Chapter 12
The next morning broke with brilliant sunshine streaming through the arched stained-glass windows of the grand staircase. Julian woke up to the sound of soft piano music drifting up from the formal sitting room.
He walked out into the second-floor hallway in his silk robe, peering down over the wrought-iron banister. Chloe sat at the gleaming baby grand piano, playing a cheerful melody while Leo and Liam danced clumsily around her feet in their pajamas.
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The subtle US flag on the brass stand near the entrance caught the morning light, standing as a quiet sentinel over a household that had finally found its rhythm again. Julian felt a rare smile spread across his face.
He walked down the stairs to join them, feeling like a father for the first time in six agonizing months. The dark days of clinical isolation and silent sorrow were firmly in the past.
