Sebastian doesn’t even look up. “Of course you know that.”
I grin, sinking into the chair across from them.
Sebastian leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Hey, bud. Wanna tell me what happened at school today?”
Teddy shrugs, eyes fixed on his fork. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Sebastian echoes gently.
Teddy doesn’t look up. Doesn’t speak. Just keeps stabbing at his pasta like it personally offended him.
I nudge him gently under the table with my knee. “Hey,” I say softly, tilting my head until I’m in his periphery. “Something happened today that made you feel sad, huh? And that’s okay.Was it school work?” I pause, watching him closely. “Or… did someone say something that didn’t feel very nice?”
His eyes flick up. “A boy said… He said, I don’t have a mummy. And that’s why she never comes to school things.”
My chest caves in.
The silence that follows is too loud. I glance at Sebastian, and my pulse skitters because his eyes are already on mine. I swallow hard, forcing my face to stay calm for him, even though something inside me fractures.
“That wasn’t a kind thing to say,” I murmur.
He nods once, still not meeting my eyes.
“You’ve got your dad,” I offer, gently, “and that doesn’t make you any less special, okay? Not one bit.”
Teddy nods, eyes still downcast. Sebastian looks at me. “Hey, you’ve got Olivia too, remember?”
I freeze.
Finally, Teddy looks up, and there’s something in his eyes that shatters me clean in two. “You’re not gonna leave, are you? You’re staying forever?”
I look at Sebastian instinctively, but his face is unreadable, carved in stone. There’s so much hanging in the air between us, none of it safe enough to name out loud.
“I’ll be around,” I manage, voice thick. “I promise.”
He nods like that’s all he needs, then goes right back to his pasta, like the world’s been put back in order. I, however, can’t seem to breathe properly.
The weight of Sebastian’s gaze lingers long after we finish eating. It pins me to the chair, presses against the edges of my chest until I want to squirm, but I don’t. We clean up in silence. He washes, I dry. The rhythm is easy, too easy. Familiar. His elbow bumps mine, and he mutters a quiet sorry, but it doesn’t feel like a mistake. It feels like something else. Somethingwarmer. Something slower. Something I shouldn’t let myself feel.
My ovaries? Absolutely losing it.Hush.
I’m just stacking the last plate when Teddy pipes up from the lounge. “Can we watch a movie before bed?”
“It’ll get too late, mate,” Sebastian calls over his shoulder without hesitation. “Plus, Olivia might need to—”
“You really do love making decisions for everyone, don’t you?” I shoot him a look over my shoulder.
He raises a brow, one hand on his hip. “Force of habit.”
“Well,” I say, chin tilting defiantly, “the answer’s yes.”
Teddy lights up, and Sebastian exhales loudly through his nose.
“What movie are we watching?” I ask, ignoring him entirely.
By the time Simba’s halfway through ‘Hakuna Matata’, Teddy’s snuggled against my stomach, limbs slack, mouth slightly open. Completely out. His soft, sleepy breaths warm the fabric of my shirt, and honestly? I’m kind of melting. Sebastian muttered something earlier about betrayal. Something dramatic about his only son abandoning him for a newer, shinier model.
“Traitor,” he grumbled, a smirk tugging at his stupidly perfect mouth. “Didn’t take you long to replace me. Figures you’d pick the pretty one.”
