Serena stood at the center of the room. Caelis was off to the side, busy spoiling Liam with toys, while Jason quietly finished washing the dishes in the background.
"My lady... is something wrong?" Jason asked gently, drying his hands as he walked up to her.
"Jason, can you take Liam and stay in the mansion tonight?" Serena's voice was tense, clipped.
Jason hesitated. "Will that be alright?"
"Yes. Alert the maids that Liam will be with you—they'll know what to do. Now go," she said, more firmly this time.
Jason blinked. "Will you be staying here, then?"
"If you don't want to get caught up in a fight between me and that idiot, Lis," Serena muttered, her eyes blazing, "then I suggest you leave."
"Oh—yes, yes, I'm going! Good night!" Jason quickly picked up Liam and walked out.
"Serena... why is Jason taking Liam?" Caelis pouted, glancing up from his wheelchair.
Serena turned toward him, eyes still burning. "Well, Lis... don't you think we need some time alone?"
"Uhm... yes! Of course, Your Majesty! We need to discuss... the problems facing the country," he said, completely flustered, eyes darting everywhere as if he didn't even believe his own words.
"Lis," she said flatly, "you know I'm not pregnant anymore, right?"
Caelis blinked, still confused. "Uh-huh?"
"Lis, why are you acting like you don't understand me?" Her voice softened, almost hurt.
"No! It's not like that—!" he said
She cut him off. "Caspian already has a baby. I plan to divorce him and be with you forever. I want us to leave."
A cold shiver ran down Caelis' spine. "Wait—what do you mean? You want to leave Liam in Caspian's hands? And just... get away?"
"Yes! I don't want to be in any formal relationship with that man. I don't want my name tied to his in any way!"
"Shut up!" Caelis suddenly shouted, his voice cracking with emotion as his hand slammed against the armrest of his wheelchair. "Are you even aware of what you're asking me?! Do you know why I live here? Because my parents hated me. They neglected me and believed staying away from them would be better. And now you want me to repeat that path? To leave Liam with that monster? What about Liam himself?!"
"But I don't want that baby!" Serena snapped. "He was born without my consent!"
"Serena!!" Caelis raised his voice again, trembling, his fingers tightening over the chair as he tried to steady himself.
Then came the silence.
Caelis lowered his head, his voice cracking in a whisper. "I know better than anyone... how that child came to be. I saw you go through it. I was there. But I beg you—don't hate that child. Liam is innocent. He didn't ask for any of this. You can't just throw all that pain on him and let him suffer alone."
It felt like Caelis was trying to hold onto a rope that had already begun to snap. He was desperate. For Liam. For Serena. For everything that kept him human.
Serena looked at him—really looked at him—for the first time. He had shouted at her. He had stood up to her. And she realized the choice before her was cruel: If she took Liam, she'd lose Caelis. If she took Caelis, she'd lose Liam.
But she didn't care about Liam... not truly. Caelis wouldn't leave her, would he? Yet if she divorced Caspian, she couldn't stay in this place.
I have no one...All my family died, All my friends left me. If I walk away without Liam... or without you, where do I go? What do I live for? There's nothing. I'm just a pawn—just like Caspian said. I'm unable to do anything...
She looked down. "Alright. You want Liam. But... do you want me too?"
Caelis froze.
"Hey." Serena tilted her head, watching him carefully. "Lis?"
His face flushed, but he kept his head down. "I... do. I've wanted you... for a very long time now. Sometimes I even..." he lifted his head, and Serena saw it for the first time—his embarrassment, his sincerity, the warmest look.
Serena instantly raised her hand to her face. "GOD... SO DAMN CUTE "
Like a flustered old pervert, she nearly started panting at the sight of him—her innocent little white sheep.
"Huhuhu. Come on now, Lis. Let's sleep," she said teasingly, lifting him off his wheelchair and rolling him toward the bedroom.
"Wait! Serena!!" he cried out, flinched at her sudden pull up he wrapped his arms around her slinder neck supporting himself in her arms.
"Oh, you're going to enjoy this the most," Serena whispered as she shut the door and flipped off the light.
The Next Morning
Jason looked into the room and froze.
Caelis's wheelchair was flipped onto its side. Clothes were scattered everywhere. The two were still tangled in the sheets.
