Trouble in Paradise



Nicholas lifted his gaze, shock and wonder filling his eyes.

"Tabitha... She really is my child. My child... Tabitha... Tabitha Hawk..."

Suddenly, I was enveloped in a powerful embrace, his body trembling against mine. His heart thudded in rhythm with his shaking voice.

"My child... I really have a child..."

I felt warm tears against my neck, quickly losing their heat to the coldness surrounding me.

Each drop slipped down, landing closer to my heart. A steady ache reminded me that Nicholas's soft, unsteady sobs were painfully real

He seemed drained, his weight pressing against me as if he could barely stand. The two of us swayed slightly, unsteady together.

I clenched and released my hands at my sides. Watching him bent over and almost unable to stay upright, I suddenly didn't know what to do.

My throat tightened as I said, "Nicholas, I'll ask you one more time. Where is Tabitha?"

My words seemed to shatter something in him, and his knees buckled. Nicholas sank before me. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and pressed his face against my stomach.

"S-She is... She is eating downstairs..." His words were fragmented, choked with sobs. "W-Wendy is with her.."

His crying overwhelmed me, stinging my eyes. I tilted my head back, fighting to hold back my own tears.

He couldn't continue, but I understood. A heavy weight settled in my heart, pressing down with a dull ache. I felt a pang of grievance-how could Nicholas use our child to deceive me like this?

"Nicholas, you..." I wanted to accuse him, but my words faltered as he looked up. "Ariana, thank you. Really... Thank you. I'm sorry. Please, don't be mad at me anymore."

Watching a man nearly six feet tall look up at me with tear-filled eyes was unbearable.

I turned my gaze away, but his quiet sobs and shaking were impossible to ignore. This man before me felt as fragile as glass, on the verge of breaking with a single harsh word.

His eyes, rimmed with tears, locked onto mine as he held me tight, repeating my name, over and over.

"Ariana... Thank you... Thank you...

I raised my hand, hesitating above his head before finally letting it rest there.

From that brief touch, I watched a single tear slip down his face, carrying different emotions than others.

His usually untamed hair felt softer than I had ever imagined. As I gently stroked it, I found myself staring out the window.

At that moment, I realized I wasn't just comforting a man in his 30s, but rather someone haunted by a childhood he could never quite escape.

And I understood-somehow, there had been a terrible misunderstanding between us. He might be able to let go of me, but he could never let go of his child.

Was I wrong to have kept them apart? For Nicholas, having a child might be as vital as Tabitha's need for a father.

Taking a deep breath, I patted his shoulder gently. I had been shattered once too. "Nicholas, stay here for a bit. I'm going downstairs to see Tabitha."

The arms that held me gradually loosened. Perhaps he sensed he had shown too much vulnerability, but he didn't stop me as I left.