Sunlight slipped through the curtains of the small living room, casting long shadows across the floor.

Victor Hayes, a man in his early forties, sat on the couch staring into nothing while the morning news played quietly on the TV.

But his thoughts were far away—lost in everything that had happened.

It had been a little over a year since he lost his wife, Elizabeth, the mother of his daughter Irene, in a tragic accident.

The months that followed had been absolute chaos for both of them.

And then Olivia came along.

She was an attractive woman, warm smile, charming personality.

They met at work, where she had recently been promoted to Head of Human Resources.

At first, their relationship stayed strictly professional.

But over time, casual conversations over coffee turned into longer talks…
longer talks into late dinners…
and eventually, without either of them planning it, Olivia moved into his home.

A noise in the hallway snapped Victor out of his thoughts.

Standing in front of him was Irene—just seven years old.

One look was enough.
Something was wrong.

Usually bright and talkative, she now looked overwhelmed, her shoulders slumped, her eyes glued to the floor.

— “Irene, sweetheart… are you okay?” Victor asked as he stood up.

She looked up at him, and he immediately saw her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.

She bit her lower lip, and Victor felt his chest tighten.

— “Daddy… don’t leave me alone with the new mom… she comes to do bad things…” she whispered, trembling.

Victor’s heart clenched.

He knelt down and pulled her gently into his arms.

— “Honey… what happened? What bad things?”

Irene hesitated, then with a soft, broken voice, began to explain.

Olivia had scolded her harshly after she accidentally broke a vase.

But it wasn’t just the scolding…
Irene had seen something cruel in Olivia’s eyes—something that terrified her.

And ever since that day, whenever they were alone, Olivia changed completely: cold, furious, threatening.

— “Daddy… she scares me…” the little girl murmured, curling into his chest.

A shiver ran down Victor’s spine.

Until that moment, he hadn’t noticed anything strange.

Olivia was always kind when he was around…
too kind, he realized now.

— “Irene, I promise… I will never leave you alone with her again. Never.” he whispered with absolute conviction.

That night, Victor lay awake for hours, replaying every small detail he had ignored out of exhaustion… or out of wanting to move on.

The next morning, when Olivia came downstairs for breakfast, Victor saw her differently.

He watched her carefully—every gesture, every tone of voice.

And when Olivia, unaware that he was looking, grabbed Irene’s hand far too tightly while giving a fake smile, Victor finally understood everything.

He didn’t need more proof.

He made his decision immediately.

Within days, Olivia packed her things.
The front door closed behind her forever.

Irene smiled again—
a real smile, bright and pure, one that filled Victor’s heart with peace.

That was all they needed.

Just the two of them.
Together.
Exactly the way it was meant to be.