Hearing Nadia's words something in Mika's head snapped open.
It felt like an explosion of realization detonating behind his eyes. All that heaviness in his chest—the guilt, the moral tug-of-war, suddenly lightened.
Until a moment ago, he had been tangled in self-doubt, unsure what to do about Fauna. No matter how close they were, she only ever saw him through the same warm, innocent lens—her cherished child, her son, her baby boy.
Never once as a man.
He had a way to change that, of course.
A way he knew would work without fail. But it was manipulative.
It was deceitful. It used her innocence against her, and that thought had kept him from trying it. It made him feel like the worst kind of man.
But now...hearing Nadia's calm, pragmatic words, his guilt melted like frost under sunlight.
'If it won't harm her...and it'll bring happiness in the end...then it's not wrong.'
Those words echoed again and again in his mind until they felt divine.
