☆

IN THE HEART OF SUMMER, Sienna Strange had been born. Emotional and exhausted, Talia had cried as she held onto her daughter for the first time, blinded by the love she already felt for someone so tiny.

A tender kiss was placed on Talia's forehead as she briefly looked away with her eyes locking with her fiancé, catching his look of pure joy. Months ago — at the start of the pregnancy — Stephen Strange had panicked at the news, fearing the very thought of being a father. Yet, upon hearing that first heartbeat, Stephen had melted, becoming protective before Sienna had even been born.

"Talia..." Stephen now said, lost for words. "She's perfect."

"Our little Sienna," Talia smiled down at their daughter again.

For a second, Talia thought of her mom — Gemma DaCosta — who should have been here to meet her granddaughter. Thinking back to that dark time, Talia's heart cracked, unknowing how her father could have been so cruel to abandon his child, especially now that Talia knew the love a parent had. Still, her heart was so golden that she held Sienna close to her.

"I will always love you, my sweet girl," Talia promised her daughter, smiling as the baby stretched her tiny arms and legs out in her sleep, oblivious to the words Talia was telling her. "I will always put you first."

Sienna Strange had grown up spoiled with love — something Talia had always wanted for her children. For Talia, she had found a permanent home through her small family, finding peace that she did not need to be on edge to run.

On stumbling legs, Sienna had been the flower girl at Talia and Stephen's wedding. The one-year-old had been encouraged down the aisle with chocolate, already having such a sweet tooth. But, from those Bambi-like legs, Talia's daughter had soon been running, far too impatient to stand still. Sienna had looked at the world through rose-tinted glasses, always seeing a positive with a joyful smile on her face.

Most of the time, Sienna had been oblivious to the long hours Stephen worked. Most of the time, Sienna had not noticed the growing tensions between her parents. Talia wished to keep Sienna oblivious, but she had always promised to do what was best for her daughter, and an absent father was not something Talia had ever wanted.

As much as she loved Stephen, Talia wished he saw that there was more to life than saving lives.

On the night everything fell apart, Talia had been hopeful for a change. While Stephen had stayed later than planned at work, he had still messaged Talia with the news that they were going out tonight. For once, Stephen had more than five minutes for his wife. If Stephen had made time for her, then perhaps he would spare a day for his daughter too.

Though, right now, the smile on Talia's face was for Sienna. The four-year-old had her eyebrows knotted, concentrating on the piano keys as she played the five notes for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It was a little slow and detached but Talia felt her heart swell with pride.

"That's my girl," Talia told her. "Copy Mommy."

So, Sienna looked over, watching as Talia's fingers played the five notes. Sienna smiled sweetly, singing the nursery rhyme as Talia played. Then, Sienna took over as she tried to copy what Talia had done with Talia singing along with her.

"Can you play, Mommy?" Sienna asked.

Talia could never say no to playing the piano. After all these years, Talia still remembered a time when playing the piano was limited to lunch breaks at school or at the local library. If Talia could find a keyboard, then she would spend as much time as she could playing. Then, when she had finally left the foster homes, Talia had saved for months to buy her first keyboard and had not looked back since.

Playing was like breathing to Talia — a time where she could be at peace, feeling connected to her mother who had loved music too, but also with the thought that music would never leave her. Now, her fingers danced over the keys, performing for her daughter, who watched Talia with an innocent awestruck look with Talia knowing that she would always have someone who loved her.

But the song Talia played still caused her heart to ache. It was the very song she had met her husband to as he had tried crashing her performance, taking over with a competition sparking between the two. Even now, Stephen was adamant that he could play the piano better than his professional wife. This song, though, was also their wedding song, so Talia played with her eyes falling to the wedding band on her finger.

Did she stay or did she go?

Once, Talia had run from Stephen in fear of letting him love her. But, Stephen had still found a way into her heart, promising to stay. Maybe Stephen had almost fled at the unexpected pregnancy, but Talia had never thought she would consider running again.

