Behind Locked Doors

Hadley’s POV

Today was supposed to be perfect for Dad.

After Mom died, I watched him carry that quiet, bone-deep grief for years. He smiled for me, laughed at my terrible jokes, hugged me tight every night, but I always saw the shadow behind his eyes, the way his gaze would drift to her photo on the mantel when he thought I wasn’t looking. He loved her with everything he had. That kind of love, th