"You're sure?" Marcus asked. "Because once we commit to this, there's no backing out. Karl will be our responsibility."
"I'm sure," Aria said. "I saw how you looked at him in there. You already care about him. And honestly, I think Karl needs you as much as you need to do this for him."
They returned to their hotel and made plans for the next visit in two weeks, and Marcus felt a sense of purpose he hadn't felt since before Catherine's fake death.
He was going to build a family, and not the family he'd imagined when he married Catherine, but something better and more honest.
Over the next two months, Marcus and Aria returned to Paris four times for supervised visits with Karl.
Each visit went well, and Karl gradually became more comfortable with them.
They took him to parks and museums, bought him toys and books, and spent hours just talking and playing games.
"Look, Marcus!" Karl shouted from the top of the playground slide. "Watch me go down!"