"Gosh... looks like Lady Serena likes it rough," Jason muttered as he started tidying. "That's what you get for dating a lady older than you..."
A year and a half passed.
Liam had grown into a walking, babbling toddler. His features became clearer, and though Caspian often took him out in public, Liam never once called him 'Dad.'
Serena still didn't like Liam, but she played along—mostly for Caelis's sake. The two of them had decided to stay together, and the estate was glad. When people occasionally asked about Caspian's wife, the servants would simply say she had grown too weak after giving birth, and leave it at that.
Sometimes Caelis would encourage Serena to travel, to chase her old dreams.
"You should be free," he told her. "You've always wanted to see the world."
Each time, she shook her head. "I don't have a dream anymore."
One day, they fought—Caelis furious over her foreign ignorance. He left the house in anger. Serena followed after him.
"Come on, I'm not ignoring your questions or your worries," she said, standing in front of him. "You're just too emotional, Lis."
"You're stuck here every day with me," he said, voice low. "I know you want to go. I've been here my whole life. All my dreams are dead already. But you still have one."
"What dream are you talking about?" she said softly, sitting on his lap while he sat in his wheelchair. She leaned her head against his chest.
"My dream is right here."
After that, they never brought it up again.
Another two years passed.
Liam was now four. He could speak clearly, run through the halls, and play without falling over. He looked like both of them—his parents.
"Papa?"
Liam peeked from the hallway, dragging his favorite blanket behind him. He rubbed his eyes and walked over, crawling into Caelis's lap. "Are we leaving?" he asked, looking up at them with sleepy eyes.
"My sugar!" Caelis instantly melted, hugging the boy tight. "Yes, we are. Someday soon."
Serena pulled Liam gently into her arms and sat him on her lap. She brushed his soft hair back, her gaze softening.
"But listen carefully, Liam," she whispered. "Never tell the bad uncle about this, okay? Not even when you go back to the big house. Pinky swear?"
Liam raised his pinky eagerly. "Pinky swear!"
That same night, Caspian returned home—completely drunk.
He stumbled through the front gate, swaying like a broken pendulum. His jacket was half off his shoulder, and the strong stench of alcohol followed him like a fog.
"Where's the boy?" he slurred, barely keeping his eyes open.
A maid approached nervously. "H-He returned from the villa earlier and is resting in his room, sir…"
Caspian didn't respond. He pushed through the corridor, dragging his feet. When he drank this heavily, it meant one thing: he would take it out on someone—and that someone was almost always Liam.
The boy had been asleep peacefully under his blanket, dreaming about the park Serena promised to take him to. But then—CRASH. The door flung open, and a loud bang jolted Liam upright. His heart began racing.
He curled under his blanket, shivering, whispering, "Papa… Papa…" barely audibly, terrified of the man entering his room.
"Heyyy, you little bastard!" Caspian slurred, stepping in with a nearly empty beer bottle in hand. "You went to your crippled dad's place again, huh? Hah! They live so happy while I... I lack nothing! Hic!" He laughed bitterly, staggering forward.
Liam didn't move. He couldn't. He hoped if he stayed silent, the nightmare would pass.
But Caspian stormed forward and yanked the blanket off, grabbing Liam by the hair. The boy cried out, small hands gripping the wrist pulling him, but he dared not plead.
"Why do you look like him?!" Caspian shouted. "You should look like me, damn it! He stole everything from me—your mother, you, everything!"
He dragged Liam to the bathroom by his hair and shoved his head into the cold bathtub water—again and again. Each time, Liam thrashed, trying to breathe. The ninth time, Caspian finally pulled him out and tossed him aside like trash.
"You went to your mama, didn't you? What did they tell you, huh?"
Liam trembled, soaked and pale, teeth chattering. He didn't answer.
"Needle," Caspian barked at the maid standing by. She froze in fear.
"Please… sir, no—"
He struck her hard in the stomach. She collapsed to the floor, gasping. Then he placed his boot on her face, slowly pressing down.
The other maids shrieked and ran for cover.
Liam saw the blood, saw the horror. Something broke inside him.
"STOP! I'LL TELL YOU! PLEASE STOP!"
Caspian turned slowly. A cruel smile twisted his lips.
"Oh? So you do know something."