheek.
My heart reacted instantly.
“It’s alright,” I said. “I’m going to break up with Stephanie.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she replied gently, patting my hand. “I’m sure the right woman is just around the corner.”
The simple touch sent a warm rush through me that I tried very hard not to show on my face.
Behind her, Jack shot me a look that said, I told you so.
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “I’m sure.” Then I pulled out ten dollars. “Could you do me a favour?”
She nodded.
“Put this under Lucas’s pillow tonight.”
She frowned, confused, until I told her about our conversation earlier.
She laughed. “Great. Now I have to keep that up for Emma too,” she said, lightly smacking my arm.
“I’ll come around soon. Give my love to the kids.”
I left the restaurant and stepped into the cool evening air.
The sky above had begun to darken, the first stars faintly visible between the buildings.
Just then, my phone buzzed.
A message from Stephanie.
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully before calling her.
“Hey… do you think we could meet for dinner tonight?” I asked. “There’s something I’d like to discuss.”
Before I could move forward with anything else, I needed to let go of what wasn’t right.