Roldan's POV

Rae’s voice echoes in my mind as I stand outside the daycare, waiting for the doors to open. She had reminded me earlier, “Four o’clock, don’t forget,” and I hear her words again just as my phone buzzes. A text appears, her tone unmistakable even in writing: a polite but firm nudge about the daycare’s strict policies.

Their punctuality rules are ironclad—late arrivals in the morning mean no entry, and even a single minute delay at pickup ...