lia

he only one who loves me, right, Mama? Only you?" The raw vulnerability in his voice, the question

not true," I whispered, my voice thick with unshed tears. "So many people love you. More than you ca

is brow furrowed.

e, like a castle, high in the mountains. A place where everyone lov

o, now clutched tightly in his small hand. "But... what about Daddy?" he mumbled,

d hard, fighting back my own tears. "Colt, baby," I began, my voice soft, "your daddy... and

onfusion clouding t

family. Someone who... has a loud rose smell." I paused, then asked, the question a calculated risk, a desperate measure to show him the truth. "Do you want to stay here, C

It clattered to the floor, a stark sound in the quiet room. He looked at me, then at

s face. "Just for my birthday. Just for a little while. So I can remember." He w

tasting the salt of my grief. "Okay, my love," I whispered, m

s toys, but his eyes kept darting to the clock, then to the door, waiting for a father who would never arrive. My

frantic rhythm against my ribs. I knew, somehow, what

poke of a new chapter, of an unprecedented merger, of a future brighter than anyone could imagine. Then, the words that would forever scar me. "It is with overwhelm

o celebrate this momentous occasion, this new beginning for Blazetooth Innovations, we wi

day to publicly announce his engagement to a pregnant Jeanine, to celebrate his new family, his "true heir," while his own son

gain, a private mes

sion blurred by a

ublic announcement. It' s crucial for the merger. Colt is a smart boy, he' ll understand. Tell him I' ll make

their unborn child. Colt and I were merely inconve

big eyes wide, taking in the excited tone of Harrison' s public announcement. He might be little, b

trembling. "Is... is Daddy gettin

und my heart, crumbled into dust. Colt' s eyes, once full of a child' s hope, now filled with a

ht. Staying here, even for another minute, would only poison Colt' s inno

the tears still streaming down my face. "We are leaving. Right now." I pulled him to me, holding him close. "He is no longer your father. He gave up tha

gan to gather his scattered toys, putting them carefully into a small backpack. He moved like a little old man, his sh