The Unveiled Rose

Leander sighed with a hint of regret, "Yeah, we have a kid together."

"So, you had Luna sneak around behind Amara's back to get close to Nigel, huh?" his friend exclaimed with a mix of surprise and admiration. "Once Nigel warms up to Luna as his mom, you can play happy family with your first love and your kid!" The group burst into laughter. "You sly dog. You've thought this through!"

So, it was Leander pulling the strings for Luna to bond with our kid?

No wonder Leander had the habit of dropping Nigel off at his mother's, who would then conveniently pass him on to Luna.

It was all to foster a bond between them.

No wonder even the teachers started referring to Luna as Nigel's mom...

Here I was, the fool, convincing myself to forgive and forget over and over again.

I was shaking uncontrollably, desperately trying to calm down, only to realize it was futile.

Before Leander could respond, his phone rang.

He answered immediately, "Luna?"

"What, you're saying Nigel tried to hurt himself? Wait there, I'm on my way!"

It hit me like a ton of bricks.

At the school gates, Nigel chose Luna...

After all, shouldn't he have been happy going home to Luna? Why the sudden despair?

I couldn't find the answer.

The consecutive blows nearly drained me of all strength. I leaned against the wall, trying to steady myself, but my legs just wouldn't hold, "Nigel..." Leander rushed out of the office and froze at the sight of me.

In front of his friends, I wished I could show some dignity, but the tears wouldn't stop...

His friends were equally stunned. They exchanged looks, unsure of what to say.

Seeing me in such a mess, Leander took the initiative to lift me up. "Honey, Nigel will be fine, don't worry too much."

I covered my face with my hands, not wanting to embarrass myself further in front of others.

Leander practically ran to the elevator, leaving his friends far behind.

"Is that Amara?"

"Man, she's even more stunning than I imagined."

"No wonder Leander can't bring himself to leave her. If I had such a beautiful wife who loved me wholeheartedly, I'd definitely cherish her." "Leander's one lucky guy."

Leander opened the car door, helping me into the passenger seat.

I was too exhausted to resist, sitting quietly as Leander fastened my seatbelt.

"Honey," Leander stood by me, his large hand wiping away my tears, but they just wouldn't stop.

He wanted to explain, but I cut him off, "Let's just go to the hospital first and see what's really going on with Nigel."

Concerned for Nigel's wellbeing, Leander quickly closed the door and started the car, heading towards the hospital. He kept his eyes on the road, his left hand on the steering wheel, his right hand reaching out to mine, but I pulled away.

I turned to look out the window. "Just focus on driving."

Worried I might misunderstand, Leander pleaded, "Honey, please, let me explain."

I rested against the car seat, closed my eyes, and sighed.

"I admit, you're not the one I initially loved."

Leander glanced at me through the rearview mirror, noting my frown and resistance.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

He quickly added, "But after all these years together, having a kid, and raising him together..."

I opened my eyes to look at him. "But then Luna came back, and you realized you still loved her."

I couldn't even finish my sentence without choking up.

So, all these years, all my silent sacrifices were in vain.

But I decided to lay it all out, "And the reason you've been stalling the divorce... is you're worried Nigel won't want to go with you."