"Whoa, it really is the bear restaurant! I saw this in a book!"

The moment they stepped into the diner, Ethan was bouncing off the walls with excitement. When he spotted the decor and toys he loved most, he was like a happy little pony, prancing around and letting out joyful exclamations now and then.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Charlotte eyed the playful scene. "But how'd you figure out Ethan would love this?"

"If you care enough, you can find out anything," Liam replied, sitting on a comically shaped bear chair looking a bit uncomfortable. "I'm glad he likes it."

"What are you trying to say?" Charlotte sat down across from him. "You said you'd respect all my decisions."

"I will. I know you don't want Ethan to know I'm his dad." Liam's gaze grew dim. "He'll never know about me and him."

"Are you okay with that?"

The question was aimed at Liam, but Charlotte felt a sharp sense of her own reluctance.

She never got equal love from Liam.

So, she didn't want Ethan to be just as insignificant in Liam's eyes as she was.

Liam didn't care about a kid named Benjamin, and apparently, not much about Ethan either.

What did Ethan mean to him then?

Charlotte pressed on, "You're okay with it because you simply don't care, right? You don't care whether you have kids or not, what happens to them, or maybe you never wanted kids at all, did you?" "No."

Liam's face darkened with each question she fired at him.

"You always assume the worst of me."

"Charlotte, how could I possibly be okay with this?"

"The woman I love has my child, and now I'm supposed to watch them walk away from me? How can you expect me to accept that?"

Liam's voice dropped to a whisper, meant only for Charlotte, "It's just... I love you more."

That's why he could accept all her demands, even if it meant his own son calling his worst enemy 'Dad.' He had accepted that too. "Charlottel"

His voice caught.

"I don't want you to hate me more, so trust me, my relationship with Ethan, it's gonna stay buried."

"Mommy, what are you guys doing?"

Ethan's curious voice snapped them back to reality. They quickly fixed their expressions before turning to answer him. "Nothing, buddy. Are you tired? Hungry for some teddy bear pizza?"

"Teddy bear pizza! Yes, please!"

Ethan cheered and snuggled into Charlotte's arms, but that meant he was now face-to-face with Liam.

"Don't look at me, bad uncle." Ethan scowled. "I don't like the bad uncle."

"Ethan," Charlotte cut him off sharply, "That's not nice. Uncle's treating us to lunch, you can't talk to him like that."

"But he doesn't help me!"

"Why should uncle help you? That other kid is his son. Just like Dad takes care of you, uncle takes care of his own son. That's how it should be."

"But..." Ethan's face fell, and his eyes quickly filled with tears. "But..."

He couldn't finish his sentence, which showed he understood, even if his feelings were getting in the way.

Ethan had a natural dependency and possessiveness over Liam, and today Charlotte had to make it clear to him that it wasn't right.

While she was reasoning with Ethan, Liam sat silently across from them, feeling nothing but desolation.

Being stripped away, little by little, hurt more than any physical wound.

The first time he met Ethan, he was instantly taken with him, drawn to him without understanding why.

When he found out Ethan was his kid, his joy was overwhelming, filling his chest.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

He had imagined a happy future for the three of them.

But in just a few days, he had to face the harsh truth.

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He had to act like a stranger to his own son.

"Off you go, go play."

After making sure Ethan was fed and distracted with play, Charlotte finally noticed Liam, sitting there like a statue.

"Having second thoughts?" she asked with a cold laugh.

Liam snapped back to reality, "What about you? You ever gonna have second thoughts?"

"Regrets about what?"

"About not letting me recognize Ethan as my son." Liam's voice got shaky, and there was a hint of heat in his eyes. "You're never gonna regret it, not even once, in all the years to come?" "Nope."

Charlotte was dead sure about it.

Liam's voice trembled even more. He wanted to ask why but hesitated, and ended up asking something else. "You barely touched your fries. You full?"

"I didn't come here to eat with you, did I? Anyway, how's the kid doing?"

Liam didn't really care about the other kid, but since Charlotte asked, he made a quick call to Daniel to check.

Once he learned that the child was actually in the country, even in a nearby city, Charlotte pretty much guessed that Dylan had taken the kid.

"Still, be careful. It's too quiet. Who knows what they're planning," Charlotte tossed out a casual warning.

That made Liam tense up all over.

"You worried about me?"

"I just don't want more trouble," she said coolly. "In a month, I'm taking Ethan abroad. We're not coming back, so I don't want any drama stopping us from leaving."

"You're just laying it out like that?" Liam forced a laugh. "Or warning me not to mess with your plans? Charlotte, you really think I'd do that?"

He felt like a joke to himself right now. "You might not believe it, but I'm at your beck and call. Even if you told me to drop dead right now, I'd do it willingly."

Why would he try to stop her from leaving?

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"Will we ever see each other again?"

"No."

It was the same firm denial, but this time Liam didn't push it. He just sat quietly in the teddy bear chair, looking out the window.

His face was unreadable, caught somewhere between anger and discontent.

Charlotte didn't speak either. They just sat there, both of them staring off into the distance, lost in their own thoughts about the sky. Whatever Liam was feeling or would feel down the line, Charlotte had let it all go.

She dropped the grudge and forgave herself.

She accepted the unfair loves of the world and her own foolish past.

Chloe had lost her mind, the Beaumont family was in ruins, and Robert and Axel would spend their remaining years as workhorses, paying for the easy life they enjoyed at the expense of others. She had no complaints.

"Ethan, you done playing? Time to head home."

"Okay!"

Charlotte got up, scooping Ethan's warm body into her arms, walking towards the restaurant's front door against the backdrop of the setting sun.

Their shadows stretched long across the ground, reaching all the way to where Liam was sitting.

He leaned over, trying to touch the shadow, to merge himself with them for just a moment.

But that was impossible.

The cold, hard ground snapped him back to reality as he withdrew his hand.

He couldn't accept it.

Charlotte couldn't just leave.