CRYSTAL.

"You must be a fool to think I'll give you another loan when you're still owing the management far more than you can pay in a lifetime!"

Kristy's voice was unapologetically condescending. She snatched the crumpled letter from her desk and threw it at me. The paper hit my cheek before falling to the floor.

I bent quickly to pick it up, with shaking hands.

"Please, ma'am," I whispered, my knees hitting the cold marble floor. "Please. My child... he needs surgery. He's very sick. He's only four, and the doctor said if I don't pay by Friday..."

"Friday?" she interrupted with a mocking laugh. "Then you better start praying for a miracle."

"Please," I begged. My throat was already raw, tears spilling before I could stop them. "You can deduct it from my salary again. I'll work overtime. I'll do anything. Please, just help me this once."

Kristy leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and smiled, "Look, Crystal," she said, flicking invisible dust off her blazer, "I don't know what you did for the last HR to have loaned you so much, but it ends here. You've been with this hotel for what, three years? And you've done nothing but owe and beg. It's pathetic."

Her words hit me hard.

"I've been trying," I said weakly, wiping my face with trembling hands. "Please, I just need time."

"Time?" she scoffed. "No. You've had enough time. In fact..." she tapped her manicured nails against the desk "...we'll start by taking seventy percent of your salary this month. That should make a dent."

I gasped. "Seventy percent? But ma'am, I... I can't survive on that. My rent, my child's medicine..."

Kristy stood abruptly. "Then figure it out! Maybe stop having children you can't afford to keep alive!"

Kristy tilted her head and sighed dramatically, as if she pitied me. "You're such a mess, Crystal. Look at you. Crying again. Every month, it's the same story - your sick son, your bills, your debt. If you can't handle your life, that's not this establishment's problem."

I stared at the floor, ashamed to even meet her eyes.

"I'm begging you," I whispered again, my voice almost gone. "Kay's all I have. He hasn't even eaten properly in two days."

Kristy rolled her eyes. "Then maybe it's time you faced reality. Go find a charity. Or better yet, give the boy up for adoption. You should've done that from the start."

The room went silent.

Her cruel words kept replaying in my head.

I felt something inside me break all over again.

She didn't know that I had done it before. That I had already given one away at birth.

The midwife had advised me to give up one of my twins. She was like a mother to me. She said a very wealthy woman was willing to pay a lot of money for a child.

I was homeless. I couldn't even afford food for the newborns. I imagined what life would have been like for both of them with a mother who couldn't even get a decent job.

So, I listened to Ms. Nica. I had to save at least one child from starving.

It was so hard seeing him go. But since she said it was a wealthy woman looking to adopt him, I felt it was the right decision and that he would be in great hands.

That decision still haunted me every night.

But I knew that somewhere on the planet, he would be celebrating his birthday in a grand style tomorrow.

As for Kay, I believed that someday, I'll be able to get him the kind of birthday he deserved.

***

JADEN.

"You're so absentminded, honey. Try to be physically available, just for this once," Valerie whispered with a tight smile.

I didn't answer her. I just nodded, my eyes already drifting to the small figure running toward me through the crowd of children.

"Daddy!" Jeremy yelled, beaming like sunlight. I forced a smile like I'd been doing for the past five years, scooping him into my arms, "All my friends are here!" He squealed, wrapping his little arms around my neck.

"Really?" I said, setting him back slightly to meet his eyes. "And I bet you're excited to cut your cake?"

"Yes!" He giggled with bright eyes. "Grandpa and Grandma are also here. Can I get a new toy for a birthday present? I gave all my old ones to the poor children on the street, like Mummy asked me to." He said, and I smiled.

Valerie chuckled beside me, pleased with herself.

I kissed Jeremy's fluffy cheek. "You did? That's a good thing to do, son."

"Then can I get the new race car?" he asked eagerly.

"We'll see," I said, smiling again. But it didn't reach my eyes. It never did anymore.

Valerie was a good woman. She was patient, polite, and composed. She was the kind everyone said I was lucky to have. But not for me. I'd never loved her. I couldn't even.

This was all meant to be a means to an end for me, to make the Astors look perfect.

But I never believed it would end up being such a mess.

I'd combed around the entire state and beyond, looking for the one woman who truly mattered to me, but she'd been nowhere to be found. There was not even a trace. It was like she'd disappeared off the face of the earth.

And I hated her for that.

Why the fuck did she have to leave without a word?

Rumor had it that she slept around and ended up pregnant before she ran away because she couldn't handle the shame. But I was desperate to hear from her. I wanted her to look me in the face and tell me why the hell she couldn't wait for me.

