Langley Estate, outskirts of Nice, France – 8:42 AM
Ten years ago, what they had was as uncertain as the wind.
Now, it was something stronger than any marriage—
a family.
"Hey! You took Dad's laptop again!"
"I didn't! Leave me alone, shrimp!"
The voices of Eri, the four-year-old youngest,
Jayden, the seven-year-old middle child,
and Lumi, the ten-year-old eldest,
echoed through the halls as they darted from room to room.
Lumi had Jinwoo's sharp, steady eyes and his quiet way of speaking.
Jayden carried Daniel's polite, well-mannered charm.
Eri… was clever and cheeky like Noah,
and could mimic Celeste's subtlest expressions with
uncanny accuracy.
"Keep it down! Your mom's still asleep!"
Daniel, half in his suit jacket,
called from the bottom of the stairs.
The three froze for a moment—
then bolted toward the kitchen.
Jinwoo stood at the stove,
flipping pancakes with one hand while whipping cream with the other.
"Breakfast is almost ready! Who made the cocoa?"
"Noah-Daddy. He's out on the terrace with his coffee,"
Jayden replied.
A few minutes later,
Celeste stepped out of the bedroom.
Draped in a light linen robe,
she carried the same quiet elegance she always had—
but her eyes softened the moment they landed on her children.
She took her seat at the end of the table
and lifted a warm cup of tea to her lips.
"George and Marcel called,"
Noah said from the terrace doorway,
Eri perched on his lap.
"They'll be here next week."
"For the tenth anniversary,"
Daniel added as he casually flipped through his planner.
Jinwoo drew a heart on the top pancake with a drizzle of syrup.
"Still feels unreal, doesn't it? That we pulled this off."
Then, out of nowhere—
"Mom,"
Lumi asked,
"how was I born?"
Celeste smiled,
brushing a lock of hair from her daughter's face.
"After so much love," she said softly.
"When all your dads' hearts, and your mom's heart,
came together as one… that's when you were born—
like light."
Lumi didn't answer.
She simply smiled.