Chapter 5: The Birthday
1030 Words
My phone rang. An unknown number.
I hesitated, then answered.
“Luna.”
It was Kael. His voice was even lower than last time, like there were things he couldn’t say.
“How did you get my number?” I asked coldly.
“Your assistant gave it to me. Don’t blame her — I forced her.”
“What do you want?”
“Today is the kids’ fourth birthday.”
My hand tightened. My knuckles went white. “How do you know that?”
“I checked the birth certificates.” He paused. “Luna, I don’t want to go through lawyers. I just want to see them. Ten minutes. In the park.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t have the right.”
There was silence on the other end. I could hear him exhale, as if carrying something heavy.
“Luna, I’m not trying to take them. I know I don’t deserve that. But I want to see them — even from a distance. Just one look, okay? Please.”
I didn’t know what to say. Hang up on him? Curse him out? My mind was a mess.
“Mommy, who’s that?” Vivi ran over and looked up at me.
“No one. Wrong number.”
She didn’t ask again and ran back to Jay.
---
At three in the afternoon, I went to pick them up from kindergarten.
Vivi bounced along happily. Jay walked behind her, his face gloomy.
“What’s wrong?” I crouched down and asked.
“Mommy,” he said, head down, “the other kids say I don’t have a dad.”
My heart jerked. Like someone had punched me hard.
“They’re lying.” I pulled him into my arms. “You have a dad.”
“Then why doesn’t he come?”
“He’s… busy.”
“Liar.” Jay looked up, eyes red. “You’re lying again, Mommy.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
Just then, a black car stopped at the kindergarten gate.
The door opened. Kael stepped out.
A dark gray coat. A bouquet of pink daisies in his hand. He stood outside the iron fence, the wind blowing through his hair. His eyes were red, as if he hadn’t slept all night.
My heart pounded.
“Mommy, who’s that?” Vivi tugged my sleeve.
“No one,” I said.
But Jay had already broken free from my hand and run over.
“Jay!” I chased after him, but he was fast. He ran straight up to Kael and looked up at him.
Kael crouched down. Tears streamed down his face.
“Are you… my daddy?” Jay asked.
Kael nodded. He couldn’t speak. Just nodded, tears dropping one by one onto the ground.
Jay froze. Then he threw himself into Kael’s arms and cried, “Why didn’t you come see us? Do you know how long we’ve waited for you?”
Vivi started crying too and ran over to hug Kael’s leg.
I stood there, watching the three of them hold each other. The wind was strong, making my eyes sting.
---
“Luna.”
Kael stood up, holding both children’s hands. His eyes were still red.
“I’m sorry.”
I took a deep breath. My chest felt tight. I wanted to curse him, tell him to get lost, but my mouth wouldn’t open.
“I didn’t agree to you coming here.”
“I know,” he said. “But today is their birthday. I don’t want to miss it anymore.”
“You’ve already missed four years. Don’t you think it’s a little ridiculous to say these things now?”
“That’s why I’m not going to miss any more from now on.”
I was stunned. Didn’t answer.
“Luna, give me a chance. Not as an Alpha. Not as a CEO. Just… as a father.”
The wind blew. A few petals fell from the pink daisies — like my heart right now, messy and scattered.
The two kids looked at me pleadingly. There was a hint of begging in their eyes.
“Mommy, please.” Vivi tugged my hand and shook it.
I closed my eyes.
Fine.
“Birthday present,” I said.
Kael blinked. “What?”
“Take them for ice cream. One hour. I’ll wait in the car.”
Vivi and Jay cheered.
Kael looked at me. His lips moved, like he wanted to say something, but in the end he only said, “Thank you.”
---
I sat in the car, watching the three of them walk into the ice cream shop across the street.
Kael held Vivi’s hand. Jay rode on his shoulders.
It was only an hour, but it felt like a lifetime.
I lowered my head. Tears fell onto the back of my hand.
I was crying.
Not sad. Not happy.
I just couldn’t help it.
---
An hour later, they came back.
Vivi was holding a cupcake. Jay had something clutched in his palm.
Kael walked them to the car and looked at me.
“Luna, I’m not trying to take them.”
“I know.”
“Then… can I see them again?”
I was silent for a long time.
Vivi tilted her head and looked at me. Jay stuffed what was in his hand into mine — a piece of candy, wrapped in wrinkled paper.
“Mommy, Daddy gave this to me. I didn’t want to eat it, so I’m giving it to you.”
My nose stung. I almost cried again.
“Next Saturday. Afternoon. Two hours.”
Kael took a deep breath, his eyes red. “Okay.”
I started the car. Didn’t look back.
In the rearview mirror, he stood there, watching us.
Until we turned the corner and he was gone.
---
At night, both children were asleep.
I sat on the balcony, still holding that piece of candy.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Kael: “Thank you. Today was the happiest day in four years for me.”
I didn’t reply.
I put the candy on the nightstand.
Tomorrow, I have work.
- Writer
