Chapter 2
I couldn't stop staring at the little girl.
She stood beside Daniel Carter, holding his hand so tightly that her small fingers looked pale against his skin.
Her hair was arranged in two neat braids.
She wore a yellow cardigan over a white dress.
And she was crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just silent tears running down her cheeks while she stared toward our table.
I turned toward Nia.
“Who is that child?”
She covered her mouth.
“Marcus, please.”
“Who is she?”
Her eyes filled.
I felt something terrible beginning to form inside my chest.
A possibility I didn't want to consider.
“Nia.”
She shook her head.
“Not here.”
I looked at the receipt.
Daniel Carter.
Nia Robinson.
A reservation for two.
Then I looked toward the entrance again.
Daniel had started walking toward us.
The little girl followed.
Jordan stepped backward.
“Sir, I'm sorry. I didn't know they were coming together.”
I barely heard him.
My attention was fixed on Nia.
She was breathing quickly.
Her hands trembled.
And for the first time in three years, she looked like a stranger.
Daniel stopped beside our table.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and probably around forty.
His face was tired.
His expression wasn't angry.
It was exhausted.
“Nia.”
My girlfriend closed her eyes.
“Daniel.”
The little girl looked at her.
“Mommy?”
One word.
That was all it took.
My entire world shifted.
I stared at the child.
Then at Nia.
Then back at the child.
“Mommy?”
Nia began crying.
The little girl stepped forward.
“Mommy, why didn't you come?”
I felt my stomach drop.
I had known Nia for three years.
Three birthdays.
Three Christmases.
Three anniversaries.
I knew her favorite flowers.
Her favorite breakfast.
The way she hated driving in heavy rain.
I knew she wanted children someday.
Or at least, that's what she had told me.
But apparently, she already had one.
And I had never known.
Daniel looked at me.
“You must be Marcus.”
I stood slowly.
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“I'm Daniel Carter.”
I glanced at Nia.
She was staring at the floor.
Daniel continued.
“I'm sorry to approach you like this.”
His voice was controlled.
“But I need to understand what's happening.”
I almost laughed.
“So do I.”
The little girl tugged his sleeve.
“Daddy, can I sit down?”
Daniel immediately crouched beside her.
“Of course, sweetheart.”
He turned toward Jordan.
“Could we have another chair, please?”
Jordan nodded.
“I'll get one.”
I watched Daniel help his daughter sit at the table.
Nia still hadn't moved.
The child looked toward her.
“Mommy, are you mad at me?”
Nia made a heartbreaking sound.
“No, baby.”
“Then why didn't you answer my calls?”
Tears spilled down Nia's cheeks.
I felt my anger mixing with something else.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
And an awful sense that I was watching a family collapse without understanding how I had become part of it.
I looked at Daniel.
“Are you married to Nia?”
He studied me.
Then shook his head.
“No.”
I exhaled.
But the relief lasted less than a second.
“We were married,” he continued.
My chest tightened.
“Were?”
“Divorced four years ago.”
I turned toward Nia.
“You told me you had never been married.”
She closed her eyes.
Daniel looked surprised.
“She told you that?”
I nodded.
He stared at her.
“Nia.”
She began crying harder.
“Please, Daniel.”
I held up a hand.
“Wait.”
Everybody stopped speaking.
I looked directly at Nia.
“Are you this little girl's mother?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“How old is she?”
“Six.”
I swallowed.
“What is her name?”
Nia's voice broke.
“Amara.”
I looked at the child.
Amara.
Beautiful name.
Beautiful little girl.
And completely innocent.
She was looking at me with frightened curiosity.
I crouched slightly beside her.
“Hi, Amara.”
She wiped her cheeks.
“Hi.”
“My name is Marcus.”
She nodded.
“Mommy said you were her friend.”
I felt something inside me collapse.
Her friend.
That's what Nia had called me.
Three years of love.
Plans.
Promises.
An engagement ring hidden inside my jacket.
And to her daughter, I was simply a friend.
I stood slowly.
“Nia, we need to talk.”
Daniel looked toward Amara.
“She's had a difficult day. Can we keep this calm?”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
He looked relieved.
Then he said something that made me freeze.
“I didn't come here to embarrass anyone.”
I stared at him.
“Then why are you here?”
He reached into his pocket.
And pulled out the photograph I had seen near the entrance.
He placed it on the table.
It showed Nia standing outside a house.
A house I recognized immediately.
My house.
Beside her stood Amara.
The photograph had been taken several months earlier.
I stared at it.
“When was this?”
Daniel answered.
“Last October.”
My chest tightened.
Last October.
I had been in Chicago attending a conference.
Nia had stayed at my house to care for my dog.
Or so I thought.
I looked at her.
“You brought your daughter to my house?”
She nodded weakly.
I swallowed.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
She whispered, “Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
She couldn't answer.
Daniel took a breath.
“Marcus, yesterday Nia told me she was finally ready to introduce you to Amara.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
He looked confused.
“She said you already knew about her.”
I slowly turned toward Nia.
Her face was buried in her hands.
Daniel continued.
“She asked me to bring Amara here tonight so we could all talk.”
My stomach tightened.
“And you agreed?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Nia.
“So last night's dinner was about arranging this?”
She nodded.
But Daniel's expression changed.
“Not exactly.”
I turned.
“What do you mean?”
He looked at Nia.
“She also asked me to sign something.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“What?”
Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a folded document.
Then placed it on the table.
“Nia wants me to give up primary custody of Amara.”
The words hit me like a physical blow.
I looked at the little girl.
She was quietly arranging sugar packets beside her plate.
Then I looked at Nia.
“Why?”
She began shaking her head.
“Marcus, please don't listen to him.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Then tell him the truth.”
I stared at her.
“Nia, what truth?”
She looked up.
Her eyes were full of tears.
May you like
And then she whispered something I couldn't understand.
“Because I thought you wouldn't marry me if you knew.”
