I saw it the mont the words left my mouth.
If he ever told he loved ... who was I to refuse him?
Ro went completely still.
Not angry. Just... still. Like soone had pulled the ground out from under him, but he refused to fall.
And then it hit .
What the hell am I thinking?
The thought echoed violently inside my head. Heat rushed to my face, followed imdiately by a cold wave that made my fingers tremble. Why did I say that? Why did I phrase it like that? Why did I make it sound as if I was waiting for Bern to confess?
I wasn’t.
At least... I didn’t think I was.
Ro’s face remained cold and composed but I saw it. That slight nod. As if he accepted my words too easily.
"So that’s it.." he said quietly.
There was no accusation in his tone. That sohow made it worse.
"I..." I started, but the rest of the sentence died in my throat.
I opened my mouth again to correct myself, to explain that what I ant was more complicated than that but I couldn’t untangle it fast enough. And why did I feel the need to explain myself to him in the first place?
Guilt stabbed at almost imdiately, guilt toward Bern for using him like that. Maybe I just needed to say sothing. Anything. Sothing that would release the pressure of Ro standing in front of , looking at like that.
But Ro shook his head.
"It’s fine."
It wasn’t fine. We both knew that.
His expression shifted into sothing composed again, the sa mask he wore whenever he didn’t want anyone to see what he was really feeling underneath.
"I understand.." he said.
He stepped back. Just one step.
But the distance between us suddenly felt enormous. Like a door quietly closing.
Before I could lose my nerve, before he could say anything else, I turned toward the door.
"I s-should go" I said quickly.
He didn’t try to stop this ti.
I walked out of his house without looking back.
The air outside felt colder than before, sharp against my skin. I barely registered the short walk between our houses. My thoughts were too loud, too ssy.
What was I thinking?
Why did I decide to talk to him? Why did I open up things I couldn’t even confess properly to myself?
I slipped inside my house quietly. The lights were off. The kids were asleep. The silence wrapped around like sothing heavy and suffocating.
I leaned against the closed door and let out a shaky breath.
I wasn’t in love with Bern.
That wasn’t what this was.
But he had been there.
When I couldn’t hold Cairo without crying. When I thought I was going to lose my son.
Bern stayed.
Ro hadn’t.
That was the truth.
Still... hearing Ro say he never stopped loving ...
I squeezed my eyes shut.
It shouldn’t matter.
It was too late.
I pushed myself away from the door and went to our room, but sleep never ca.
Every ti I closed my eyes, I saw Ro’s face when I said those words. The way sothing inside him shut down.
I turned over. Then again.
The clock ticked loudly in the dark, each second stretching longer than the last.
At so point, I must have drifted into a shallow, restless half-sleep, because the next thing I knew, my alarm was ringing.
Morning....
I felt like I hadn’t slept at all.
My body moved on autopilot. I washed my face, brushed my hair, tied it back. My reflection in the mirror looked pale, hollow-eyed.
You look ridiculous, I told myself.
Get it together.
The kids ca into the kitchen one by one, still sleepy.
"Morning, Mommy..." Paris mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"Morning!" I replied, forcing brightness into my voice.
Egypt climbed onto a chair quietly. Cairo followed last, looking unusually thoughtful.
"Mommy, I had a very happy dream last night!" Cairo said cheerfully. "I dread about you and Daddy together with Sister Paris and Egypt!"
I looked at him imdiately.
"Daddy? You an your daddy Bern?" Egypt asked curiously.
"Yes!" Cairo replied excitedly.
"Then that was a happy dream indeed. I just dread about Mom cooking us sweet and delicious breakfast!" Egypt said with a grin.
"Dreams are usually symbolic," Paris said with a mischievous smile toward Egypt. "Your dream, Cairo, probably ans fortunate things will happen. And as for Egypt... well, she’s just a glutton. There’s no deeper aning. She just craves delicious food."
"Hey! That’s not true!" Egypt protested. "Maybe I dread about it because it’s going to happen today. Maybe Mom will take us to a restaurant and feed us sothing delicious. Right, Mom?"
I forced a smile and nodded weakly. "Uh... maybe."
I couldn’t bring myself to argue. I suddenly felt even more exhausted.
"Hey, what happened to Mom?" Egypt whispered to Cairo, though it wasn’t really a whisper since I could still hear it.
"Why?" Cairo asked.
"Look at her. Isn’t she strange? She looks like a zombie."
"A zombie? She doesn’t look like one. She just looks like she didn’t sleep."
I tried not to overthink that.
I cooked breakfast like a machine — eggs, toast, fruit. I moved chanically, flipping, stirring, pouring juice. My hands knew what to do even if my mind was sowhere else.
