It took more strength than Cassie expected to steady her voice long enough to explain something so complicated to a child who only understood love in simple, absolute terms.
"Rose," she began carefully, brushing her daughter's hair back from her damp cheeks, "your father and I… we will never be together again. That means I'm not coming back to live with him."
She tried to say it gently, softly even, in a way that wouldn't break her, but the words still landed heavy.
Rose's lips trembled, and then the tears came again, harder this time, spilling over as she pushed her plate away in frustration. "But I miss you," she cried openly. "Uncle Franklin has to bring me food every time. Do you not care anymore?"
Her voice rose into the beginnings of a tantrum, her small fists curling a