I was only gone for three months, and she couldn't even wait?

Fuck. It hurt.

I was tempted to believe the rumors. Because, after years of searching with nothing to show for it, what was I supposed to think?

She could've reached me. She knew where to find me. But she didn't.

And that burned more than anything else.

"Daddy? You're not saying anything," Jeremy's hand tugged at my sleeve.

I blinked, pulling myself back to the moment. "Yes, honey," I said quietly. "We'll get more toys. Maybe go shopping tomorrow. How about that?"

He grinned. "Really?"

"Really," I said, smiling because that's what fathers do.

Jeremy was a great kid. The star and the center of attraction. Even though I didn't love his mother, I also wanted to he around to welcome him into this world, but Valerie had insisted I shouldn't.

In fact, she had to go to her aunt's place, just to have our baby. I didn't really care, though. If it were a woman I cared about, I wouldn't have taken no for an answer.

Rick, my head of security, was standing near the gate, watching me with that look that said 'we need to talk'. I nodded to Valerie. "Excuse me."

She forced a smile and turned back to the guests. I could already hear her laughing with someone else as I walked away.

"Sir," Rick greeted quietly when I reached him. He sounded tense.

"Tell me you've got something," I said to him when we were finally alone.

Rick hesitated for half a second before handing me a brown envelope. "Yes, sir. We finally found her."

The moment he said those words, I swear to fuck, the earth stopped spinning.

After five years, suddenly, she existed again.

CRYSTAL.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

Our voices filled the tiny apartment. It was off-key and uneven, but full of effort.

Jason's little hands clapped with excitement as he stared at the cake on the table like it was a miracle.

It was barely a cake.

A small, lopsided one, bought cheap from the corner bakery. The frosting was cracked, the candle bent. But to him, it was magic.

And to me... it was enough.

He grinned up at me, his teeth flashing through the crooked smile he got from me. "Mommy, look! My name's on it!"

I swallowed hard, forcing the lump in my throat down. "Of course it is, sweetheart. You're the birthday boy."

"Come on, buddy, make a wish!" Noah said, leaning closer to Jason with a grin big enough for both of them.

He had the kind of excitement a father would.

He wasn't Jason's father, but sometimes I forgot that.

He'd been there for every fever, every hospital run, every time Jason collapsed mid-play.

Noah had been my lifeline for the past three years now. He was more than even a brother to me.

If there was ever a man God sent to stand in for the broken ones, it was Noah.

He'd given me more help than I ever deserved, taken Jason as his own son, picked him up from school sometimes when I was too busy to, bought him clothes from the thrift store, carried him when he couldn't walk for too long, and lost his breath... God. What more could I ask for?

Jason squeezed his eyes shut, made a wish, and blew out the candle.

We clapped, cheered, and pretended for a second that we weren't drowning.

Noah lifted Jason off the chair, spinning him gently in the air. "Four years old already? You're getting big, champ."

We didn't really believe in the crowd. Jason, Noah, and Karla, Jason's friend who lives down the street, always made the perfect crowd.

Jason giggled, breathless and happy. "Uncle Noah, I'm almost as tall as you!"

I smiled, but my hands were shaking as I wiped the frosting off the knife. That small cake cost half of what I made in a week. The rent was already due. The hospital bill was piling up. And now, Kristy had threatened to take seventy percent of my next salary.

But Jason didn't know any of that.

He just saw balloons taped to the wall and a candle with his name on it.

He didn't know that I'd skipped lunch all week to buy that candle.

"Thank you, Noah," I hugged him, as I fought the tears that threatened to fall.

***

When the laughter faded, Noah turned to me. "Hey," he said softly. "Come outside for a second."

I hesitated, then nodded. We left Jason and his little friend Karla to wrestle over who got the biggest slice.

There wasn't even any music for them to dance to. God, I was pathetic.

"What did Kristy say?" He whispered, his kind, hazel eyes searching mine worriedly.

I looked away. "She threatened to have me arrested." My voice cracked before I could stop it. "She said management can't loan me any more money."

He exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his blonde hair. "God."

"Yeah," I muttered. "God."

He paced a few steps, hands on his hips. "Crystal, he needs that surgery. We both know it. The doctor said..."

"I know what the doctor said!" I snapped, then instantly regretted it. My voice softened. "I know, Noah. I just... I don't know what else to do."

He turned back to me, and I saw how tight his face was with worry. "What do we do then? The surgery costs more than we'd make in two lifetimes. You're barely eating, and I'm working double shifts, and it's still not enough."

