“Mommy, is Daddy busy again?”

I froze, looking into my son's eyes, unable to tell him the truth.

His father was not busy. He was with another child.

I could not bring myself to say it. All I could do was pull him into my arms, my heart aching for him like it had done so many times before.

“It's okay, sweetheart. You still have me. Mommy will always be here for you.”

He did not ask any more questions, but his eyes turned red.

On the way to school, neither of us mentioned Henry again. It was as though Henry had never promised anything and this family had only ever been the two of us.

Henry, you had one last chance.

After parking the car, I took my son's hand and walked into the school.

However, the moment we stepped into the classroom, I stopped in my tracks.

“Henry?”

“Daddy?”

…

Henry was sitting by the window. He instinctively looked up at the sound of our voices, his pupils contracting in shock.

“What are you doing here?”

The surprise in his words made me stop in my tracks. I had a bad premonition.

My son had been in elementary school for six months, yet Henry did not even know his class.

My son did not notice. Overjoyed, he ran up to him.

“Daddy, you—”

Henry frowned.

“What did you just call me?”

The joy on my son's face froze for a moment before he quickly corrected himself, his voice all too practiced.

“Uncle Parker, you're sitting in the wrong seat. Mine is up front.”

He looked up at Henry, his eyes shining with happiness.

This was the first time Henry had ever attended a class meeting and the first time he had kept his word.

However, the excitement did not last long.

A second later, Henry averted his gaze.

“I'm not in the wrong seat. This is my place.”

My son stood still, confused. Just as he was about to say something, a small figure suddenly pushed him aside.

“Go away! He's my Daddy!”

Instinct took over. I immediately pulled my son into my arms, shielding him.

Henry also stood up, but he hesitated momentarily when he met Evelyn’s surprised gaze.

Then, just as quickly, he moved the boy behind him to protect him. His voice was stiff as he said, “Ethan didn’t mean it. I apologize on his behalf.”

Both my son and I froze.

My son had never once received this kind of protection or concern from his father.

“Who is he?” I rose to my feet and asked in a soft voice.

Henry hesitated for a moment. After meeting my gaze, a flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes.

“A friend’s child.”

“Is that so?”

I murmured, but deep down, I already knew the answer.

This was the boy from Evelyn’s photo.

The child Henry was willing to be there for.

Sure enough, Evelyn walked in with a bottle of water a moment later. She looked surprised to see us.

“Miss Clarke? Are you here for the meeting too?” She glanced around. “Why don’t I see the child’s father?”

My gaze instinctively shifted to Henry at her words.

He avoided my eyes.

Realization hit me. He was afraid I would expose him.

For a moment, I felt like I was transported back to the day Evelyn returned.

That night, the ever-cold Henry had gotten drunk for the first time.

When he heard his son call him Daddy, he had actually smiled for the first time.

My son and I had thought that our wait was finally over.

However, the next moment, the name he whispered was not mine.

It was Evelyn’s.

That was when I knew. He had mistaken us for someone else.

I tightened my grip on my son’s hand, ready to speak. However, before I could say anything, my son beat me to it.

“My dad is overseas. He’s very busy, so I don’t want to bother him.”

With one sentence, the two of them were left stunned.

I looked down at my son in disbelief, seeing his reddened and welled-up eyes.

He was looking at Henry, smiling as though he finally understood everything.

“Uncle Parker, Mommy and I are leaving now.”

All the sadness in the world was lodged in my chest at that moment.

As I turned around, Henry suddenly grabbed my arm.

…

“What did Lyle just say?”

Henry looked at our son in shock as though he wanted to confirm something.

Was it because the child he always pushed away had learned to distance himself?

I forced a smile, feeling a sharp sting of irony.

“He didn’t say anything, Mr. Parker. The meeting is about to start.”

I pulled my arm away from his and led my son to the seats up front.

Even as I sat down, I could still feel the burning gaze from behind.

However, no matter how hot that gaze was, it could not warm my heart.

The meeting started on time.

I held my son close, wishing for the first time that the teacher's voice would be sterner.

I wanted it to drown out the intimate conversation between the family of three behind us.

As expected, the teacher called Lyle up. They announced that he had been chosen as the class monitor for this semester and asked him to give a speech.

However, he refused.

He did not want to get up, nor did he want to speak.

I knew why. He did not want to see Henry sitting with that child.

He did not want to admit that his father would rather attend a meeting with someone else’s child.

He did not want to let the other child proudly call him Daddy.

Afterward, I took my son to the teacher’s office to handle his withdrawal paperwork.

When we stepped out of the school gates, we ran into Henry waiting for someone.

He was standing on the side of the road, holding a stick of cotton candy. He looked like he had been waiting for a while.

“Why did you take so long to come out? Let’s go home together.”

As he said this, he handed the cotton candy to my son.

Going home together.

Once, this was what my son and I had looked forward to the most.

Now, it just felt like a cruel joke.

Lyle reached out and took the cotton candy from Henry’s hand. The frown he had worn all night finally softened into a smile.

My heart softened when I saw his hopeful eyes, and I was about to agree, but then I heard Henry speak.

“Evelyn’s kid is a transfer student, so he couldn’t compete for the class monitor position.

“How about you ask your son to talk to the teacher? Maybe he could give up the position of class monitor this time and let Ethan have the chance instead.”

The casual remark made both me and my son cold inside.

Sure enough, everything came with a hidden price tag with Henry.

Even a stick of cotton candy.

“Okay, Uncle Parker.”

It was my son's voice.

With red-rimmed eyes, he put the cotton candy into his mouth.

Henry’s expression softened slightly, but just as he was about to reach out to hold my son’s hand, his phone rang.

It was Evelyn.

“Henry, Ethan isn’t feeling well. Can you come over now?”

Henry’s face changed, and he immediately turned and got into his car.

As he closed the door, my son suddenly shouted loud enough for him to hear, “Daddy!”

Henry froze for a moment, sticking his head out and meeting my son’s red-rimmed eyes.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“Drive safe.”

This time, he did not correct Lyle.

However, that was the last time my son would ever call him Daddy.

That night, my son and I packed our bags and booked tickets to leave the country.

We did not mention Henry again. The living room would no longer have a light left on all night, with two hopeful people waiting for him.

The next morning, we headed to the airport with our bags in tow to check in.

Before turning my phone off, I sent Henry one last message.

[Be happy.]

The next moment, our chat, which had been barren for so long, was filled with furious messages.