MasukWhen I got home, the house was still quiet.Everyone was still out.Thank God.I wasn’t ready for anyone to see my face or ask me what had happened.I took Leo upstairs and changed him into a pair of shorts and a singlet. He climbed onto the bed and lay down, while I sat beside him.For a while, I said nothing.There was too much going through my mind.What happened at the park.The look on Dominic’s face.Leo asking why he had hurt me.I swallowed.But beneath all of that, there was one thing I still didn’t know.How was Leo feeling?I turned toward him.“Are you sad?”Leo looked at me.“I’m sad that Scholarship Man hurt you.”My chest tightened.Then he added quietly,“But I’m also happy that I have a daddy just like the other kids in my class.”I stared at him.For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.He wasn’t angry about having a father.He was happy.A small, painful smile touched my lips.“He isn’t a bad person,” I said carefully. “He just didn’t know how to express himself at
I wiped beneath my eye before another tear could fall.“I told you that because you were a child, and I didn’t know how to explain everything that happened between Dominic and me. Your father and I were not on good terms, and I didn’t want to bring you into things you were too young to understand.”I looked into his eyes.“I thought I was protecting you. I thought it would be easier for you to grow up without being confused by everything that happened between us.”My lips trembled.“I’m sorry I lied to you, Leo. I’m really sorry.”Tears gathered in my eyes again.“I just didn’t know how to tell you.” My voice broke.I looked at him.“I was scared that if I told you too soon, you wouldn’t understand why your father wasn’t with us. I was scared of confusing you. I was scared of bringing all the things that happened between us into your life.”I wiped my tears again.“And I was wrong to keep the truth from you for this long.”Leo finally spoke.“Mummy lied to me?”My heart broke.He look
Everything inside me went still.Leo was looking at me, waiting for an answer.My eyes moved to Dominic.He was completely silent.Leo looked between the two of us again.“Mummy, you said I’m his child. Does that mean he is my daddy?”My throat tightened.I couldn’t speak.My mind was already running in a hundred different directions.What if I told him yes and he hated me for lying to him all these years?What if he asked why I had told him his father was dead?What was I supposed to say?That his father had been alive all along?That I had known exactly who his father was and had chosen not to tell him?How was I supposed to explain a marriage, a divorce, betrayal, pregnancy and everything that happened afterward to a five-year-old?And what if I told him everything?What if he hated Dominic after hearing what he had done to me?What if he looked at Dominic differently after learning that his father had hurt his mother and walked away from their marriage without knowing he existed?
At one point, another little boy reached the top just as Leo was climbing the steps.“I’m next,” the boy said.Leo looked at him.“Okay.”He stepped aside and waited.The boy slid down.Leo watched him land.Then he looked at Dominic.“Now me.”Dominic smiled.“Your turn.”Leo climbed back up.I stood nearby with both cups of ice cream in my hands, watching them.Leo came down the slide again.He landed on his feet and ran straight toward us.“Mummy!”“What?”“That was fun!”I smiled.“I can see that.”He turned toward Dominic.“Again?”Dominic looked at the slide.Then at Leo.“You really like this slide.”Leo nodded.“Yes.”Dominic laughed.“Alright. One more.”Leo cheered.“Yeeh!”He grabbed Dominic’s hand and pulled him toward the steps.I followed behind them, still holding the ice cream.For the next several minutes, the three of us stayed around the playground.Leo climbed.He slid.He laughed.He watched other children take their turns and waited when he had to.And every time
We stayed there for a while.Leo kept playing with Noah and Ella, running between the climbing frame and the nearby patch of grass.Every now and then, he looked back at us.Just to make sure we were still there.I found myself smiling each time he did.Eventually, he came running toward us.“Mummy!”I looked down at him.“What?”“I’m thirsty.”I reached into my bag and pulled out a bottle of water.“Here.”He took it from me and drank almost half of it in one go.I raised an eyebrow.“You were that thirsty?”He nodded.“Yes.”Dominic smiled.Leo handed the bottle back to me.Then his eyes wandered toward something behind us.His entire face changed.“Mummy.”“What?”He pointed.“Ice cream.”I followed his finger.There was a small ice cream cart a short distance away, with a few people standing in front of it.I looked back at him.“You want some?”He nodded immediately.“Yes, please.”I laughed.“Okay.”I started walking, but Leo didn’t follow me.He looked at Dominic.“Come.”Domin
The entrance was already busy.Children ran past us, some chasing each other across the open space while others headed toward the playground. A few parents sat on the benches nearby, watching their children play.Leo immediately looked around.“Can we go there?”He pointed toward the playground.I looked at him.“Stay where I can see you.”“I will.”“And don’t run too far.”He nodded quickly.“Okay!”He started forward, then stopped and looked back at Dominic.“Come!”Dominic smiled.“I’m coming.”Leo waited for him.Dominic glanced at me briefly before following.I walked behind them.Leo was already talking excitedly about everything he could see.“There’s a slide!”Dominic looked toward it.“I see it.”“And swings.”“I see those too.”“And there’s a big thing over there.”Dominic laughed softly.“What big thing?”Leo pointed.“That!”I followed his finger.It was a climbing frame.Dominic nodded.“Yeah. That’s pretty big.”Leo grabbed his hand.“Come on.”Dominic let him pull him a
I didn’t sleep.I don’t think I even tried.I sat on the couch the entire night, my body curled into itself, my eyes fixed on him like if I looked away for even a second, something would change. Like I would wake up and realize none of it was real.But it was.He was still there.Lying on the couch
My stomach twisted suddenly, a wave of nausea rising so fast I had to press my hand against my lips.I didn’t know if it was the food I had forced myself to eat…or the way my whole life had just been turned upside down.The phone slipped slightly in my hand.For a second, I thought I could hold it
I picked up the tie from the drawer and held it up for a second, smoothing the fabric between my fingers.Navy blue with gold strips.It would go well with the suit Dominic had already brought out.I placed it carefully on the dressing table, making sure it lay straight, then turned to the watch ra
Dominic took his bath and left without saying anything.I didn’t try to stop him this time.What was there to say?He had already told me the truth.He was with Mirabel.And he didn’t feel bad about it.I was still sitting on the bed long after he left.I didn’t move.I just sat there, staring at n







