We started talking whenever I stopped by.
Then we started having coffee.
And eventually, I brought her home to meet Leo.
I was nervous. Children can sense when someone doesn’t belong.
But the moment Amelia walked in, Leo lit up.
She asked him about his drawings. She laughed at his jokes. She listened to his stories as if they were the most important thing in the world.
Within weeks, the two of them were inseparable.
She never tried to replace Nora.
Instead, she simply loved Leo in her own gentle way.
Six months later, I proposed.
And a few months after that, we were married.
For the first time in years, our house truly felt complete.
Until that night.
It was close to midnight when I felt someone shaking my shoulder.
“Oliver… Oliver!”
I opened my eyes groggily.
Amelia was standing beside the bed.
She looked pale, her hair slightly messy, her breathing uneven.
In her hands, she held something.
“Oliver, wake up,” she whispered urgently. “You need to wake up right now!”
My heart started racing.
“What happened?”
She sat on the edge of the bed, gripping the object tightly.
Her voice trembled.
“I found something terrible Leo has been hiding from you.”
I sat up instantly.
“What are you talking about?”
