"Dad?" Sara whispered, her voice barely audible.
Kairo turned to look at the man she had called Dad, then back at the woman standing nearby, and finally at the teenage boy watching them with puzzled eyes.
He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay calm. Without another word, Kairo bent down, scooped Zayn into his arms, and took Sara's hand.
"Let's go, Sara," he said quietly but firmly.
Before she could respond, he was already guiding her out of the restaurant.
The man watched in silence as Kairo walked away, holding both his daughter and the child protectively close.
The woman's eyes followed them, especially Kairo. Her throat tightened. She was staring at the boy she had left years ago… without a word.
"Is that your daughter?" she finally asked, her voice trembling.
The man nodded stiffly.
Their teenage son looked between them, confused. "But, Mom, you called that man Kairo? Do you… know him?"
The woman's lips parted, her eyes still on the restaurant door that had just closed behind Kairo. "Yes, baby. I know him. He is—"
"Let's go," her husband interrupted sharply before she could finish. "Our dinner's getting cold."
He took her hand, then their son's, and led them back to the table, while the past she had buried years ago quietly walked out the door.
Kairo was driving in silence, his jaw tight, eyes fixed on the road. The tension in the car was thick, almost suffocating.
Sara watched him carefully before speaking in a soft voice. "That was my father," she said, hoping to ease the silence.
He didn't respond.
"And that must be his second wife and son… the ones he always bragged about," she added quietly, glancing at him again.
Still, no reaction. His grip on the steering wheel only tightened.
Sara frowned, sensing something heavier beneath his silence. "But that woman… she seemed to know you, Kairo. How does she know you?"
Nothing.
"Kairo," she called again, this time gently touching his hand resting on the gear.
He didn't look at her. His voice came out low, edged with warning. "Keep quiet, Sara."
Her breath hitched. His tone wasn't loud, but it was enough to make her stop. His face was calm, but his eyes were storming, burning with a quiet, dangerous fury.
Sara leaned back slowly, heart beating faster. She could feel the air between them shift, heavy, tense, and unpredictable.
She didn't say another word. She just watched the man she loved fighting something deep and dark within him, something that looked ready to explode.
Back at home,
Sara stepped out of the car quietly. She didn't say a word, just went straight to the bedroom and gently tucked Zayn into bed. He was fast asleep, his tiny hand clutching the blanket.
She sat there for a moment, staring at him, her face calm, but inside, her thoughts were tangled. The dinner, the woman, the look on Kairo's face, it all kept replaying in her head.
After a quick shower and changing into something comfortable, she glanced once more at Zayn and then left the room, searching for Kairo.
The living room was empty. So was the balcony.
Finally, she stepped into his room, quiet and heavy with silence. It was empty too, but she could hear the faint sound of running water from the bathroom.
He must be in the shower, she thought.
Her chest tightened. He had looked so furious earlier, so broken in a way she hadn't seen in years. What had that woman's presence done to him?
She stood there for a moment, debating whether to leave him alone or not. Her feet turned toward the door, but her heart refused.
She sighed softly, turned back, and walked closer to the bathroom door. The water was still running.
Her voice was gentle, almost hesitant. "Kairo…" she called, knocking lightly.
No response.
She bit her lip and tried again, a little softer this time. "You okay, Kairo?"
And again, there was no reply, but the shower sound stopped. She frowned and knocked once more. Suddenly, the door opened, and before she could react, Kairo pulled her inside.
She gasped, and in the next second, she was under the running water, wrapped tightly in his arms. She froze, not sure what to do, but then she slowly hugged him back, her hands moving up to his back.
"Kairo… are you okay?" she asked softly.
He didn't answer. Instead, he buried his face in her neck, and she felt his body shake; he was crying. Her heart sank. She had never seen him like this before. Kairo, who was always teasing, bold, and confident, now looked so broken, so fragile.
"Hey… shh… I'm here," she whispered, rubbing his back gently, letting him cry as long as he needed.
After some time, he grew quiet, though he didn't let go of her. She stroked his hair softly.
"Feeling better now?" she asked in a low, caring voice.
"That was my mother," he said quietly.
Sara froze. Her heart stopped, and so did her hands that were gently stroking his back.
"It was your father… the man my mother left my father for," he continued, his voice trembling.
