I learned early how to survive on my own. Keep my head down and my past locked away.

My childhood taught me that nothing lasts and no one chooses you forever. So I built a life free from love—and pain.

Football gave me discipline. Success gave me distance. Silence kept me safe.

Then Eden walked into my house.

My new housekeeper. Someone meant to clean my messes and remain on the edges of my life.

Except she didn’t stay on the edges. She saw me—really saw me—and didn’t look away. Her laugh somehow turned my empty house into something that felt like a home.

With her, the walls I spent years building began to crack.

Loving her means risking everything. It means believing I’m worth choosing. She makes me want to stop hiding… and change the play.

I know what it’s like to grow up unwanted. To pack your life into boxes and pretend it doesn’t hurt when no one ever unpacks them for you.

Loneliness taught me independence and resilience, to build a family from the people who stay. I never expected more.

Then I met Foster.

He’s quiet and guarded, carrying the weight of a past he refuses to name.

Working for him was supposed to be simple—do my job, keep my head down, don’t cross lines.

But the more time we spend together, the more I see the man beneath the armor. The one he hides from the world.

We weren’t looking for love. Yet somewhere in the stolen moments, we chose each other.

And for the first time, I’m not just building a family—I’m finally home.