It had been a few quiet weeks since Mina agreed to move in. The house had a different rhythm now — not the stiff emptiness it held when Aaron lived alone, but something lived-in and warm. Some mornings smelled like coffee and baby lotion, others like toast and Aaron's cologne. Bodyguards pacing the yard, no tension in the walls — just life. Mina was used to guards patrolling in her space. Even though she hated it sometimes, she was happy to be with her favourite people.
Mina found Aaron in the living room that afternoon, sitting on the couch with Ellie propped against his chest. He was reading something on his tablet, but his attention kept drifting to the baby, as if making sure she was still real and still his.
Ellie slapped her tiny palm against his shirt and made a determined sound like she was attempting language for the first time. Aaron glanced down, amused.
"What are you trying to say, little princesa?" he murmured, tapping her nose. "You need something?"
Mina leaned against the doorway, arms folded, watching them. She still wasn't used to how gentle he could be — how his voice, once made to command men with gunmetal eyes, could soften like that.
Ellie made the sound again. This time clearer. More intentional.
"Dah."
Aaron blinked. "Hm?"
Ellie slapped his chest again, harder — demanding his attention.
"Dah—dee."
Silence.
Then Aaron's breath actually caught. His head snapped up, eyes wide in a way Mina had never seen — not even in war, not even in blood.
Mina stepped forward. "Wait—" But Ellie beat her to it.
She looked straight at Aaron like she knew exactly who he was and said it, round and clear this time:
"Daddy."
Aaron didn't move.
For a terrifying second, Mina thought he'd forgotten how to breathe. Then his hand came up, trembling, cupping Ellie's head so gently it almost hurt to watch.
"Say it again," he whispered, voice cracking.
Ellie giggled…and repeated with pride, "Daddy!"
Aaron closed his eyes, jaw clenching as if the word had gone straight through him. "That's right," he murmured, pressing his forehead to hers. "I'm right here, little princesa. Daddy's right here."
Mina crossed her arms tighter over her chest. "Wow. Not even a 'mama' trial run? Nothing? Straight to worshipping him?"
Aaron looked up slowly — and the grin he gave her was infuriatingly smug.
"She's a smart girl," he said. "She knows who spoils her."
Mina rolled her eyes, but her throat was tight with something traitorous and warm. "Great. Congratulations. You've officially converted my daughter."
Aaron only looked down at Ellie again — and Mina caught it, the slight shine in his eyes he tried to hide.
Daddy.
For a man whom she had hated once, had become her everything. She wasn't afraid to say she loved him, which was the most dangerous word in the world — and the one that finally made him human.