That morning, as usual, Sara dropped Zayn off at the daycare. She kissed him goodbye and headed toward her office. The moment she left, Kairo arrived.
The nanny smiled at him and said, "He's been waiting for you, sir." Kairo smiled back and walked inside.
Meanwhile, halfway to her office, Sara paused. She patted her handbag and frowned, her wallet. She had left it at the daycare. With a sigh, she turned back, unaware of the storm about to break.
When she walked back in, the nanny's face went tense. "Yes, ma'am?" she asked quickly.
"I left my wallet inside," Sara replied.
"I'll get it for you, ma'am," the nanny said nervously.
Sara frowned. "Thank you. But I'll take it myself." She walked past her.
The nanny grew flustered and hurried after her. "Ma'am, wait... listen to me... "
But Sara had already stepped inside. Her eyes widened. "KAIRO!" she shouted.
Kairo stilled, his heart dropping into his stomach. Zayn looked up at his mother, eyes wide.
"How dare you…" Sara's voice trembled with fury, her body shaking with rage.
"Sara… please, listen—" Kairo tried to explain, but before he could say more, Sara scooped Zayn into her arms and walked out swiftly. She didn't want to create a scene there; it was Kairo's place.
Kairo stood rooted, his chest heavy. He glanced at the nanny, who looked pale.
"I'm sorry, sir… she came suddenly. I tried to stop her, but—" the nanny stammered.
Kairo sighed deeply. "That's okay…" he muttered before leaving the daycare, shoulders heavy.
Back at the office, Sara shut herself inside her cabin. Her heart was pounding, her eyes were wet, but she forced herself not to cry in front of Zayn. Holding him close, she kissed his hair and whispered softly,
"Baby… didn't I tell you not to talk to that man?"
Zayn lowered his head, guilt clouding his little face.
"Why didn't you tell me about him, sweetheart?" she asked gently, her voice breaking.
Zayn's small voice broke the silence. "I'm sorry, Mumma… I promised that man I wouldn't tell you about our secret playtime." His eyes brimmed with guilt as he clutched her sleeve.
Sara's chest tightened, her heart breaking.
"But Mumma… he's not a bad man," Zayn added softly. "He plays with me… he brings me lots of toys… he never hurts me." The innocence in his tone stabbed her deeper than any wound.
Sara's breath caught. How easily he had found a way into her child's heart… how cleverly he lured Zayn with affection and gifts.
Just then, the cabin door clicked shut. Sara whipped her head around. Kairo had stepped inside and locked the door behind him.
Her eyes blazed with anger as she pulled Zayn protectively into her arms. "Why are you here?" she hissed, her voice trembling with fury. "Didn't I tell you not to interfere in my life?"
"Don't do this, Sara," Kairo's voice broke, trembling but steadying with resolve. "If you're angry at me, hit me, curse me, punish me in the worst way you can. If you don't want to forgive me, then don't. But don't separate a child from his father."
"Don't talk nonsense, Kairo," Sara growled, her grip on Zayn tightening.
"I'm not talking nonsense." He took a cautious step forward, his tone firm but softened so Zayn wouldn't be scared. "I'm Zayn's father. I have the right to see him… to take care of him."
Sara's glare sharpened, her voice like steel. "And what proof do you have that Zayn is your son?"
Kairo's breath hitched. "What proof do you need, Sara?"
His voice cracked under the weight of his words. He pointed gently toward the boy nestled in her arms. "Look at him… he has my eyes, my features. Every little habit. He's mine. He's my blood. My heartbeat…" His chest rose and fell unevenly as his composure threatened to shatter.
"And yet," Kairo said hoarsely, "you want concrete proof." He pulled a folded envelope from his coat and placed it on her desk with trembling hands. "I have it, Sara. A DNA report. It proves Zayn is my biological son."
Sara's heart plummeted as her eyes fell on the papers.
"Now tell me, Sara," Kairo's voice wavered but grew louder, "how will you deny this? How will you defend saying he's not my son… and I'm not his father?"
Tears welled in her eyes, blurring the black letters of the report.
"Sara…" his voice broke completely now. "Please… give me a chance. At least for Zayn's sake. I don't want our child to grow up in this world being called fatherless." He took a shuddering breath. "Let me do my duty. Let me be his father."
And then, as if all his pride had been burned away, Kairo sank to his knees in front of her. "Please, I'm begging you, Sara."
Her throat tightened painfully. Tears spilled down her cheeks, but her voice came out hard and shaking. "Get up, Kairo."
He stayed there, head bowed.
"I said GET UP!" she snapped, her voice cracking under its own weight.
He wiped his face roughly, sobbed once, and forced himself to stand.
