I SAT DOWN AS FOUR FATHERLESS SISTERS' FAKE DAD FOR A SCHOOL LUNCH - THEN THEIR WAITRESS MOTHER REVEALED WHY MY ENEMIES WERE WATCHING

One year later.

The summer sun was setting over the city, painting the sky in deep shades of gold, crimson, and violet.

The Iron Gate Diner was closed for the evening, but upstairs in the spacious apartment above the restaurant, the large dining room window was open, letting in the cool evening breeze off the river.

The long oak dining table—which I had personally hand-carved from a fallen oak tree over the winter—was set for six.

At one end sat Rosa, looking beautiful and serene as she ladled fresh chicken soup into ceramic bowls. Beside her sat ten-year-old Chloe, who was now the top student in her middle school math class, helping eight-year-old Elena with her reading homework.

At the far end of the table, seven-year-old Maya and five-year-old Sofia were giggling loudly as they tried to build a tower out of wooden breadsticks.

And at the head of the table sat I.

I wasn't the Iron Gate enforcer anymore. I wasn't the lonely stranger hiding behind a cup of black tea.

I was a man with a home. A man with a purpose. A man with a family.

"Alright, girls," Rosa said, tapping her spoon against her water glass with a bright laugh. "Dinner is served. Put the breadsticks away before Sofia eats the whole tower."

"Victor started it!" Maya giggled, pointing a small finger at me. "He showed me how to balance the top piece!"

"I am merely an advisor on structural engineering, Maya," I said with absolute gravity, though my eyes were dancing with laughter. "The execution was all yours."

Rosa shook her head, leaning down to kiss the top of my head as she set a steaming bowl of soup down in front of me. "You're terrible for them, you know that?"

"I'm essential," I corrected gently, reaching up to wrap my hand around her waist, pulling her down for a soft, lingering kiss right in front of the table.

"Ewwww!" Maya and Elena shrieked in unison, covering their eyes with their hands, while Chloe just laughed and Sofia clapped her small hands together.

I looked around the table at the six faces shining in the warm candlelight.

My past was buried beneath the stone walls of the city, but my future was sitting right here—bound not by blood, but by a quiet choice made on a Tuesday afternoon at an elementary school lunch.