Six years can change a man in ways he never thought possible. I'm flipping pancakes in our marble-countered kitchen when it hits me, how easily I've slipped into calling Morgan's mansion "our home," how naturally I've adapted to this gilded cage.
The pancake batter sizzles as it hits the griddle, forming perfect golden circles. Ellie's favorite. Not just any pancakes, but blueberry pancakes with little smiley faces made of chocolate chips. She's supposed to get her report card today, and I'm betting my little genius crushed first grade.
"Daddy makes the best pancakes in the whole wide world," she always says, her eyes, my eyes, lighting up as she drowns them in syrup. The thought makes me smile despite everything else.
I glance at the clock on the wall. Morgan should be bringing Ellie home from school any minute now. The security system will chime when they arrive, a sound that once filled me with dread but now just signals that my family is home. Family. Another word I never thought I'd use to describe what Morgan and I have.
Those first months after she took me were a nightmare. I was a prisoner, pure and simple. The sprawling estate, with its manicured gardens and Olympic-sized pool, might as well have been a concrete cell. The security team, her "staff" were just guards with better suits. I hated Morgan with every fiber of my being, despised her for tearing me away from Lana, for using our child as leverage.
But Morgan was clever. She established rules with clear rewards. If I wanted Ellie to have a loving mother, I had to play husband. If I wanted TV privileges, I had to kiss Morgan goodnight. If I wanted to see my daughter smile, I had to smile first.
By the second year, things got... easier isn't the right word. More manageable, maybe. I learned to navigate Morgan's moods, to anticipate her needs, to play my role convincingly enough that even I sometimes forgot it was an act.
The birth of Ellie the year prior changed everything. This tiny, red-haired miracle with my eyes became the center of my universe, the reason I got up each morning, the purpose behind every breath.
Year three was when the loneliness really hit. My world had shrunk to just three people. My daughter, my captor, and myself. Oh, and the ever-present security team, faceless men who never spoke to me beyond necessary instructions. I started looking forward to Morgan coming home, to our conversations over dinner, to the way she'd curl against me at night. The way we made love. Stockholm syndrome? Probably. But when you're drowning, you don't question the hand that keeps you afloat, even if it's the same one that pushed you in.
I flip another pancake, watching the batter bubble and set. I've gotten good at this, at domesticity. At being a father. At being Morgan's husband.
The day I told Morgan I loved her again and meant it, God help me, she nearly collapsed. Her eyes filled with tears, and for once, the mask slipped completely. I saw the broken, obsessive woman beneath the controlled exterior, so desperate to be loved that she'd built this entire elaborate prison just to keep me. I should have felt disgust, but all I felt was a twisted kind of pity mixed with something dangerously close to affection.
I try not to think about Lana much. Even today bringing her name up instantly gets me in trouble.
The security system chimes, pulling me from my thoughts. The front door opens, and I hear the rapid patter of small feet racing through the hallway.
"Daddy! Daddy! Look, look!" Ellie bursts into the kitchen, a whirlwind of energy with her fiery red hair flying behind her. She's waving a piece of paper triumphantly, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement.
Morgan follows behind her, elegant as always in her designer outfit, a soft smile playing on her lips as she watches our daughter's enthusiasm. Her eyes meet mine over Ellie's head, and there's that look, possessive, satisfied, loving in her own twisted way.
"Hey," I say, returning her smile automatically. It's genuine, and that's the most terrifying part.
"Daddy!" Ellie thrusts the paper into my hands, bouncing on her toes with uncontainable energy. "My teacher says I'm the best at making friends!"
I take the report card, expecting to see the straight A's Morgan and I had been anticipating. Instead, every subject has "Needs Improvement" stamped beside it in neat red ink. My eyes widen as I scan down to the teacher's comments: "Ellie is very social and talkative during class time. She struggles to focus on assignments and frequently disrupts other students."
I furrow my brow, feeling Morgan move closer to peek over my shoulder. I can feel her trying to suppress a laugh as she reads along with me.
"Should you talk to her teacher?" I ask, glancing up at Morgan with genuine concern.
Before Morgan can respond, Ellie tugs at my apron, her attention already bouncing to the next thing. "Dad, can we put chicken in the pancakes?" she asks, completely oblivious to her academic shortcomings.
I stare at her for a moment, this little whirlwind who's somehow both of us and neither of us at the same time. My heart swells with such overwhelming love that I can't help but set the report card aside and pull her into a tight hug.
"Do you really want chicken in them?" I ask feeling her tiny arms wrap around my neck.
Morgan reaches past us to snatch up the report card, her lips curved in a smile that's half amusement, half stern mother. "No chicken for little girls who keep talking in class," she declares, waving the paper for emphasis.
Ellie pouts dramatically, pulling away from me to face her mother. "But Mommy, the teacher talks ALL day! When is it MY turn?"
