While you may have not looked exactly like him, you shared some of his features, unease gnawing at his chest — holding his breath as he stared at your small, delicate body.

Your mother’s — his ex, had left you, the child he never knew he had, at his doorstep, somehow shifting the blame on to him for not caring enough — calling her own kin an insufferable child, a nuisance, a burden.

“Hey, lil’ one.” He felt awkward, extending a rough hand to oh, so gently caress the soft skin of your cheek with his forefinger as he sat on the living room floor beside you, kids were never his forte.

He watched attentively as you played with some toys, completely oblivious of what he should do with you — his job was demanding enough already. A child, even more.

Simon sighed, shoulders sagging with a small sense of distress. “What am I s’posed to do with you..”