And with his daughter too. But Sienna deserved the world, so Talia was determined to do what was best for her daughter.

Still, the thought of leaving broke Talia as she loved Stephen. Even when she hated him for choosing surgery over them, she still loved him.

The sun was sinking as Stephen returned home from work, catching the end of Talia's piano performance. Though, it was a miracle it could even be heard with Sienna screeching, excited to see her father.

Jumping down from the piano stool, Sienna ran towards her dad, throwing her tiny arms around his legs. "Daddy! You are home!"

Stephen grinned, reaching down to pick up his daughter. "I'm home," he reassured her. "Did you and Mommy have a good day?"

While it was adorable to see, Talia pressed her lips together, knowing that it had been longer than a day since Sienna had last seen him.

Sienna nodded eagerly. "We went to get ice cream!"

"In the winter?" Stephen questioned, amused by her enthusiasm.

"Yeah," Sienna giggled, fidgeting as Stephen let her back down again, but she wasn't ready to let go yet as she took his hand. "Mommy taught me Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Can I show you?"

"Later, Sienna," Stephen told her.

Stephen missed the joy flicker out of his daughter's eyes as she became silent, staring down at the ground. Seeing it, Talia chewed on her bottom lip to stay quiet, not wanting to cause a scene in front of Sienna as it never helped.

But Stephen's eyes were on Talia, who had stood with her husband now kissing her cheek, oblivious to her reaction too.

"Stephen," Talia said quietly. "Sienna's been waiting for you."

"Darling, we can't be late," Stephen told her.

"Give her five minutes," Talia pleaded, quietly, keeping an eye on Sienna, who had turned to play with her dolls house to hide how upset she was. "You know, we don't have to go out. We could stay in — order pizza and watch a film."

"Talia, our dinner is with the Neurological Association," said Stephen with Talia deflating. "I have a speech that I can't miss."

"It's to do with work?"

Stephen saw her devastation, frowning. "I thought you knew."

"I must have forgotten," Talia said, half-heartedly, but she still forced a smile.

"Sienna," Stephen called out his daughter's name, turning to face her as the child's head whipped around so quickly. "You can have all the time in the world tomorrow."

Talia tried not to flinch, knowing the promise was empty.

"Are you working tomorrow?" Talia questioned.

"Not until the afternoon," Stephen replied.

But Talia knew he'd end up being called in with some miraculous case that only her husband could figure out. Though, looking at Sienna, she could already see that her daughter's hopes had risen only to be let down again.

☆

Even though Talia had lost her enthusiasm for the night, she was not one to let Stephen down. Talia had dressed for the occasion, of course. Maybe she wanted the attention from her husband, so she had worn red — a colour Talia adored, and Stephen loved on her. The red matched her lips, brightening the sparkle of the earrings that she now placed on her lobes.

And Stephen had noticed as he came out of their ensuite bathroom with a freshly shaved face. Seeing Talia, the flare of love sparked again as his arms wrapped around her stomach, pressing her back to his chest as her eyes fell on him in the wall-length mirror.

"You," said Stephen, pressing a kiss against Talia's neck as her head fell back against his chest. "Are too beautiful to be true."

Talia smirked, body twisting as her head tilted to look up at him. His hands moved, taking hold of her waist with the material of the red dress catching in his fingers.

"I wore this for you," Talia told him. "We could stay home, you know."

A small huff of laughter fell from Stephen's lips. "Don't tempt me, Talia Strange."

"Or," Talia suggested, placing her hands against his chest. "We ditch the dinner and book a hotel."

"With you, it would have to be the Honeymoon suite," said Stephen.

"That was one time," Talia reminded him, laughing at the memory. "And we were both drunk. Was it not worth it?"

"With you, it's always worth it," Stephen told her.

Then, his head was lowering with his lips capturing Talia's. For a second, she sunk into the kiss as her heart had awoken, naively believing that Stephen had chosen her. Talia melted into the kiss, wanting and needing more.

