That night, they had dinner together like a complete family. There was father, mother, and their son, laughing and smiling at the dinner table while enjoying their warm and delicious meal.
However, the truth was that they were not a complete family, even though it felt warm.
"Then I got five stars at daycare from Ms. Ronna! She said my drawing was very good!"
"Really? That's great," said Evelyne with a proud smile.
"Your mother is right. That's great, Luke. You should get a reward for that," said Daniel, patting him gently on the head.
"Can I ask for anything?" He turned to Evelyne and Daniel excitedly.
The man nodded, and Luke smiled broadly, asking Daniel to take him to the amusement park.
"Uncle promised to take me there! I want that as my reward!" he replied.
"Are you sure that's all you want? Okay. Next week we'll go to the amusement park if your mother allows it," replied Daniel, and they both glanced at Evelyne.
Looking at the two men in front of her, Evelyne chuckled and nodded her head. "All right, we'll go next week."
"Yeaaaayyy!"
During dinner, Evelyne continued to observe the interaction between Luke and Daniel. The two of them were so close to each other, just like a father and son.
"Uncle Daniel!" Luke called out, then shoved some fries into his mouth.
Daniel opened his mouth and ate the fries, then fed Luke back. "Your turn."
He ruffled the boy's hair, chuckling, and you could see from the look in his eyes that he loved Luke like his own son.
'They really get along well with each other, looking like a real father and son. No one would even suspect that Daniel is not his father because they both have black hair,' thought Evelyne at that moment.
At first, she thought about get close to Daniel, thinking that maybe he was the right man to be a father to her son.
However, she couldn't just suddenly ask Daniel to be Luke's father or start a relationship with him for that reason alone.
She had to start loving him, because it would sound very cruel if she was only using him so that Luke could have the father figure he needed.
However, for some reason, even though Daniel had helped her so much up to this point, she still couldn't find a reason to love him as a man.
All this time, she had only seen Daniel as a friend and Tristan as the one she loved.
'But now the situation is different. My story with Tristan is over, and he's about to get married. So am I just going to be stuck in the past?'
Evelyne knew it sounded incredibly foolish that she still loved a man who had accused her of cheating without any evidence.
Especially since he had divorced her and left her in this confusing situation.
However, it was difficult to forget a man she had known since she first entered high school at the age of 15, until they finally graduated and got married at the age of 20.
Although in the end, three years later, their marriage had to end.
Their story had lasted for 8 long years, and it was difficult for her to forget.
As she tried to push all those thoughts away, she now saw the shadow of Tristan feeding Luke.
"Open your mouth, Luke. Daddy will feed you," he said.
"Hehe... Okay, Dad!" Luke opened his mouth and ate the piece of grilled fish that Tristan fed him.
Tristan then turned to Evelyne and smiled. "You always cook delicious food, Eve. I'm proud to have a wife like you."
"Yes. I'm also proud to have a mother like you!" The boy spoke with his mouth full while showing his thumbs up.
She immediately shook her head, rubbed her eyes, and realized that it was actually just Daniel. The shadow seemed to give her a hope that would never come true.
"Evelyne? Are you okay?" asked Daniel, feeling worried when he saw Evelyne shaking her head.
"Huh? Oh yes, I'm fine." She stood up from her chair to go to the bathroom, trying to calm her mind for a moment.
Seeing her like that made him feel confused and worried about her condition. Actually, he had noticed the change in her attitude earlier, especially since Evelyne kept daydreaming.
The man was worried that his old friend might be sick or thinking about something she was keeping to herself. Because he knew her very well, she always kept her problems to herself. She felt she could solve them without anyone's help.
Unless she really needed help, she would never say anything.
'What's wrong with her? I hope he's okay. Maybe I'll talk to her about this after Luke goes to sleep,' he thought to himself at that moment.
They spent the weekend night together, watching movies until late at night, and before they knew it, Luke had fallen asleep on the sofa with them.
"Then I'll put Luke to bed first."
She carried her son, took him to his room, and laid him on the bed. After five minutes, Evelyne returned to the living room to find Daniel sitting there with a very serious expression on his face.
Realizing that she had returned, he turned to her and asked her to sit next to him because there was something he wanted to talk about.
"What's wrong? You look really tense," she asked.
"I'm just worried about you. You've been looking a little gloomy lately, especially during dinner when you seemed to be daydreaming. Is everything okay?" he asked her in return.
She paused to think about how to respond. She couldn't possibly tell him the truth about what she was thinking at that moment. She felt that Daniel didn't need to know.
Seeing the expression on her face, he knew that she was still hiding what he was thinking from him.
"Evelyne," he called, making her reflexively turn her head.
She was surprised to see Daniel's face so close to hers, staring directly at her.
"Dan, what are you..."
Her face flushed, her heart pounding wildly as the man continued to stare at her.
Their eyes met, and a whisper reached her ear.
"Can you just be honest with me once, Evelyne?"