Chapter 5

It felt as if Robin and Sasha were back in college again. Back then, it hadn't seemed like anything special, but after graduation, they finally understood that those schooling days were the happiest time of their lives. The moment they left campus, they were adults for real.

"Here, look at the photos I took of you," Sasha said.

The moment Robin saw the photos, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "You must have a ton of ugly photos of me on your phone by now."

"Of course. I've got all your unflattering pics. Honestly, you in this pajama set… it looks better on you than on me," Sasha teased.

Hearing that, Robin blurted out without thinking, "Well, you've gotta put it on and let me see so I can compare properly."

Sasha's face instantly turned crimson at his words. "You… You're such a perv."

They looked at each other and laughed. It was late, so after chatting for a while longer, they each returned to their rooms to sleep.

…

In the middle of the night, the sound of a ringtone cut through the silence, waking Robin from a deep sleep. He dragged himself up, grabbed his phone, and squinted at the screen.

It was a call from Angeline. He checked the time and frowned. She had to be out of her mind. Still, he answered.

"What is it?" His voice was cold and emotionless, as if he were talking to a stranger.

On the other end of the line, Angeline stared anxiously at the reddish welts all over Sam's body, panic written all over her face. "Sam is covered in rashes. What's going on? Has anything like this happened before?"

Her voice shook as she spoke. She'd never dealt with anything like this before, so she had no idea what was going on.

Robin's frown deepened. "Did you give him peanuts?"

"I…"

Earlier, when Angeline had picked Sam up from Oscar's place, they'd passed a stall selling candied apples. Sam wouldn't stop whining that he wanted one, and there happened to be peanut bits scattered all over them. Unable to take his whining anymore, Angeline had bought it for him.

She didn't say any of that out loud, but Robin knew her better than anyone after all their years together. He knew she must have given Sam some peanuts.

"He's allergic to peanuts," he said shortly.

Since Sam's birth, Robin had been the one taking care of everything related to him. Angeline was always busy building her career, so she truly was unaware of this.

"What? I didn't know. I… uh, can you come over? I can't handle this by myself…" she blabbered.

Angeline was really starting to panic. She'd never encountered anything like this, and she was home alone with Sam. She had no idea what to do. That was why she wanted Robin to come over and be with her. It was as if everything would be okay as soon as he showed up.

"What good will my presence do? Just take him to the hospital. Wasn't he the one who wanted Oscar to be his dad? If you can't handle it alone, then get Oscar to help. If that's all, I'm ending this call," Robin said flatly.

He terminated the call without waiting for a response.

"Robin, wait! Hello?" Angeline clenched her fist as she stared at the disconnected call, her chest tight with hurt. She was already on the brink of falling apart from dealing with this.

"Mom, I don't feel good," Sam whined.

"Don't be scared, Sam. I'll take you to the hospital." Angeline didn't have time to think about anything else. She quickly changed his clothes and rushed him to the ER.

At the hospital, she ran around, signing forms and talking to nurses. When Sam was little and sick all the time, it was always Robin who brought him in and ran back and forth, taking care of everything. Yet after all the love he'd poured into Sam, all he'd gotten in return was a declaration that Sam didn't want him as his father.

That one sentence had utterly broken Robin's heart.

If not for that, even if he and Angeline divorced, he would've fought tooth and nail for custody. But that one sentence had made Robin's heart freeze. People always said Robin's mind was set in stone once he made it up, and they weren't wrong.

Once he gave up on someone, it didn't matter how deeply he'd loved them or how devoted he'd been to them. From the moment he stopped caring about someone, they would be no more than a stranger to him.

Eventually, Sam was hooked up to an IV drip. Angeline exhaled heavily as she watched him rest on the hospital bed. Because the IV drip had to be monitored constantly, she couldn't sleep despite being exhausted. She forced herself to stay awake and pulled out her phone.

Only then did she notice that an email had come in around 5:00 am. She'd been in such a bad mood that she hadn't checked it. Now, she tapped it open without thinking.

The first thing she saw when it loaded was the words "divorce agreement". She didn't know how to describe the way she felt as she stared at the email.

Her mind went blank, as if someone had suddenly hit pause on her life for a moment. Her phone slipped from her hand and smacked against her foot. Only then did the sharp sting drag her back to reality.

As a lawyer, she worked with legal documents like this all the time and was extremely familiar with them. But right now, she didn't even have the courage to read the divorce agreement. It was as if not looking at it would make it cease to exist. All that could be said was that she was very, very good at lying to herself.