"Stephen..." Talia whispered his name, desperate for him to love her.

But he broke the kiss, his hand rising to brush his fingers along her cheekbone.

"We'll plan a night away together," Stephen promised, but it was empty again.

Then, Stephen was pulling away from Talia, and she was quick to snatch at his wrist. Perhaps Talia was losing her mind or maybe she knew that tonight was going to be her final decision. "Stephen—"

Stephen faced her again. "Talia, Darling?"

"I love you," Talia told him.

Stephen smiled, eyes glowing as they always did when he heard those words. Once, they had been too terrifying for Talia to even feel or confess, but now they were so easy.

"I love you more," Stephen replied.

Talia wished the words eased her, but they did not feel the same as they once did.

Before they were due to leave, Talia's friend (nanny for Sienna too) arrived with Talia quick to shake her head upon seeing Nicole's excited reaction. The two had become friends shortly after Nicole had been hired, where she wanted the additional work at night to save. Tonight, even Nicole had thought it was a positive step for the husband and wife.

"What are you going to do?" Nicole whispered to Talia, stepping into the apartment.

In reply, Talia simply shrugged as Sienna had come running into the front room, screaming Nicole's name. Nicole dropped down to Sienna's level, welcoming the hug from the four-year-old with a bright smile.

"Nicole! Look!" Sienna pointed to her pyjamas. "I have Iron Man pyjamas!"

"Wow!" Nicole replied, dark green eyes widening. "Do I get a pair?"

Sienna giggled. "You are too big!"

Stephen joined them, but Talia's eyes fell on her husband in a tuxedo. Usually, she liked to admire him, but she noticed that something had changed. There was a tenseness to him with Talia knowing something was wrong.

Yet, for a moment, a smile had been forced as Stephen greeted Nicole pleasantly, handing her some money for the two to order dinner. Then, Stephen's eyes fell on his daughter as he ruffled her hair.

"You be good for Nicole," Stephen told her.

"I will," Sienna promised.

"Sienna is always an angel," Nicole reassured.

At that, Sienna offered them a toothy smile as if to prove her point. But then, the small child was hugging her father before charging at Talia, who had kneeled to hold onto her daughter tightly.

"You look pretty, Mommy," Sienna told her.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Talia smiled. "I'll come give you a kiss when I'm home, okay?"

"Even when I'm asleep?" Sienna asked.

"Even when you are asleep," Talia promised.

"Daddy too?"

Talia looked over to Stephen.

"We'll both come see you," Stephen told their daughter.

With that, the husband and wife left with Talia's eyes glued to him. They headed down to the garage, a heavy silence falling between them. In the car, Talia sat in the passenger seat, head turning to Stephen as he started the engine.

"Stephen?" Talia questioned. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Stephen answered too quickly.

As he pulled out of the parking space, his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Talia frowned, not knowing what had changed or why he was shutting her out. Instead of arguing, Talia's attention fell to the window, brown irises watching the blur of the city.

"Sienna counted to ten by herself today," Talia informed her husband eventually.

Whatever mood Stephen was in, vanished for a moment. "She did?"

"Yeah, if you had not stayed later at work, then you would have been home for it," Talia said, facing him again.

"Is that why you are leaving me?" Stephen demanded.

Talia froze, eyes popping wide, but she remained silent.

"I found the divorce papers," Stephen confessed as Talia's breathing hitched. "You are awful at hiding things, Talia."

Maybe hiding them under her musical sheets for work had not been the wisest of ideas with her husband's keen, curious eye. The papers had only arrived today with Talia having been debating the separation lately. When Talia had held those papers, her heart had ached with Talia not feeling brave enough to leave Stephen.

"Let's not do this tonight, Stephen," Talia pleaded. "Please."

"I just want to understand why," Stephen argued, sounding angry. "Are you planning on taking Sienna away from me too?"