My gaze rested on his worried face, and I felt like pulling him in for a warm hug... The kind I'd never given to any other man except Jaden. But I just couldn't.

Noah's worry over my child pricks my heart each time.

Sometimes I wondered if he saw me as a friend or as a burden he couldn't walk away from.

He'd spent his savings and daily earnings on Jason. And at some point, I feel guilty about it.

He was just a deliveryman. How much does he even make?

"You have to stop. Stop worrying. I'll come up with something," I placed a hand on his shoulder, "You've worried enough about us."

He shook his head, taking a step closer. "You both are my family. It's not about worry. It's about not standing by while..."

He stopped himself and sighed, rubbing his face. "Look, I have some savings. Not much, but we could take him to the doctor tomorrow. Maybe there's another option - medicine, a temporary treatment, anything to buy us a few weeks."

I gave a small, hopeless laugh. "It's CHD we're talking about, sunshine." My voice softened at the nickname I was used to calling him. "Nothing can fix a hole in the heart except surgery."

"I know," he whispered. "But we have to try. You never know what tomorrow might bring."

I looked at him, and something inside me trembled. The way he said it, the quiet desperation behind it, the unspoken 'I can't lose either of you.:

He leaned in too close, and I felt my heart picking up speed.

But before I could push him away, we heard Jason's little voice from behind us.

"Uncle Noah? Can I get the toy car we saw down the road the other day as a birthday present?"

We quickly pulled away.

"Uhm... Yes. Of course, buddy. Let's go get it now." Noah said awkwardly with his hands on his waist.

"No, you shouldn't," I said quickly, clearing my throat. "He already got you a gift. It's not polite to ask for another one."

Jason pouted, looking between us. "Please, Mommy?"

"Noah," I started, shaking my head.

"It's fine," he cut in gently. "I'll buy it for him. Come on, champ."

Jason cheered. "Karla! Let's go!"

Three of them jumped happily as they walked away.

Jason's small hand was tucked in Noah's. Karla skipped ahead, and Noah turned back once to flash me that same smile that said 'don't worry, I've got him.'

I smiled weakly and waved. "Don't jump too much, honey!" I called after them, but they were already gone.

I leaned against the doorframe, pressing a hand to my chest. My heart was pounding too hard.

The fear was always there for every time he ran, or every time he laughed too hard.

Because I never knew which breath would be his last.

***

I checked the time again.

8:42 p.m.

They'd been gone for almost an hour.

My fingers worried the hem of my shirt as I cleaned up the kitchen, stacking the chipped plates one by one. I told myself not to panic - they'd just gone down the street. Jason probably convinced Noah to buy him ice cream, too.

Still, my heart wouldn't settle.

I picked up Jason's toy truck from the couch and placed it gently on the table.

I smiled weakly at it, trying to push down the knot of unease forming in my stomach.

He'd be fine. Noah would never let anything happen to him.

Right?

My thoughts scattered when a soft knock came at the door.

I froze mid-step.

A second knock followed.

I frowned. "Noah?"

No answer.

I tried to shake off the tension crawling up my spine. It was probably them trying to mess with me. Noah had done that once before - pretending to be a stranger until Jason gave them away with giggles.

"Very funny," I muttered, wiping my hands on a towel as I walked toward the door.

Another louder knock came. And this time, it wasn't playful.

My pulse quickened. For a second, I considered peeking through the window - but I stopped myself. It had to be them. Who else would come here? No one else even knew where I lived.

I forced a smile, "You two think you're so smart, don't you?"

My hand reached for the doorknob and twisted it open. The hinges creaked as the door swung open.

And then... just like that, the air left my lungs. And the towel slipped from my hand.

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't even blink.

Because standing there, tall, immaculate, and larger than life, was the one man I'd spent four years trying to erase from memory.

The one man I'd do anything to keep away from our lives.

Jaden Astor.

CRYSTAL.

The universe was surely playing a trick on me.

For a long moment, I just stood there, frozen, staring at him like my mind needed time to catch up with what my eyes were seeing.

"Ja... Jaden?" I whispered before I could even summon the decency to stop myself.

He blinked, like the sound of his name from my mouth had hit something deep. "Crystal?" He called me.

He actually called my name.

It was his voice. Only, it sounded deeper than I used to know.

I almost laughed. But I let out a bitter, shaky, and painful scoff. Of all the cruel jokes the universe could play on me, this one had to be the worst.

He had changed. He now had a cleaner haircut, sharper jawline, and expensive clothes that screamed power.

He looked like a man who had conquered the world and walked straight over the pieces of mine to do it.