Sara's mind went blank. Her breath turned shaky, disbelief flooding her chest.
"And he's the reason I left you three years ago," he whispered.
Those words shattered her. Her whole world seemed to crash down around her. All the pain she had buried deep inside clawed its way back to the surface: the heartbreak, the loneliness, the abandonment. Tears filled her eyes, her chest tightening as the memories of those painful years flashed before her.
Her body trembled. She couldn't stand there anymore. She pulled herself out of his arms and stumbled out of the bathroom.
"I'm sorry," Kairo muttered, his voice breaking, but she was already gone. He sank to the floor under the running water, crying again, knowing how deeply he had hurt her.
Sara rushed to her bedroom, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. She closed the door and collapsed to her knees, her sobs echoing in the quiet room. Years of pain, loss, and abandonment washed over her. She tried to hold it in, but she couldn't anymore. She cried until there was nothing left to hold back.
After about an hour, Kairo slowly opened the bedroom door.
Sara was lying on the bed, awake. Zayn is asleep on her chest. She held him so tightly, as if grounding herself in that tiny soul, like Zayn was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.
Kairo quietly shut the door behind him. She didn't look at him; her eyes were distant, lost somewhere deep in her thoughts.
He walked closer and slipped onto the bed beside her. Carefully, he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, resting his head against her shoulder. She didn't move. She just kept holding Zayn, her hand gently rubbing the little boy's back.
"I was ten," Kairo began softly, his voice barely above a whisper, "when your dad first came to our house. My dad said he was his business partner. At first, everything seemed normal. But then he started visiting when Dad wasn't home."
He exhaled shakily. "And one day… Mom was gone. Just gone. Dad found a letter she left behind, and I still don't know what it said. All I remember is… he collapsed that day. And after that, everything changed."
Sara's eyes welled up, but she stayed silent, staring blankly ahead.
"From that day, Dad wasn't the same. He turned cold. Angry. I became an orphan in my own home," Kairo said, voice trembling as he pulled her closer.
"When I was fifteen or sixteen, I argued with him once for leaving me alone. and that's when he told me the truth. That Mom cheated on him. That she left us for another man. And he said he hated me… because I looked like her. Because I reminded him of her."
He paused, swallowing hard. "After that, he stopped talking to me. Sometimes he wouldn't even come home for months. I grew up in that empty house, all alone."
His voice broke a little. "I tried to fill that emptiness. I looked for warmth everywhere, tried to escape loneliness in every wrong place I could. But I found the escape in cheap distractions, meaningless pleasure."
He buried his face in her shoulder, his voice almost cracking, "That's what loneliness turned me into."
"Then you came," Kairo whispered, his voice trembling. "You came asking for my heart… and at first, I was scared. But somehow, you stole it. You made me feel something I'd been searching for my whole life, a real connection."
Sara exhaled softly, her heart tightening.
"I fell for you, instantly," he continued, pressing a gentle kiss to her shoulder. "Hopelessly. Completely." He pulled her closer, his arms trembling around her.
"That day after the exam," he said, his voice cracking, "I wanted to propose to you. I wanted to tell you that I want you in my life forever. I was so happy… so restless to see you." He paused, his breath uneven. "But then… I saw you talking with your dad."
His breath hitched sharply. "And I don't know what happened to me at that moment. I just lost it. I couldn't accept that the woman I loved was the daughter of the man who destroyed my family." His voice broke into a raw whisper. "That anger, hatred, that years of pain… it blinded me. And in that rage, I made a mistake, a terrible mistake that I shouldn't have. The mistake for which I'm ashamed to ask forgiveness."
He buried his face against her shoulder, sobbing quietly. "A mistake that hurt you, that made you suffer for years. Which made me push you away when all I wanted was to hold you close." His breath was ragged now. "I'm sorry, Sara... I'm really sorry... I regret every action of mine that caused you pain. Every tear you shed because of me. I'm really sorry, my love."
He trembled against her, his body shaking with remorse.
Sara's eyes filled with tears, one slipping silently down her cheek. She looked at him, her lips quivering, her heart breaking all over again.
"You…" her voice came out small, shaking, "you chose to punish me… because of my father's sins?"
Her question sliced through the air, quiet but devastating.
Kairo froze. His heart clenched painfully, his breath caught in his throat. He couldn't meet her eyes.