ROMAN'S POV

I pulled back slightly, just enough to really look at her, my eyes meeting hers without anything blocking the moment. The sincerity in that five-year-old’s gaze was unmatched, almost disarming in a way that caught me completely off guard. It wasn’t just innocence — it was trust, pure and simple, the kind that hit harder than any speech or dramatic moment ever could. For a second, everything around us seemed to go still. The air felt lighter. The house, which had felt so noisy and chaotic the past few days, suddenly seemed calm.

  And in that moment, absolutely nothing else mattered.

  Not the embarrassment.

  Not the shock.

  Not...