Chapter 181

Freya I watched as Isabella pouted on her bed, her small face a mixture of resignation and defiance. This was our morning ritual now - a battle of wills over the simplest things like getting ready for school. "I know," she muttered sullenly, making no move to actually get up. After a moment of lying there, she looked at me with those eyes - so like her father's - and said, "Mom, you help me squeeze toothpaste." "Hmm," I agreed, swallowing down the familiar ache. Once, I would have reminded her she was old enough to do it herself, but these days I took whatever scraps of connection I could get. I went into the bathroom and prepared her toothbrush. Through the open door, I saw Isabella grab her phone, quickly typing something with a small smile on her face. That smile - the one I rarely saw directed at me anymore. Selene whined softly inside me, missing the days when our pup looked at us with adoration. When Isabella finally joined me in the bathroom, I handed her the toothbrush and then