Sabrina’s POV
I fell silent. So many possibilities spun in my mind. But in the end, none of them would change one crucial fact: Hazel loves Charlie. And that makes everything so much more complicated.Evening began to fall when Charlie ran toward us, sweat on his forehead but his smile undimmed. “I’m thirsty,” he said, tugging on my arm.I reached into my bag for a water bottle, but Nicholas was quicker, handing him a juice box from the side pocket of the backpack he always carried. “Daddy came prepared,” he said with a wink.Charlie giggled, then downed the juice in one go. “Mommy, Daddy, where are we going next?”I looked at Nicholas, giving him the chance to answer first.“How about we get some ice cream?” he suggested.Charlie squealed with joy. “I want strawberry!”I laughed. “Didn’t you say yesterday you were tired of strawberry?”“I like it again now,” he answered seriously.Nicholas and I lNicholas's POV The morning sky was clear, as if the universe was giving space for my thoughts not to grow more muddled. But the truth was, my chest still felt heavy even though the fresh air streamed in through the slightly opened car window. Charlie sat in the back seat, hugging his backpack with a cheerful smile, excitedly sharing his dream from the night before. Sabrina sat beside me, only occasionally responding, and I knew her mind was still divided.I glanced at her for a moment. Her hair was tied back loosely, her face pale but still beautiful as always. There was something in her gaze that made me want to reach out and hold her hand, to reassure her that everything would be okay—even though I wasn't completely sure myself.“I dreamed I met a dinosaur that could talk, and it invited me onto a spaceship,” Charlie said, laughing. “The ship was like the one in the movies, Dad! And I was the captain!”“That’s amazing, buddy,” I replied, trying
Sabrina’s POV “It’s okay, Mom. Let’s finish it together.”I shifted to the floor beside him, took the piece, and placed it in the empty space. The picture was now complete: a massive T-Rex in the middle of a prehistoric jungle. Charlie clapped his hands, his face beaming with pride.“We’re awesome!” he said happily.“Yes. A great team,” I replied.Nicholas raised his hand, and the three of us shared a high-five, our laughter filling the room. No burdens. No tension. Just a child’s laughter and two adults trying their hardest to hold on to fragments of happiness.Charlie then stood and ran off to his room. “I’m getting the dinosaur book! So Daddy can read it!”We waited, and in a flash, Charlie returned with a thick book in his hands. He climbed onto the sofa, hugged a pillow, and opened to the first page. Nicholas shifted beside him, took the book, and started reading aloud, imitating dinosaur roars with dramatic expressions that made Charlie burst
Sabrina’s POV I fell silent. So many possibilities spun in my mind. But in the end, none of them would change one crucial fact: Hazel loves Charlie. And that makes everything so much more complicated.Evening began to fall when Charlie ran toward us, sweat on his forehead but his smile undimmed. “I’m thirsty,” he said, tugging on my arm.I reached into my bag for a water bottle, but Nicholas was quicker, handing him a juice box from the side pocket of the backpack he always carried. “Daddy came prepared,” he said with a wink.Charlie giggled, then downed the juice in one go. “Mommy, Daddy, where are we going next?”I looked at Nicholas, giving him the chance to answer first.“How about we get some ice cream?” he suggested.Charlie squealed with joy. “I want strawberry!”I laughed. “Didn’t you say yesterday you were tired of strawberry?”“I like it again now,” he answered seriously.Nicholas and I l
Sabrina’s POV He smiled faintly but said nothing. His eyes turned back to Charlie, who was now busy imitating duck sounds with his own ridiculous style. We both chuckled softly at the boy’s antics.“You know,” he finally said, “whatever happens tonight, I want you to know one thing.”“What is it?”“I’m here not out of guilt. Not out of obligation. I’m here because I want to be. Because of you. Because of Charlie. Because everything feels… right.”I bit my lip, trying to hold back the surge of emotion. But the warmth still gathered in my eyes.“Thank you, Nicholas.”“Don’t thank me now,” he said gently. “Save it for later—after we get through tonight.”Charlie came running back to us, holding a large leaf in his hand. “I found a leaf shaped like a heart! Here, for Mommy!”I took it with a wide smile. “It’s beautiful. Thank you, sweetheart.”Charlie then turned to Nicholas. “Let’s come back to the pa
Sabrina’s POV Nicholas sat beside me. His face was calm, as usual, but I knew that behind that calmness, he held a thousand questions and worries. We were both trying to rebuild a world that had started to crack. And the hardest part was, that world was no longer just ours. There was Hazel. There was the past. There were wounds that had not yet healed.I leaned back against the park bench and shifted my gaze to Charlie, who was now sitting on the seesaw with another child. His laughter echoed loudly, free like a balloon soaring into the sky. That child knew nothing about the storm gathering above his head.“I’m scared, Nicholas,” I murmured. “Scared that I’ll end up losing him. Even though… I’ve been through everything just to raise Charlie.”Nicholas didn’t answer right away. He just turned and took my hand resting on my lap. The touch was light, but enough to let me know I wasn’t alone.“You’re not alone, Sabrina,” he said softly.
Sabrina’s POV The sky had begun to change colors when we arrived at the school yard. Children were starting to come out of the gate—some running, others holding their parents’ hands with heavy backpacks on their shoulders. I glanced at Nicholas as he turned off the engine. He smiled at me, then opened the door and stepped out first.I followed a few steps behind him, and before we could start looking, a cheerful voice I knew so well called out."Mama! Papa!"Charlie ran toward us from the gate, his face glowing with excitement. I crouched down and opened my arms, and he hugged me tightly. Then, just as quickly, he shifted into Nicholas’s embrace, who lifted his small body into the air, laughing."Papaaa! Where were you last night?" Charlie asked innocently, though his expression was a bit scrunched. "I waited, but you didn’t come home."I glanced at Nicholas, giving him space to respond himself. Nicholas slowly lowered Charlie and lo