"You know what it was like for me, Kairo?" Sara's voice trembled as her tears burned.
"The day I found that shitty letter of yours, do you know how horrible it was? Do you know how helpless I felt when I was carrying Zayn inside me, with no one to turn to? Do you have any idea what it meant to drag myself through nine months of pregnancy, starving, sick, terrified, alone?"
Her chest rose and fell fast, fury laced with grief. "Do you know how devastating it was to feed him, to care for him, to fight through every sleepless night just to keep him alive, while I barely managed to keep myself alive?"
Kairo's eyes brimmed, his lips parted, but no words came.
"And after all of that… after all those years, I raised him. I was his world. I took every blow and every burden. And now, one day you walk in, discover you have a son, and suddenly you're desperate to play the role of father?" Her laugh was bitter, broken, almost manic.
"Aren't you the same man who once hated this very child, because you didn't know the truth?" Her voice cracked as she pointed at him with shaking fingers.
"And now, just because you've learned he's yours, suddenly your hatred has turned into love?"
Kairo sobbed, shoulders shaking, powerless under her storm.
"Why, Kairo?" she asked, her voice breaking.
"I'm sorry for everything, Sara…" His tone was soft, trembling. "I don't justify my mistakes. I accept them, and I'm ashamed of my action. But please… please don't leave me abandoned. Please."
Her eyes flared. "I didn't abandon you, Kairo," she said, each word like a slap. "I only loved you. That's it. But you—" her voice cracked, rage and grief spilling out, "you're the one who left. You're the one who betrayed me. After everything, it was you who threw me into misery."
"WHY?" she screamed, tears streaking down her face. "Why did you do that? Was loving you my fault? Was giving myself to you, trusting you, my mistake?" Her fingers clutched his collar, pulling him close, her hands shaking. "Tell me, Kairo. Was I wrong for giving my heart to a man who turned out to be a—" her voice splintered, "—a complete asshole?"
"I loved you, Sara…" Kairo's voice trembled, his chest heaving. "I really loved you. I still do. It was one of the stupid reasons I made that foolish decision that destroyed everything." His words spilled out like a confession.
"I was a dickhead back then, reckless, blind. Without thinking, without even trying to understand, I hurt you. I lost my mind, Sara… and because of me, you went through a misery I can't even imagine."
His eyes shone with tears as he reached out, cupping her face gently, his fingers trembling.
"Punish me, Sara. Give me the worst punishment you can think of. Cut me into pieces if that's what it takes… but please..." his voice cracked, breaking into a whisper, "please don't leave me again…" He lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers, his tears wetting her skin.
Across the room, Zayn stood frozen, clutching his toy car to his chest, his little face pale and confused, his wide eyes flicking between the two adults crying like their hearts had been torn apart.
Sara sobbed, her body stiff, her hands shaking. She shoved him away with trembling force. Kairo stumbled back, his eyes wide, his breathing uneven.
"I hate you…" Sara whispered at last, her voice small, raw, and cracked like glass.
He froze.
"I hate you, Kairo. I hate myself for loving you. I hate myself for giving you everything. I hate that you're Zayn's father. I hate—"
Before she could finish, his lips crashed onto hers. Desperate. Broken. Stopping her from bleeding out poison against herself. Their tears mingled in that painful, shattering kiss.
Sara shoved him away violently, her eyes red, her breath ragged. "Don't…" she hissed, wiping at her lips as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Don't come near me. Don't you dare." Her voice was a warning, but it shook like glass ready to break.
"I can't forget. I can't forgive what you did to me," she whispered, almost to herself, her fists trembling.
Kairo's face crumpled. He dropped to his knees in front of her, his body shaking as sobs ripped from his chest.
Across the room, Zayn, tiny and confused, watched with wide, scared eyes. Clutching his toy car, he hesitated before slowly padding over to Kairo. The boy's small hand reached up and wiped at the tears on the man's face, just like Sara used to.
Kairo's heart shattered as he pulled the boy into his arms, hugging him fiercely, sobbing into his small shoulder.
Sara's heart cracked at the sight. Her baby… her innocent child was comforting the man who had abandoned them before he was even born.
She wiped her tears with a trembling hand, trying to steady herself. "Zayn, come here…" she called softly, her voice breaking.
But Kairo didn't let go. He held the boy tighter, hiding him in his embrace, his voice barely audible. "No…" he whispered hoarsely, as though afraid the world would take his son away.
Sara's tears streamed unchecked as she collapsed onto her chair, clutching her head. She didn't know what to do anymore, what to feel, how to fight, how to fix this. The walls of her composure were breaking, and she felt herself sinking into the mess of her past and present colliding all at once.