Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 374

Leo put his fork down, staring at her with wide, terrified eyes.

"Are you feeling sick?"

"I just choked a little," Daisy assured him. "It's nothing major."

But the boy kept staring, visibly tense.

Thinking for a moment, Daisy set down her glass, raised her hand, and tapped the table twice.

"Pause."

Leo froze.

Daisy pointed to herself. "I'm hitting pause for exactly one minute. I'm not going to speak. And you don't need to panic."

She truly remained silent for a full minute.

Miraculously, even Phoebe didn't interrupt. Wren simply transferred another piece of egg onto Leo's plate. The atmosphere around the table felt like someone had gently pressed the pause button—no one rushed, no one panicked, and no one blew Daisy's coughing fit out of proportion.

Exactly one minute later, Daisy picked up her fork again.

"All good."

Watching her closely, Leo whispered, "Can adults do that too?"

"Of course," Daisy smiled. "If you feel physically sick, or if your heart just feels overwhelmed, you can always hit pause first."

Lowering his head, Leo picked up the piece of egg.

A few moments later, he took a tiny bite, as if quietly locking away that exact sentiment in his heart.

Watching him, Wren's mind involuntarily drifted to the Langford Estate's dining table.

That table was massive, practically groaning under the weight of endless dishes. Eleanor Langford would sit at the head of the table while servants stood stiffly at attention. If Leo so much as dropped a piece of silverware, someone would instantly replace it. If he ate too slowly, Eleanor would scowl. And whenever Willow visited, the entire room's attention would aggressively pivot toward her.

At that table, the boy hadn't learned how to eat.

He had only learned how to read the room for survival.

Yet tonight, sitting around this cramped, tiny table, he had learned how to hit pause.

After dinner, Phoebe took charge of washing the dishes.

Wren tried to help, but was immediately shooed out of the kitchen.

"Get out! If you come in here, I'll be tempted to talk about the proposal. Absolutely no work allowed for ten minutes after a meal!"

Sitting down on the living room rug, Daisy began teaching Leo a simple rehabilitation game.

She scattered a few index cards across the floor, each inscribed with a different prompt.

*Reach out.*

*Freeze.*

*Take a deep breath.*

Back then, she had fiercely hated having everyone else dictate her entire life. What time she took her meds, what time she had therapy, what time she was forced to video call her family. Everyone swore it was for her own good, but she felt like she had been shoved into a sterile glass box, requiring formal authorization just to have a breakdown.

Then, her therapist handed her a card. It read: *Today, I get to choose one small thing.*

It could be something as trivial as picking what shirt to wear, deciding whether to walk for ten minutes after dinner, or choosing whether to answer her brother's call.

Those minuscule choices didn't magically cure her illness, but they reminded her that she was still alive.

Right now, Leo needed those exact same small choices.

Just as Leo was reaching for his second card, the doorbell rang.

Wren stood up to answer it.

Julian York stood in the hallway.

Carrying a paper bag, he brought in the faint, sterile scent of hospital sanitizer. Seeing Wren, he clearly stalled for a second.

"Daisy mentioned she was having dinner here, so I came to pick her up." He held out the bag. "I grabbed some fruit on the way."

Accepting it, Wren offered a warm smile. "Thank you. Do you want to come in and sit for a bit?"

Julian didn't answer right away.

Instead, he peered into the apartment.

Leo was already standing up, clutching the 'Take a deep breath' card in his fist, while Daisy sat on the rug, waving a hand at her brother.