MasukThe room felt like it was breathing, like the walls themselves had lungs and they were expanding with relief, joy, disbelief, and something so fragile nobody dared to name it too loudly in case it shattered, but Nathaniel’s voice slipped through all of it with calm authority, soft but commanding enough to steady the emotional storm that threatened to take over.
“Scarlet,” he said gently, his eyes never leaving her face as though he was reading every flicker of doubt a
Cassie leaned back slightly in her chair as she listened to Debbie’s voice through the phone, her fingers idly tracing the edge of the table while she considered what kind of favor Debbie could possibly be asking for, although deep down she already knew that no matter what it turned out to be she would almost certainly agree without hesitation because Debbie was not someone she would ever turn down lightly.“Go ahead,” Cassie replied in a relaxed tone, her curiosity evident but her voice calm as she waited for Debbie to explain.On the other end of the line, Debbie sounded almost unable to contain her excitement.“Well, our parents finally managed to meet and talk things through properly,” Debbie began, the happiness in her voice growing stronger with every word. “After everything was discussed, we were able to settle on a date for the wedding, and we all agreed it should happen during the week after the New Year.”
“Is that Sisi?” Frederick’s voice came through the phone a moment before his face appeared on the screen, and the moment the video connected his eyes narrowed slightly with curiosity as he noticed the outline of a woman standing somewhere behind Franklin, although the camera angle failed to capture her face clearly enough for him to recognize who she was.Franklin reacted almost instantly the second he realized Cassie had drifted into the frame, stepping sideways until his broad shoulders blocked her completely from view while positioning himself directly in front of the camera in a way that looked natural enough not to draw suspicion.“Yeah, that’s her,” Franklin replied with an easy laugh that sounded relaxed on the surface even though his body remained tense from the sudden need to hide Cassie from Frederick’s sight, his hand lifting casually as if gesturing behind him. “But she’s shy, so she’s hiding behin
Tristan stood in front of Debbie with his small arms folded tightly across his chest, his expression carrying a seriousness that felt almost too mature for a boy who had only recently turned eleven. The way his eyebrows pulled together and the quiet firmness in his posture made him look far older than he actually was, as if he had already begun learning how to guard his feelings in the same way adults often did.“I’m not happy that you’re leaving already,” Tristan said with a tone that sounded calm on the surface, although the disappointment underneath his words was impossible to hide.Debbie felt a warm wave of affection rise in her chest the moment she heard him say that, and she could not stop the gent
Debbie had absolutely no idea where this sudden turn of events would eventually lead them, yet deep inside her chest there was a quiet certainty that refused to be ignored because she knew, without any doubt, that she had wanted something like this from the very first moment her eyes landed on Nathan.Back then she had only been curious about him, about the way he carried himself with that easy confidence and the faint warmth hiding behind his calm expression, yet curiosity had slowly grown into something far deeper without her even realizing it.Now everything felt incredibly fast, almost reckless, as if life had decided to shove them forward before either of them had the chance to slow down and analyze every single consequence that might follow.
Nathan did not attempt to soften the truth or hide behind excuses, and the honesty in his expression made it clear that every word he was about to say came straight from the part of his heart he had ignored for far too long.“I lied,” he admitted openly while holding Debbie’s gaze with quiet intensity, the weight of that confession resting heavily in his voice. “At the time I convinced myself that pushing you away was the only way to help you escape a situation that I believed would only hurt you, although I completely failed to understand that I was slowly walking straight into something far worse without even realizing it.”A faint sadness lingered in his eyes as he continued speaking, his voice softening while memories from the past resurfaced with painful clarity.“Debbie, do you remember the day Cassie chose Frank instead of me?”Debbie did not answer right away.Instead, she nodded slowly, because tha
Cassie eased a few steps away from the center of the moment while gently drawing Franklin and Tristan along with her, creating a little distance so the unfolding scene could belong to the two people who needed it most, although the uneasy sadness lingering in Tristan’s eyes did not escape her attention for even a second.The boy continued watching Nathan and Debbie with an expression that carried far more worry than someone his age should have been holding.“Mom,” Tristan said quietly while keeping his gaze locked on the pair standing across the room, his voice heavy with uncertainty and a faint trace of fear that he did not bother hiding. “I feel like Uncle Nathan might take her away.”Cassie felt a small knot form in her chest because she understood exactly what he meant, although there was no easy answer she could give him without making promises she had no control over.Instead of trying to explain something complicated t







