Something in his tone must have broken through her defenses, because her expression softened. She opened a desk drawer and retrieved a small photo album.
— “Lily is the oldest, by two minutes,” she said, her voice filled with a mother’s warmth as she showed him a picture. “She’s our artist. Always lost in a world of crayons and sketchbooks.” She turned the page. “Chloe is the little scientist. She has to understand how everything works, from the toaster to the stars.” A gentle smile touched her lips. “And Noah… Noah is so much like you were, before all this,” she gestured vaguely, encompassing the city and the empire it represented, “changed you. He’s kind, thoughtful, and has a ridiculous sense of humor.”
Ethan’s throat constricted as he stared at the images. First steps he hadn’t witnessed. First words he hadn’t heard. First birthdays he hadn’t celebrated. A lifetime of milestones, missed.
— “They’ve asked about their father,” Olivia continued, her voice steady. “I’ve always been honest with them. I told them their daddy was a man I loved very much, but that his work took him far away.”
— “And now?” Ethan’s question was a fragile whisper.
— “Now?” Olivia sighed, a sound heavy with the weight of her solitude. “Now they’re old enough to ask questions that are harder to answer. And frankly, I don’t know what to tell them.”
— “Tell them the truth,” Ethan said, his voice gaining strength. “Tell them their father was a fool who lost his way. And that he wants nothing more than to make it right.”
— “It’s not that simple, Ethan. They have a life, a stable routine. They are happy children. You can’t just storm in and disrupt everything.”
— “I’m not asking to disrupt anything. I’m asking for a chance. A chance to be their father.”
— “And what about the next major deal? The next crisis that demands your undivided attention? When your empire calls, will you answer?”
Ethan reached across the desk, his hand covering hers. To his surprise, she didn’t pull away.
— “I was wrong, Olivia. About everything. I equated success with the size of my portfolio, with the height of my buildings. But last night, sitting in that restaurant, watching our children… hearing them laugh… that one moment was worth more than every single deal I have ever closed.”
Tears welled in Olivia’s eyes, a testament to her own buried pain.
— “I wanted to tell you so many times. Even after they were born. But you had built such impenetrable walls around your new life. I couldn’t stand the thought of being rejected by you again.”
— “I’m sorry,” he said, the words imbued with a sincerity he hadn’t felt in years. “I know it’s not enough, but I am so profoundly sorry.”
Just then, his phone buzzed, the screen flashing with Susan’s name. A crisis, no doubt. A deal on the verge of collapse. Without a second’s hesitation, Ethan powered the device off completely. Olivia’s eyes widened slightly.
— “Don’t you need to take that?”
— “No,” he said with unwavering certainty. “There is nothing on this planet more important than this conversation.”
She studied his face, searching for the man she once knew.
— “The children are in a school play next week,” she said finally. “They’re performing The Three Little Pigs. Lily is the sensible pig who builds her house out of bricks.”
— “Can I… would it be alright if I came to see it?”
— “Third row, on the left,” Olivia said quietly. “That’s our usual spot. The performance starts at two.”
A fragile seed of hope began to bloom in the barren landscape of his chest.
— “I’ll be there.”
— “Ethan?” Her voice stopped him as he rose to leave. “If you’re going to do this, if I let you into their lives, you need to be absolutely certain. Because if you vanish on them the way you vanished on me…”
— “I won’t,” he vowed, his voice raw with conviction. “I have wasted five years chasing shadows. I’m done running.”
As he stepped out of her office and back into the harsh sunlight, he turned his phone back on. The screen lit up with a barrage of missed calls and urgent messages. Demands for his time. Deals awaiting his approval. Fortunes to be made. For the first time, it all seemed utterly meaningless.
He dialed Susan.
— “Cancel all my appointments for next week. And find me every book you can on parenting five-year-olds. What do they like? What are their interests? I need to learn everything.”
— “Of course, Mr. Hayes,” Susan replied, and for the first time, he heard a genuine smile in her voice. “And sir? It’s good to have… the old you back.”
Ethan looked back at the brownstone. Somewhere in the vastness of the city, three children were living their lives, completely unaware that their father’s world had just tilted on its axis, and that his heart was already overflowing with a love he never knew he was capable of. He had so much lost time to atone for, so much trust to earn. But for the first time in a very long time, Ethan Hayes was ready to fight for something real.