Amelia’s POV
The night is quiet, the packhouse settled into a calm lull, the children’s laughter now replaced by the soft rhythms of their sleepy breaths. I move silently through the hallway, taking Ryan’s hand in mine. The triplets trail behind, rubbing their eyes and yawning, their small bodies swaying with the day’s exhaustion. Tammy, Tommy, and Theo have been unusually attentive, their energy subdued after the evening games and chores, and I know that what we’re about to tell them must be gentle, carefully measured, yet joyful.
We enter the children’s room, the warm glow of the bedside lamp casting golden hues across the room. I crouch beside Tammy’s bed first, smoothing the hair from her forehead, and Ryan kneels beside Tommy and Theo. His arm rests lightly across their shoulders, a