I took in every polished inch of him. The gold watch, the designer suit, the faint smell of his usual cologne that I used to cherish on my pillow back then.

He looked good, rich, and untouched. The world had obviously treated him kindly, while it had chewed and spat me out.

And me? I was standing there in a faded T-shirt that didn't hide the exhaustion under my skin. My hands were calloused, my body thin from working too much and sleeping too little.

I knew quite a lot about him. Even when I left home five years ago, I was still obsessed with this man right here. I kept checking the news, the Internet, even gossip sites, just to keep up with his life.

Never for once did he look for me.

He lived a happy life. I also heard that his lovely wife had a son for him exactly six months after they got married, which only meant one thing: They were already in an affair even when he was still deceiving me just to get into my pants.

Oh, how foolish I was.

It took several months to stop checking and torturing myself with every new success he attained, and every photo of his perfect life. I had to teach myself to stop bleeding every time I saw his name or heard about him.

It was too painful, especially after he inherited his father's company like he always dreamed of.

I snapped out of my daze when those ugly memories flooded back in.

I crossed my arms, forcing my voice to steady. "You're a long way from home, Mr. Astor."

His expression didn't move, but his eyes softened a little. "So are you."

His confidence made my skin crawl.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?"

The concern that flickered on his face a second ago disappeared. His eyes softened in a way that only made me angrier.

"Crystal..." He sounded careful, almost like he was talking to something fragile. "Please. We need to talk."

"Talk?" I barked out a short, humorless laugh. "After five years? About what? Stocks? Your wedding? The kid you had with your fiancée six months after you left?"

His brows lowered slightly, the air shifting around him. "It's not what you think."

"Then what is it?" I snapped. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks exactly like you got everything you wanted - the company, the perfect woman, the family name - while I got left to rot."

He took a step closer, "Don't," he said, calm but sharp. "Don't turn this into something I never intended."

I immediately stepped back. "Don't. Don't come any closer." I scoffed, "And, oh, I'm sorry," I bit out. "You didn't intend to ruin me?"

He stopped. His hands went up in surrender, but his gaze didn't move from me. "You disappeared, Crystal. I came back and you were gone. I've been looking for you," he said quietly. "Everywhere."

"I guess you've finally looked far enough, huh?" I folded my arms and smiled, "So here. See? I'm alive and living perfectly without you. Now, leave!"

I tried to shut the door but he held it open with his hand and I gasped.

His eyes scanned over me and his expression softened again, "What the fuck happened to you? You..."

I laughed, "You actually care now? And what's wrong with me? Huh? I don't look like the kind of woman you could have ever had by your side, isn't it?" I sniffed, "You already made it clear with your actions. Now, leave!"

I didn't want him here by the time Jason gets back. But he didn't look like one who was even willing to move an inch.

"Please," he said again, stepping forward while ignoring my warnings. "I just want to talk."

"I don't care what you want!" I shouted. "You lost that right the moment you walked back home with another woman!"

The words came out trembling, and I hated that he could still see me crumble.

I swore never to let him see me break. But I was failing.

He exhaled, "It's not what you think, I swear, Crystal." He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before pulling them open again, "I heard about the pregnancy... Was it mine?" He asked and the question stung really hard.

He must be stupid to have asked such a question when he was the one who actually took my virginity.

"I lost your baby, Jason." I looked away immediately. "We have nothing else binding us together. Now, get the hell out."

"Crystal..."

"I said get out!" I shouted again, and I swear, I heard my voice echoing off the walls.

He stood still at first. Then, suddenly, he pushed the door open wider and stepped in.

"Leave! Jaden!" I yelled, following him inside, as I grabbed his arm and shove at his shoulder. "You can't just walk into my life like this!"

"I'm not leaving," he said flatly, pulling his arm free.

My hands shook with untamed rage. "You don't belong here, Jaden!"

"I belonged wherever you were," he muttered, glancing around the small room.

And that's when he saw something I wish he never saw.

The toy car on the table.

I froze.

His eyes lingered on it for a moment too long - the shiny red car Jason had begged Noah to buy when he got good grades in school last month.

He looked back at me ever so slowly. "What's this?"

"It's nothing," I said quickly, moving to grab it.

But he was faster. He picked it up before I could reach it, turning it over in his hands, with his brows drawing together. "It's... new."

"It's just a toy, Jaden," I said quickly. "Don't make a scene out of everything."

His eyes shifted to the half-eaten birthday cake sitting beside it - Jason's cake, the candle stub still sticking out of it.

"What the fuck is going on here?"