His eyes flicked to his wife, then back again.
"They were unlike any others. Powerful. Unpredictable. And worst of all—their divine beasts were evolving. Rapidly. Their consciousness was awakening. The beasts weren’t just tools anymore. They were thinking. Calculating. And each beast... had a mind far too sharp for the organization’s liking."
He exhaled, the mory weighing heavy in his chest.
"They feared them," he said. "Feared what could happen if their minds turned fully conscious. So they sent us—Robin and —to clip their wings. To control them. To infiltrate their lives... as their husbands."
He turned again to his wife, his gaze softening, and the next words trembled from his lips.
"We were never supposed to love them."
The silence that followed made the confession ring louder.
"We were trained to kill without hesitation. We were number one in everything. But we—both of us—made the greatest mistake you can make in that world."
A faint smile touched his lips. A sorrowful one.
"We fell in love."
He looked at Es, then at the boys, and back to his wife.
"We were even considering killing them—ending it all and escaping. That was what the organization expected from us if we failed to gain full control. A silent exit. No witnesses."
His voice cracked, then steadied.
"But then... we found out we were expecting."
He placed a hand gently on the table, the knuckles white from how hard he gripped the edge.
"Es was already growing inside . And you guys also—" he turned to Ray and his brother "—were in Robin’s womb."
He gave a heavy sigh. "That changed everything."
"The organization has its rules. It doesn’t interfere unless the divine beasts beco an active threat. Gina... your mother... they were stable. They weren’t using their powers often. The beasts remained dormant. So, for a ti, we were allowed to live in peace."
A long pause.
"But Robin’s situation was different."
His expression turned grim, eyes clouding over.
"It’s not that Robin didn’t love you," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ray lifted his head, the confusion in his eyes giving way to a softer question—Then why?
"It’s not that he cared too much about the organization, either. No..." Es’s father exhaled and looked toward the ceiling, as if the truth itself weighed too much to bear. "It was different."
He glanced around at the silent room and then back at them. His voice cracked a little when he continued.
"Robin loved you. All of you. Maybe... too much."
The words hung there—an open wound.
"But you need to understand sothing." He paused and closed his eyes. "The organization—it wasn’t just a job for us. We were raised in it. Bred in it. Conditioned. Grood. You can say... we were like dogs. Not in a cruel sense—but in the way that a dog never questions their master."
He looked down at his clenched fists. "Every mory, every instinct, every breath we took—was tied to the organization. We didn’t just work for them. We were them."
A bitter laugh escaped his lips. "And yet, when we found love... it was like standing in a storm. A wave crashing over everything we had been taught. That love made us question everything. It made us want to break those chains."
His gaze softened as it landed on Gina. "For , it was easier. When I fell in love with Gina... I told her everything. I couldn’t lie to her. I didn’t want to. And she... accepted . She beca my reason to live."
He paused, eyes growing distant.
"But Robin... Robin was always afraid. Terrified, even."
He turned to Ray and his brother. "He was scared that he was betraying the organization by loving your mother. And then... scared that he was betraying her by keeping secrets. He thought he was mocking her love with every lie he told, with every truth he buried."
He took a deep breath.
"Robin was second only to in the organization. And that made things harder. His training, his loyalty, his mories... they ran deep. Too deep. You see, the organization didn’t treat us cruelly. Not on the surface. They gave us food. Shelter. Education. It felt like ho, even if it was a twisted one."
And then, his voice softened again. "But when he found out... when he discovered he was pregnant..."
His voice faltered for a mont.
"He couldn’t handle it."
The room stilled, breaths shallow.
"The idea that there was life growing inside him—it overwheld him. Not out of hate... but fear. Fear that the child might inherit the beast’s powers. That the organization might co after him. That soone—anyone—might take you away."
His gaze locked on Ray.
"The thought of losing you... tore him apart. So he pulled away. Not because he didn’t love you... but because he loved you too much."
Ray’s breath hitched.
The silence around them was deafening, the kind that made your ears ring and your thoughts too loud to ignore. For a mont, he didn’t know if he wanted to scream or just sit there and let the truth bury him whole.
He swallowed hard.
"So..." Ray’s voice ca out raspy, almost broken. "All this ti... he wasn’t running from us. He was running for us?"
His father’s expression didn’t waver, but the flicker in his eyes was answer enough.
A bitter chuckle escaped Ray’s lips, but there was no humor in it. "Funny. I used to think he just didn’t want to be a father. That maybe we were too much. Too inconvenient. But now you’re telling he loved us so much it broke him?"
[He slightly hated his father after finding out from Es that he treated his mother just as a target and used her.]
His brother placed a hand on Ray’s arm, trying to steady him, but Ray shook it off. His voice rose—torn between rage and heartbreak.
"Then where is he now, huh? If he loved us so much—why did he disappear? Why didn’t he fight for us? For Mom?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)