Late nights were when people tended to be at their most emotional. She was already upset because of the way Robin had spoken to her on the phone earlier, and this divorce agreement dropping into her inbox was the final blow. It was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

At that moment, Angeline couldn't control herself anymore. She started to cry. Defeat, heartbreak, torment, humiliation… All the negative emotions rushed in at once.

Somehow, in her mind, she still thought none of this was her fault. She had nothing to do with how things had turned out.

What a joke.

Her behavior over the past two years was the reason things ended up this way. After Robin had learned that he was just a stand-in, as long as Angeline had cut off all contact with Oscar, he would never have chosen divorce, even if it was just for Sam's sake and all their years together.

But of course, Angeline hadn't done that. Ultimately, she herself was the biggest problem in this relationship.

…

Robin was oblivious to Angeline's breakdown at the hospital. After dropping her call, he'd gone straight back to sleep and soon drifted off again.

Waking up early the next morning, he changed out of the pajamas and into his clothes. At this hour, both Sasha and Natalie were still asleep. He went to the bathroom, washed up, and headed out to buy breakfast once he was presentable.

Before they'd gone to bed the night before, Sasha had given him a spare key, just in case he needed to go out and couldn't get back in. That alone showed just how much she trusted him.

Even though the residential complex was upscale, there were still plenty of breakfast spots outside. Robin had lived there before getting married, so he knew exactly which spot was good.

"Three croissants and risotto breakfast bowls, please."

"Got it. That'll be 25 dollars."

Robin tapped his card and paid.

"Here you go."

He grabbed the bags of food and headed back. When he pushed the door open, he saw that Sasha was already awake.

"I thought you were still sleeping," she said, looking at him. She'd pictured this scene more times than she could count—waking up every morning and seeing Robin there. She'd thought she'd lost the chance for that forever, but here it was now. Even if it was only for a day, it was enough.

"Nah, I woke up some time ago. I went out to grab breakfast. Is Natalie still asleep?" Robin set the food down on the table.

"Yeah. She wouldn't stop bugging me to tell her stories last night and didn't fall asleep until midnight."

Robin chuckled at that. Honestly, he still couldn't picture the fiery, wild Sasha from their college days reading bedtime stories to a kid.

"What are you laughing at?" Sasha eyed him suspiciously at his laughter.

"I just think that with your personality, it's hard to imagine you reading fairy tales. I'd expect you to say, 'Sleep? What sleep? Get up! Let's party.'"

She rolled her eyes hard. "Oh, please. You're slandering me. When have I ever been like that?"

"Haven't you?"

Sasha flushed slightly when she saw the look on Robin's face. She lightly swatted his shoulder. "You're so annoying."

She was wearing pajamas, and it went without saying how loose those could be. With that playful slap, the fabric shifted, and Robin accidentally caught a glimpse of something he absolutely wasn't supposed to see. His face turned crimson, and he quickly turned away. Sasha's face also burned when she realized what he'd just seen.

"Uh, maybe you should change," Robin murmured after clearing his throat.

"Shut up! You're such a pig and a total perv."

What? A perv?

Robin was bemused. He could swear on his life that he was nothing of the sort. He hadn't peeked on purpose or anything!

Sasha soon emerged from the bedroom in different clothes, though there was still a bit of color on her cheeks.

"What time does Natalie have to get up? Doesn't she have school today?" Robin asked. The whole situation had been more than a little awkward, so he quickly changed the subject.

"I just need to drop her off by 7:30 am. The school's right next to this place, so it's super close," Sasha answered.

Robin nodded. "How about I go with you?"

"Huh? You sure?"

"Yeah. We can pick up some toiletries downstairs afterward."

She nodded. Honestly, she wanted him to stay with her long-term. Seeing each other every day would be perfect for nudging their relationship into something more. But for now, she didn't have any excuse to make that happen.

"Alright, then. I'll go shopping with you."

"Deal."

They exchanged a quick smile.

Right then, Natalie shuffled out of her bedroom in her pajamas. Her face was a little puffy, maybe because she'd just woken up. Her eyes, still hazy with sleep, made her look especially adorable.

"Natalie, you're awake." Robin crouched and reached out to pinch her cheek.

Before his fingers touched her, she quipped, "You can't, Mr. Weisz. You're too ugly."

He froze for a second. Then, he clutched his chest dramatically, as if she'd broken his heart. "Natalie, that really hurts my feelings."

She let out a tiny sigh at his dramatics, then walked closer to him. She took his hand, looking like she was saying, "Fine, then. Since you're so hurt, I'll let you pinch me just once."

Her half-heartedness hit Robin like a critical blow. Meanwhile, Sasha was laughing her head off at their antics.

