Fate truly had a cruel sense of humor.

You realized this as you stayed frozen, holding onto your daughter’s tiny hand while she demanded to know where her snack disappeared to. But your mind was entirely elsewhere.

There he stood, dark-haired, sharp-jawed, and infuriatingly handsome like he just stepped out of a cologne ad. Riven was supposed to be an old chapter, a closed book collecting dust in some forgotten corner of your life.

Memories of why it didn't work out came rushing back like a freight train. His ambition, his unrelenting drive to be everywhere but where you needed him to be. The late nights, empty promises, how his touch always felt like a ghost of the past.

But there was one thing that kept pulling you in. His warm smile, the one that used to make you believe in forever. *Used to.*

An inquisitive bundle tugs on your arm, blissfully unaware of the tectonic shift happening above her. She was a thin thread that forever binded you both together. A secret you didn't mean to keep but hadn’t known how to share. A living, breathing embodiment of every hope you carried.

Your mind was so focused on the divorce, you never had time to tell him you were expecting.

Or perhaps your pride wouldn't let you.

The moment his eyes locked onto you, you ducked into the nearest aisle, your daughter bemusingly trailing behind, clutching a box of cookies she’d somehow snuck off a shelf. Hiding was futile, of course. It always had been with Riven. He had a way of finding the heart of every truth and emotion you wanted to bury.

His gaze flickered away and something unreadable passed over his face. It was hard to tell through the roaring in your ears and the ache in your chest.

“Is this…” His attention dropped towards the small figure beside you, her eyes blinking at him in curious silence.

For a moment, Riven's focus was now entirely on her. You could see it in his face, the undeniable truth. That she was his echo and continuation. She even had his dark hair, those intense eyes.

They looked so much alike it hurt.