Maybe the kid was right.
I felt like a zombie.
Half-awake. Half-alive.
Every now and then, flashes of last night replayed in my head.
I never stopped loving you...
I nearly dropped the spatula.
Focus, Sylvia.
The doorbell rang.
I froze.
For a split second, I assud it was Ro’s assistant. He had been the one coming every morning lately, dropping off breakfast, sotis flowers, never staying long.
I wiped my hands on a towel and walked toward the door.
When I opened it—
I stopped breathing. It wasn’t the assistant.
It was Ro.
Standing right there.
In broad daylight.
No more hiding that he was the one bringing us breakfast.
He looked freshly showered, dressed simply but neatly. In one hand, he held a paper bag. In the other, flowers.
Not lilies this ti.
Sunflowers.
Bright. Almost obnoxiously cheerful.
He gave a small nod.
"Good morning."
My mind struggled to catch up.
"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly, instantly hiding my shock.
He glanced past briefly, probably hearing the kids’ voices inside.
"I brought breakfast," he said evenly. "And these."
He lifted the flowers slightly.
As if nothing had happened.
I just stared at him.
"You shouldn’t be here," I whispered.
"Why not?" he asked quietly.
Because I don’t know what to do without rembering everything you said last night. It’s still ssing with my head, and I hate how it’s affecting .
But none of that ca out.
Instead, I said, "The kids—"
"I know," he interrupted gently. "That’s why I ca in the morning."
There was no hostility in his voice. Just steadiness.
Behind , I heard Cairo’s footsteps.
"Mom?" he called.
Ro heard it too.
For the briefest mont, sothing vulnerable crossed his face. A look of anticipation. Nerves.
I hesitated.
This was different from last night.
"Who is it?" Egypt’s voice followed.
I swallowed.
"It’s..." I paused.
What do I call him?
Ro saved from the decision.
"Good morning," he said louder, directing his voice slightly past . "I hope I’m not interrupting your breakfast."
"Oh, you’re Uncle Ro, right? You’re Uncle Alpheus’s friend?"
"Y-yes..."
Cairo appeared at my side.
He looked up at Ro.
Ro looked down at him.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore in daylight.
Cairo blinked once.
"You... I rember you! You’re the uncle from the hospital!"
My heart twisted.
Ro didn’t flinch.
"Yes," he replied softly.
Cairo tilted his head.
"You know Mom?" Then he looked at innocently. "And you also brought food?"
"Ah... Cairo, he’s not—"
"Yes, I know your mom," Ro said smoothly before I could finish. He glanced at and gave a small smile, as if we were close. "And I brought you so breakfast."
He lifted the bag slightly. The brand na was printed clearly across it.
Sylvincolm.
My restaurant.
He brought breakfast from my own restaurant.
"Wow! Is that food from your restaurant, Mom?" Egypt asked excitedly as she walked closer to him without hesitation.
I stared at the logo on the paper bag.
Of course it was.
And he even planned to give us breakfast from my own place.
"Uh, y-yes," Ro said, clearing his throat slightly. "I heard you like the food from there, so I brought so. I hope you like it."
He almost sounded shy.
Did he just stutter?
In front of my kids?
This felt unreal.
"Uh... may I co in?" Ro asked quietly.
Not the kids.
.
I searched his face for signs of last night’s hurt.
But all I saw was determination and patience.
The man who once made decisions without thinking was now standing on my doorstep at eight in the morning, waiting for permission.
I didn’t know if that made it better or worse.
I didn’t know what ca over , but I stepped aside slowly.
"Just for a while" I said.
He nodded once.
"Thank you."
As he stepped inside, the house suddenly felt smaller.
The kids circled him imdiately, asking about the food and why he visited. Ro answered carefully while glancing at from ti to ti, as if checking whether he was crossing a line.
And then Cairo did sothing unexpected.
He reached for Ro’s hand.
Then he looked up at him, their brows slightly furrowed as he studied Ro’s entire face carefully, as if examining every feature.
"Now that I’ve seen you up close like this... don’t you look like ?" Cairo asked before briefly glancing at . "Mom, is it possible for soone to look alike even if they’re not related at all?"
Everything inside went silent.
Ro froze for half a second, just half before gently closing his fingers around Cairo’s small hand.
He looked up at .
Quietly.
As if waiting for to explain. Waiting for to answer Cairo’s innocent question.
And that was when I felt it.
Sothing shifting again.
Sothing even I couldn’t ignore.
I found myself staring at Cairo, at the innocence in his eyes as he waited for my answer and for the first ti since Ro stepped inside the house, I didn’t know what terrified more.
The question.
Or the truth behind it.
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