in on him, not comforting but oppressive. Outside, Toronto's streets hummed faintly with dis

ren were tired and already dozing off even before they got out of the

She slept soundly beside him, her breathing even, one hand curled lightly beneath her chin as though she were dreaming of something soft and swe

he way her chest rose and fell with each steady breath. He had seen her in every mood; laughing with Mason over a silly joke, humming while she

lt undone by doubt. His chest tightened as his mind re

if he had any sense, but still it had clung to him, burrowed into him. He had tried to shake it off at the reunion,

cross the room. Mason's wide grin at his last birthday party, icing smeared acr

first steps, Maire's first word, the way Noel had leaned on him during both labours... and

is something real here?

ad his energy, his same stubborn streak, his charm, everyone said so. And Maire, she was Noel's mirro

e look jus

arrying trays, and fixing things. Nick tried to dismiss the thought, but he remembered the way Noel had looked away when Joe was near, how carefully she'd avoided

him, her hand brushing his arm. It should have soothed him, but it only tightened the coil inside him. Nick studied her again, hi

as fragile. Any idealistic person knew this at the back of their minds. They also

t mine?" The though

like glass in his chest. He thought back to the early days of their marriage, wh

he way she had chosen him against her father's disapproval, how she had stood by hi

ng of the storm brewing inside him. He wanted to reach out, to smooth the hair from her fore

if she wasn't

ified him more t

like his own, and yet, when he really looked, wasn't there something different abo

how quickly she had turned her gaze from Joe. Wa

s thoughts circled tighter and tighter until only one desperate conclusion remained. He needed proof. Proof that could

as drastic, invasive, even cruel, but it would tell him the truth. It wou

n considering it. What kind of husband secretly tested his own child

t kind of ma

losed his eyes, exhaling shakily. The decision had a

he would f

ick froze, guilt tearing through him, but he did not pull away. He let her hand rest there, wa

m the outside, could not silence doubt, a