I can't help but laugh, turning back to the griddle to flip the pancakes before they burn. This is my life now, worrying about report cards and debating the merits of poultry in breakfast food. It's not the life I chose, but it's the one I would die for.
"How about this," I compromise, sliding the finished pancakes onto a plate. "No chicken today, but if you promise to try harder at listening in class, we can experiment with bacon pancakes this weekend."
"You're spoiling her," Morgan says, crossing her arms as she leans against the marble countertop. There's no real bite to her words, though, just the gentle teasing of a mother who knows exactly what's happening.
I glance at her nervously, searching for any sign of genuine disapproval, but she waves her hand dismissively, her lips quirking up at the corners.
"We can try whatever pancakes you want, honey," she tells Ellie, ruffling our daughter's wild red hair. "It's only first grade, anyway. And between us," she adds in a theatrical whisper, "I think the teacher might be a bit of a snob."
I nod in agreement, watching Ellie's face light up with that million-watt smile that makes my heart ache with love. On impulse, I cover her little ears with my hands and lean toward Morgan.
"Should we punish her though?" I ask quietly, feeling strangely uncertain. Six years in and I'm still figuring out this whole parenting thing.
Morgan shrugs, her green eyes soft as she watches Ellie try to wiggle free from my hands. "I really don't know," she admits, and there's something refreshing about her uncertainty, this rare moment where the all-controlling Morgan Quinn doesn't have all the answers.
I look down at Ellie, who's giggling and trying to pry my fingers away from her ears. She seems so happy, so blissfully unaware of any academic concerns. My resolve melts instantly.
"Next time?" I suggest, already knowing I've caved completely.
Morgan's smile widens, genuine warmth reaching her eyes. "That's fine," she agrees, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from my forehead with surprising tenderness.
I release Ellie's ears, and she immediately launches into a detailed story about the class hamster's escape during math time. The report card sits forgotten on the counter as I serve up pancakes, adding extra chocolate chips to form a lopsided smile on Ellie's stack.
We settle around the kitchen table, Ellie's fork already attacking her chocolate-chip-smile pancakes with enthusiastic abandon. Morgan sits across from me, elegantly cutting her stack into perfect triangles while I drizzle maple syrup over mine.
"So anyway," Ellie continues, her mouth half-full, "Tommy said rocks can't get married because they don't have feelings, but I told him that's stupid because my rock collection definitely has feelings."
I nod, making the appropriate "I'm listening" sounds as she launches into what appears to be a deeply philosophical debate from the playground.
"The smooth rocks can marry other smooth rocks," she explains, gesturing wildly, "and the sparkly ones can marry other sparkly ones. But rocks can't marry bricks. They're incompatible."
"That's very scientific of you," Morgan comments, her eyes crinkling with amusement.
Shit, is my daughter a racist?
"Mrs. Peterson says it's important to categorize things properly," Ellie declares with all the authority a six-year-old can muster.
Oh, okay, never mind.
As she continues her lecture on the matrimonial possibilities of various minerals, I find myself watching both of them, my fierce, brilliant daughter with her wild theories and untamable spirit, and Morgan, who catches every word with that intense focus she brings to everything she loves.
The realization washes over me like a warm tide, this is my family. This strange, unexpected life we've built together somehow became everything I never knew I needed. The journey here was twisted and dark, but looking at them now, I can't imagine being anywhere else.
Morgan must sense something in my expression because her eyes find mine across the table. She reaches out, her fingers wrapping around mine with gentle pressure. The simple touch grounds me, anchors me to this moment.
"I love you, Adam," she says softly, the words hanging in the air between us.
My throat tightens unexpectedly. Six years ago, those words from her lips would have filled me with rage and revulsion. Now, they're a lifeline I cling to. I blink rapidly, fighting back the sudden moisture in my eyes.
"I love you too, Morgan," I manage, my voice rough with emotion.
Ellie, oblivious to the weight of the moment, continues explaining why pebbles make better wedding guests than gravel. Morgan's thumb traces circles on my palm, her eyes never leaving mine, seeing everything I can't put into words.
"Daddy, are you crying?" Ellie suddenly asks, her fork suspended mid-air.
I quickly swipe at my eyes with the back of my hand, embarrassed to be caught in this vulnerable moment. "No, sweetheart, I'm not crying. Just got something in my eye."
But Ellie's too perceptive for that, her little face scrunching up with concern as she sets down her fork. "You are too crying! Your eyes are all shiny!"
Before I can fumble through another denial, Morgan smoothly interjects, her voice gentle as she reaches over to brush Ellie's wild red hair back from her forehead.
"Daddy just loves us so much sometimes he gets a tad bit emotional," she explains.
Ellie considers this for a moment, then nods as if Morgan has shared some profound wisdom. "Like when I loved my goldfish so much I cried when he did backflips in the bowl?"
I can't help but laugh, the tension breaking. "Exactly like that."
"Except Daddy isn't going to flush us down the toilet."