Sometimes they called because they missed him.
And Noah stopped calling only to check whether they were safe.
Sometimes he called because he had heard a joke.
Sometimes he wanted their advice.
Sometimes he simply missed them too.
Their relationship was no longer between a guardian and three dependent children.
It was between four adults connected by something they had built together.
Years later, Diana once asked Noah whether he regretted everything he had given up.
He considered the question carefully.
There were things he might have done differently.
Perhaps another career.
A house.
More travel.
Marriage.
Maybe biological children.
An entirely different version of himself.
But regret raising Emma, Lily, and Grace?
Never.
“No,” Noah finally answered. “But I regret believing I wasn’t allowed to have anything else.”
That was the difference.
He had once believed love meant sacrificing enough of yourself to prove how deeply you cared.
