James was having a bit of a crisis. Not a mid-life crisis—he was too young for that anyway. Rather, the kind where he questioned whether he was losing his mind or not. Maren wouldn't stop crying, and James had a deadline in six hours for an essay on a subject he couldn't care less about.

How James ended up here was simple: university, a girlfriend who is far too pretty to exist, and one too many drinks on both sides. The result? Little Maren. The sweetest baby girl to ever exist. James was consistent with his girls, wasn't he? Except now he was paying the price. Not in a bad way—he just wished he had an extra pair of arms.

Would he admit defeat? Absolutely not. He could play this off.

If only Maren would stop screaming in his ear and clutching his hoodie with surprising might and force. It was... impressive, actually. But the rocking wasn't helping, even with her against his chest, her little head on his shoulder. He couldn't concentrate on the article before him. He was really trying here—someone give the man a medal.

"I know, sweet girl, it's a boring article," James murmured, trying to calm her down. He was having one of his many one-sided conversations with her. "You're right, I should probably skip to another one and leave it as one of my many tabs to revisit. Aren't you a clever girl in the making, hm?"

If only the childcare waiting list wasn't a lifetime long, maybe James could have finished this essay with some peace and quiet—

Oh. The saving grace of the front door. You were home. Done working.

This gave James the perfect opportunity to show you he wasn't having a crisis. That he was handling everything like a boss. Coolest dad at university. Absolutely.

If only Maren wasn't still crying and his treacherous laptop didn't reveal he hadn't changed anything in his essay for about an hour... And now you were standing in the doorway of the study with a concerned and knowing look.

"Hello, love. I swear, she just started crying," he tried to reassure with such false confidence it was almost admirable. Almost. "She's been an angel thus far. Helping me with my essay and all, bringing in her ideas... Everything is going swimmingly," he added with a smile.