"Be good, Mr. Weisz. I'm going to wash up now." Natalie walked away.

"This kid… She's pretty adorable," Robin said, watching her go. He couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

Before they ate, he had one more call to make. He stepped out onto the balcony and called Angeline.

At the hospital, Angeline's heart leapt when she saw Robin's name on the screen. She knew it—the coldness was all an act. Deep down, he still couldn't let go of her and Sam.

With that thought in mind, she answered the call. Her tone was tender as she said, "Hello?"

"You've seen the divorce agreement I emailed you, right? Do you have any questions about the terms?" Robin asked.

Angeline's face fell. Had he called just to talk about the divorce papers? How could that be?

"You called just for that?"

"What else do you think we have to talk about, aside from this? If you don't have any issues with the agreement, we can officially file for divorce this afternoon."

Angeline's fingers tightened around her phone. "Robin, haven't you kicked up enough of a fuss? Can we please not do this? We can't just divorce over a few misunderstandings and something a kid said. Can't you sit down and talk to me properly?"

Talk?

Robin actually laughed at that. Anyone else could've asked him that, but not her.

"Angeline, ask yourself how many times I've tried to talk to you about Oscar over the years, and what happened each time. You either left to take care of him because he felt unwell, or you abandoned me to go eat with him.

"Feelings don't disappear overnight. It's the little things that happened over and over again that gradually killed my love for you. I'm tired, and I don't want to keep forcing this relationship anymore. So really, there's nothing for us to talk about.

"The only thing you need to do now is sign your name on that divorce agreement. Let's at least end this on a good note and keep ourselves dignified, alright?"

He was right. Feelings didn't die out in a single day. It had taken a long time for him to reach this point, and he was drained. He just wanted to leave Angeline behind and start over. He refused to spend the rest of his life like this. It was far too agonizing.

Angeline was silent for a long time. What could she say? How could she explain herself? No matter how she spun it, this was her fault.

"I just made some mistakes, didn't I? Is divorce really necessary? I've made my stance clear to you—I'm not agreeing to the divorce," she said stubbornly.

As long as she refused to go through with it, there was still a chance. If they actually split, then it was truly over between them.

She couldn't stand the thought of another woman at Robin's side. Honestly, she was so hard to understand. If this was how she felt, then why had she done what she'd done in the first place? It made no sense.

"If you don't want to do this peacefully, then wait for the court summons," Robin said shortly.

If Angeline refused to give their marriage a clean break, then they would have to settle this in court. No one could stop him from making this divorce go through. No one.

"Even if this has to go to court, I still won't agree to a divorce. Robin, I'm begging you. Just give me another chance. I genuinely—"

Just then, Natalie wandered over. "Mr. Weisz, let's eat."

Her voice was full of innocent cheer, and her eyes were guileless. The sound traveled straight through the phone and into Angeline's ear.

"Who was that? Robin, whose place are you at? Answer me!" Her voice shook with anger.

Just from that voice, she could tell he definitely hadn't stayed in his own apartment or at a hotel the night before. So where had he slept? Did he spend the night at a man's house or a woman's house?

A dozen different scenarios instantly filled Angeline's mind.

"That's none of your business. I'll make my stance clear to you one last time, Angeline. If you don't sign the divorce papers, I'll see you in court. Don't bother sending other people to talk to me. This is between you and me. I don't want anyone else dragged into it."

With that, Robin ended the call.

"Mr. Weisz, did I do something wrong?" Natalie lowered her head guiltily when she saw the tension in Robin's face.

"No, you didn't. I'm not mad at you. It's the person on the phone who made me angry." He crouched down and scooped her up.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then, she reached up and rested her hand on his head. The contrast in size was almost comical.

"Don't be upset, Mr. Weisz. Be happy, okay? You only look good when you're happy," she said.

Robin couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, you. You're really good at cheering people up, aren't you? You're such a sweet talker."

He tapped her nose, his tone full of warmth. He carried her back into the living room.

"How'd it go? Did you get things sorted out?" Sasha asked.

Robin shook his head. "She won't agree to the divorce."

Sasha blinked, a little surprised. "Then what are you going to do?"

"I'll speak to Jack and file for divorce. If she doesn't want to be civil, then I won't, either."

Sasha nodded. "That sounds like the only option right now."

"Pretty much."

In divorce cases, aside from special situations like the woman being in her nursing period, the court almost always granted the divorce after a formal filing. Plus, Jack was the top divorce attorney in town. With him taking the case, this marriage was as good as over.

"Alright, enough about her. I don't want someone like her to ruin a perfectly good day," Robin said, composing himself.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Angeline made a call.