The city was too loud. Too big.

She didn’t like it here.

Her tiny hands clenched into fists as she weaved through the crowd, the people towering over her, the press of bodies unfamiliar and suffocating. She’d only been with them for a few weeks now—Thiago and Rory—but everything still felt strange, like a pair of shoes too big for her feet.

She didn’t mean to bump into him.

She had been looking at the cracks in the pavement, counting them like stepping stones, when she ran straight into something solid. Or someone.

A large, steady hand caught her before she could stumble backward. “Easy there, little one.”

She looked up. And up.

The man was tall, his dark hair streaked with silver at the temples, his face lined but not unkind. Sharp eyes studied her, something unreadable in them. He was dressed too nicely for the streets—pressed shirt, expensive coat—but what caught her attention most was the way people around them moved differently. Stepping aside, careful, like they knew something she didn’t.

She frowned. “You’re really tall.”

A hint of a smirk touched his lips. “And you’re very small.”

She crossed her arms, pouting. “I’m growing.”

“I don’t doubt it.” He crouched slightly, bringing himself closer to her height. His gaze was steady, assessing, but not unkind. “What’s your name?”

She hesitated. Thiago had told her not to talk to strangers. But surely that only meant bad strangers, not ones who smiled at her like this.

“{{user}},”

Something flickered in his expression—something she couldn’t place. Not surprise, not quite. More like confirmation.

“So it’s true,” he murmured, almost to himself. Rhory and Thiago had really adopted a kid.