Chapter 4

"Mom... is Papa leaving?"

Kirana's voice was soft. Her hand gripped the edge of my jacket with her small clenched fingers.

Kirana held my clothes very tightly. I felt my chest tighten. My little daughter's small fingers trembled on the fabric of my shirt.

Kirana looked at Arvan, then Lara, then asked again in a voice that was almost a whisper, "Mom, why is that aunt's child calling Papa 'father'?"

Lara immediately panicked. Her face instantly paled. She reacted quickly by kneeling in front of Rio, her voice still gentle but with something hurried in it.

"Rio, sweetheart. Just call him Uncle Arvan, dear. Uncle, not father."

The child looked at his mother in confusion. "But Mama said—"

"Call him Uncle." Lara cut him off with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Rio finally nodded, though his face was still confused.

Arvan frowned. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But I was faster, pulling his arm to the side, far enough from Kirana and Lara's earshot.

"What are you doing?" My voice was low, but I didn't try to hide the anger in it.

Arvan pulled his arm from my hand. "I'm not doing anything."

"You let that child call you Father. In front of Kirana." I looked directly at him. "Do you know how many times Kirana has cried quietly because you never come home? And now she has to watch someone else's child hanging around your neck like that?"

"Lara just lost her husband." Arvan's jaw tightened. "Rio needs a male figure. That's not my fault."

"Lara is none of my business." I cut him off. "But Kirana is your business. She's your daughter. Don't bring the drama of your relationship with your mistress in front of that child."

"Lara is not my mistress."

"Arvan." I sighed. "I don't care how you define your relationship. What I care about is the agreement we made. You promised to keep Kirana company until her birthday." I looked at him without blinking. "Or do you want me not to sign those divorce papers?"

Arvan was silent.

I saw something move in his eyes. Not anger, but something more complex than that.

He turned his face away. Glanced toward Kirana sitting alone on the bench, hugging her rabbit doll, staring at the tips of her shoes.

Something in Arvan's face shifted.

He turned toward Lara.

"Sorry, Lara." His voice was softer. "I can't keep you company this afternoon. I already promised to spend time with Kirana today."

Lara looked at him briefly. Her smile didn't change, but her eyes said something else. "It's okay. You can keep Rio company another time."

She took Rio's hand and left without looking back.

Arvan stood still for a moment. Then he walked toward Kirana.

I followed from behind.

"Kirana." Arvan crouched in front of our daughter.

Kirana looked up. Her eyes still held unanswered questions.

"Papa's not leaving," Arvan said. "Let's continue our walk. You said you wanted to show me the flower stand?"

Kirana stared at him for a few seconds, as if weighing whether those words could be trusted. Then her smile returned, slow but real.

"Yes! The last star on Kirana's map."

Kirana nodded enthusiastically. She hugged Arvan's neck tightly.

I watched from a distance with mixed feelings. My heart was warm seeing my daughter's smile, but it also hurt remembering everything that had happened.

Since that day, Arvan came more and more often.

The first three days he was still stiff—sitting on the sofa with his phone in hand, answering Kirana's questions with short sentences. But Kirana didn't give up. She dragged Arvan to the drawing table, forced him to color butterflies with pink crayons, then laughed loudly when Arvan went outside the lines.

"Papa can't color," Kirana judged seriously.

"I'm busy working," Arvan answered flatly. "Adults don't have time to practice doing things like this."

Kirana considered that answer with the expression of a little judge. "Okay. Kirana will teach Papa."

Arvan didn't refuse.

The following days moved slowly but surely. Arvan picked Kirana up from school, helped her with homework, read bedtime stories.

Arvan's phone often rang with Lara's name on the screen, but he never answered when he was with Kirana.

Sometimes Lara sent long messages, but Arvan only glanced at them briefly then ignored them.

I observed all these changes carefully. Not wanting to hope too much, but it was hard not to feel something different.

On the weekend, Kirana asked us to hike up a small hill on the edge of town.

Arvan agreed without many questions.

That morning, the three of us left together. Kirana walked in the middle, her hand held by both of us.

The hiking trail wasn't too difficult, but rocky and steep in some parts.

Kirana laughed cheerfully while making small jumps on the path.

"Be careful, sweetheart," I reminded her repeatedly.

We were almost at the summit when Kirana slipped on slippery rocks.

I reflexively jumped to protect my daughter. I managed to catch Kirana, but lost my balance.

My body swayed backward.

Arvan moved quickly. His hand grabbed my waist, pulling me to his chest before I fell.

Time seemed to stop.

I landed in Arvan's embrace with my breath caught. His arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

We stared at each other.

Our faces were only inches apart. I could feel his warm breath on my face.

My heart beat very fast. Too fast.

My eyes were fixed on his dark eyes that also looked at me with strange intensity.

For a moment, I saw something there. Something soft, something warm.

"Hehehe." Kirana laughed while covering her mouth. "Mama's heavy, huh? Papa had trouble catching her."

I immediately came to my senses. My face heated up.

I pushed Arvan's chest and stepped back awkwardly.

But his expression changed drastically. The warmth in his eyes disappeared, replaced again by that familiar cold stare.

His face hardened. His jaw tensed.

"You always find a way," he said in a low voice, directed only at me.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Even in a place like this, you're still trying to seduce me."

Arvan's words hit me like cold water on a morning day.

I opened my mouth to protest. There were many things I wanted to say, about how tired I was of being constantly accused, about how unreasonable Arvan's bad assumptions about me were. But my words got stuck in my throat.

It hurt.

Too painful to express in words.

Arvan didn't even give me a chance to speak. He immediately turned around and took out his phone. Arvan walked away a few steps, answering a call in a low voice.

Kirana pulled the edge of my jacket with a confused face. "Mom, where is Papa going?"

"Answering a call for a moment, sweetheart." I smiled at her to hide the tears beginning to pool in my eyes. "Come on, let's look at the view from up there first."

Kirana nodded. She had already shifted her attention back to her twig stick.

I didn't look toward Arvan.

But in my heart, I felt something cracking more and more.

No matter how good Arvan was to Kirana, he would never change toward me.

In Arvan's eyes, I would always be the woman full of schemes who stole his life in a dirty way.

Nothing could change that.

And perhaps, it was time I stopped hoping.