Luke's PoV

I'd left Alyssa with Ashton in the room as I quickly checked on Kira and Cody. I could hear the giggles and cheers as I made my way up the stairs, beaming to myself as I listened to Kira. She sounded happier than she had in a long time. She loved playing with me but I wasn't around as much as we both wanted, with my job taking up a lot of my time and without my wife here to look after her when I was absent, Kira had fallen into a routine of being with nannies and childminders. To hear her so excited and happy to be playing with a child her age, one who didn't know who she really was but loved her nonetheless, was really heartwarming.

"Oh no! The Shadow is coming Cody, quick!" I heard Kira say dramatically, followed by a flurry of footsteps.

"Don't worry Kira, I've got my fire sword! I'll get him." Cody was swishing a fake sword around as he jumped about, Kira cheering as he fought an imaginary bad guy. I slowly opened the door to the large room full of any toy you could think of and noticed them playing with none of them. Their imaginations were enough for them to have fun, leaping from the chairs to the floor and rolling around as they played different games. It made me realise that the thing Kira definitely missed was that childlike interaction. She'd been around me, my band mates and childminders for so long, but none of these were quite like a child that would understand her in a different way.

"Hey guys!" Both kids looked up at me.

"Hey dad!" Kira said just as Cody replied "Hey da-" Cody stopped himself as he realised he'd said the word purely because Kira had but that it was wrong. My chest tightened as his face sunk for a moment.

"You can call me Luke, Cody." I tried to distract him. "Only special people can." I gave him a wink and watched as his face lit up again.

"Okay Luke." He grinned.

"Do you want any snacks or drinks? Fighting that shadow monster sounds pretty tiring!" I asked, looking round the room as if I was looking for the bad guy. Kira stifled a giggle again.

"Can we have some grapes please?" Kira asked as she looked over to Cody, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Please can I have some water too?" Cody asked politely, his big eyes looking up at me framed in long lashes just like his mothers. Luckily for him, he was the spitting image of his mother rather than the father who couldn't be bothered to do his job. It angered me that people were like that, that they could think that having a baby wasn't for them half way through the hardship and give up completely. Olivia and I had tried so hard to have a baby, she suffered with a few things that made getting pregnant very hard for us, but we were overjoyed when she finally got pregnant and carried our beautiful daughter to full term. It was hard, don't get me wrong, balancing work and a baby that cried every two hours for feeds, to try to write songs whilst living off of coffee and the last parts of my energy. At points, even we questioned if we were up for the job, but we never gave up and that's the main thing. This guy, Harry, seemed to leave without a care and not even try to work it out. He didn't even compromise and have Cody on weekends, or take him out once a month, he just left completely and I can tell that it broke Cody's heart.

I headed back down to get the grapes and water only to hear Alyssa and Ashton cackling with laughter. I got annoyed that they were enjoying their time together, I didn't want another person telling me they wanted her around all the time and trying to imply I was a bad parent - I'd had enough of that from Calum already. I poked my head round the doorframe and watched as Ashton and Alyssa laughed, her head tipped back as she clutched her stomach whilst he wiped a tear from his eye.

"I can't believe he actually said that!" Alyssa said, shaking her head at Ashton. He nodded back.

"Yeah, he was so embarrassed. Somehow they ended up dating despite that. He's always been a blubbering mess around women." Great. Ashton was telling her about the first time I met Olivia and how I'd mixed up two sentences and fumbled into saying something inappropriate. Luckily she saw the funny side and found my goofiness adorable, we began dating the next week. I waited for a moment for Alyssa to tell him about my embarrassing texts about the car seat or how I'd nearly caused a crash, or how Calum had said I didn't take Kira out but to my surprise she stayed silent on those things.

"I'm assuming Olivia isn't around anymore? I haven't heard Kira mention her and I haven't seen her around in any photos?" Alyssa squirmed as she asked the inevitable question. I had to pull myself away from the doorframe before I heard Ashton's answer, knowing it would only cause me to get upset again. Unlike Alyssa, who's partner left out of their choice, mine was taken from me cruelly. Olivia was unexpectedly taken ill and unfortunately became too weak to fight it.

Heading into the kitchen, I quickly washed and cut up the grapes and grabbed two bottles of water that I took up to the kids who were holding an equally painful conversation as I walked into the room.

"Where is your dad Cody?" Kira asked as I placed the grapes on the table with the water. I gulped down nervously, not sure whether to scold her for asking something so bluntly but then again she was only a child.

"I don't know." Cody shrugged sadly. "He's never been at my house. Mum says he's busy." Kira hugged him softly.

"It's okay. I don't have a mummy." Kira shrugged. Cody's saddened face looked up curiously at her.

"Where is she?" Cody asked as I made a beeline for the door, hoping to get out before I heard the words again. My eyes stung as I heard Kira's response, and knowing both sets of people were talking about her just went to show how much of an impact she'd made but also how hard it has been - and still is - to move on.

"She's not been here for a long time. Daddy told me she is in heaven."