The shower was still running, but the atmosphere had shifted from medical urgency to a heavy, lingering intimacy. Kenneth's hands remained on her, his thumbs tracing the skin he hadn't touched since that blurry night in Malaysia.
"Why, Nicole?" he whispered, his forehead resting against hers. The water slicked his hair back, making him look older, his jawline sharper. "I would have worked. I would have swept floors, taken night shifts... I would have been there."
"You don't know my father," Nicole sobbed, the sound muffled by the roar of the water. "He wouldn't have let you work. He would have used his influence to blackball your family. He would have made sure you never got into a university. I couldn't let him ruin your future because of my mistake."
"It wasn't a mistake," Kenneth countered, his voice fierce. He pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. "That night... it's the only thing that kept me going when I thought you hated me."
He reached out and turned off the faucet. The sudden silence was jarring. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her shoulders with a tenderness that made her heart ache. "I'm not that boy anymore, Nic. I'm an adult. And I'm a father. I'm not going anywhere."