—Alec—

God knows, I can't remember the last time I cried.

But nothing could have prepared me for this— three little bodies crashing into my arms, calling me Daddy, saying how much they missed me. Children I didn’t even know existed until yesterday.

Their warmth, their laughter, the way they held me like I’d always been there shattered something inside me.

“I missed you more,” I mumbled.

And for the first time in years, I felt the burn of tears I couldn’t hold back.

I held ...