"Stephen, you are barely in her life as it is," Talia reminded him.

As if to highlight the mood, the weather had exploded outside with a downpour of rain. Somewhere in the clouds, thunder rumbled, echoing the brewing storm that was unravelling in the car.

"I have work—"

"You choose work over your own daughter," Talia pressed, hating that her heart had started to crack with the tears slipping free. "There's more to life than surgery. You are missing all the important moments. You don't even love me as you used to."

Stephen's eyes softened, head turning briefly from the road to look at her. "I do love you."

"Not enough to choose your family," Talia told him. "Sienna does not deserve an absent father."

"Are you comparing me to your father?" Stephen asked, clearly hurt.

Talia remained silent, hating the very reminder of her childhood. When she had been perhaps a little older than Sienna was now, Talia had survived a car crash without a scratch that she should have died in — a crash that her mother had died in. Talia's father had blamed her, believing she should have died instead, and then he had turned to alcohol. Her father had abused Talia, but he had also abandoned her on her eleventh birthday, leaving Talia homeless, not worthy enough to be wanted.

"You are nothing like him," said Talia. "But doesn't Sienna deserve better than this?"

"You both deserve everything," Stephen confessed, eyes flickering away from the road again, catching sight of his upset wife. "But I won't give up being a doctor. You can't ask me to."

"I never asked you to," Talia replied, trying to cool her anger. "But if you can't make time for us then staying is not fair on us, Stephen."

"Then leave, Talia," Stephen snapped at her, holding onto the steering wheel tightly as he tried to concentrate on the road. "You've already made the decision to leave. It's what you do. I just never thought you'd be so cruel to take my daughter too."

Talia recoiled at the words, feeling them take root deep inside her heart. Catching her reaction, even Stephen regretted the words.

"I'm not the only one who had run," Talia reminded him quietly. "You left us once too."

Worst of all, all Stephen had to do was fight for them and Talia would have stayed. Stephen was passing the blame onto Talia, not even uttering a single apology or a plea to do better. To Talia, she knew that he would always choose surgery over them.

Stephen's eyes were still stuck on her. "Talia, Darling—"

There was a loud crash with Talia's heart pounding as Stephen's head had turned back to the road, clutching at the steering wheel. Talia had screamed with the tyres screeching, but Stephen had lost control. They skidded into a tree before the impact spun them off the road. Talia's head smacked against the window; the thud just as loud as the impact caused everything to became black.

From the wreckage, Stephen was barely conscious as one eye remained swollen shut. His face was sticky with blood, but the shock had settled in to temporarily numb the pain.

Talia. Talia. Talia.

His wife's name was on his lips, but he could not speak.

The world was hazy with Stephen trying to focus, trying to find Talia. As his eye adjusted, he spotted the red that his wife had been wearing. The bright colour was soaked with crimson blood, petrifying the doctor.

"Talia..."

It was a whisper, but a broken one. Stephen's hands rose but moving them caused his vision to splinter. Instead, Stephen tried moving his body, desperately trying to get closer to his wife — even that was too much for his body to cope with.

Talia Strange did not move nor was she breathing.

"No, no, no," Stephen panicked, voice cracking. "Talia, Darling..."

Through the fog, Stephen saw the trauma of Talia's body — deep down, he knew that his wife was gone, leaving him in a world that should have stopped without her here. So, Stephen broke down, knowing the one person that he would have done anything to save, he was now left powerless to do anything.

Worst of all, this was all Stephen's fault. Realising that, his heart shattered, wishing he had the power to go back in time.

And then there was a bright flash of purple, temporarily blinding Stephen, who had become used to the dark night. Looking over at his wife, Stephen stopped breathing.

Talia Strange had disappeared.

☆

I really dislike writing children lol but I do adore Sienna! I'm actually so excited for all the drama and chaos of the next chapter. It's going to be so heartbreaking to see Talia and Stephen eventually split, but I am so ready for it!