“Excuse me, sir,” Emma whispered.
Adrian stopped halfway to the school gate, one hand still resting on the open door of his SUV.
He looked down and saw her.
A little girl in a faded yellow dress, shoes polished until they almost looked new, hair tied with a ribbon that had clearly been washed too many times.
“Yes?” he asked gently.
Emma swallowed hard.
Her fingers twisted the hem of her dress so tightly that one stitch began to loosen.
“I know you don’t know me,” she said. “And I know this is a strange thing to ask.”
Adrian waited.
He was used to people asking him for money, favors, signatures, investments, meetings.
But not like this.
Not with trembling lips.
Not with eyes trying so hard not to cry.
Emma took one small breath.
“Could you pretend to be my dad… just for today?”
The words hung between them.
For a moment, Adrian thought he had misheard her.
Behind them, parents were walking toward the school auditorium with flowers, balloons, cameras, and proud smiles.
Emma had none of those.
She had only herself.
Adrian’s face changed.
Not with pity.
Pity would have made Emma step back.
It changed with something quieter, something almost painful.
“Why me?” he asked softly.
Emma looked embarrassed.
“Because you looked kind,” she said. “And because everyone else already belongs to someone.”
Adrian felt those words settle somewhere deep in his chest.
Everyone else already belongs to someone.
He looked toward the school.
Then back at the girl.
“What’s your name?”
