"Nich!" Elara ran to Nicholas with her wobbly little legs, pushing past everyone.
The terminal was filled with the hurried movement of passengers, the beep of cart returns, and the soft voice of intercom announcements. But for little Elara, the universe had shrunk to the towering figure of the man standing before her, holding her brother. There's a burning fear in her tiny heart.
Tears welled in her big, dark eyes as she cinched her dress around her, her small voice trembling as she pleaded, "Please, sir, don't take my brother away. Our mama will cry. I don't like to see her crying. She is too pretty to cry." Elara blabbered out, saying whatever was coming to her mind to make the man let them go.
Adrian Thornfield, exhausted from his fourteen-hour flight, let out a deep breath. His temples throbbed from an already exhausting day, but when he saw the tiny little girl trembling before him, his heart did a strange thing…it softened.
