Sienna’s POV


    Liam only nodded, then sat back down in his chair. Now we sat facing each other, each with a ss in


    hand. Silence filled the room for a while, broken only by the chirping of birds outside the window and the asional ticking of the clock on the wall.


    I took a small sip of the juice. It was refreshing, naturally sweet, with a faint tang at the tip of my tongue. Strangely, it grounded me a little, as if my body had truly returned to this ce, no longer just a shadow.


    I nced at Liam. His head was lowered, one hand wrapped around his half–finished cup of coffee. His face looked tired, yet there was a certain calmness I rarely saw in him before.


    Holding my ss of juice, a flood of emotions rushed through me. Sitting here with him like this, saying so little, reminded me of moments long lost.


    Perhaps it was just another ordinary morning for Liam. But for me, this morning felt unusual, a quiet beginning, slowly trying to mend the empty spaces within me. And though I still felt out of ce in this house, sitting at the dining table with him gave me a fragment of peace I hadn’t felt in years.


    I stared into the pale orange liquid in my ss, letting my cold fingers slowly warm against the condensation on the ss. Each sip brought freshness, as if washing away the heaviness still clinging to me fromst night. Yet, I couldn’t deny, the thing unsettling me the most wasn’t the juice, but Liam sitting across from me.


    He sat quietly, shoulders slightly slumped, as though carrying a weight he didn’t want me to see. His coffee sat neglected, its steam already fading. I wondered what he was thinking. Did he feel just as awkward as I did? Or was this nothing more than routine to him, taking care of someone who had once mattered in his life?


    I leaned back into my chair, trying to convince myself not to get lost in these thoughts. But it was difficult. My eyes secretly searched for him, tracing the sharper lines of his jaw than before, his hair cut shorter, and the way he asionally tapped the rim of his cup with his finger, a habit he still carried after all this time. An odd warmth rose inside me, no matter how hard I tried to suppress it.


    The kitchen felt simple this morning, the sunlight streaming in through the small window reflected off the wooden table, casting soft silhouettes around us. No sound filled the air except the ticking of the clock and the rhythm of our breaths. Strangely, the silence didn’t make me want to leave. Instead, I wanted to linger, even though I knew it was dangerous for my heart.


    I drank more of the juice this time. Its sweet–sour taste tingled lightly on my tongue, but my heart only grew more restless. Questions itched at my lips, about us, about why he was being so attentive, about whether this was just responsibility or something deeper. But the words wouldn’te. I was afraid the answers might shatter the fragile calm I was clinging to.


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    Liam stayed quiet, his gaze not quite meeting mine, yet I could feel his presence fully at this table. As if he, <i>too</i>, was weighing something unspoken.


    I drew in a long breath, then lowered my head, tracing the condensation on my ss with my thumb. Let this morning stay simple. Perhaps it wasn’t yet the time to ask the bigger questions.


    Somehow, even without words, I felt this morning had left something between us. Something soft, fleeting, but enough to make me want to stay just a little longer.


    The fragile silence was broken sooner than I expected, by the sound of small footsteps running down the hallway. I turned toward it.


    “Noah?” <b>I </b>murmured.


    Momentster, the small figure appeared, his hair still tousled, his eyes lighting up the moment he saw me. Without hesitation, he ran straight to me, and before I could react, he was already standing at my


    side.


    “Mommy!” he eximed brightly, his voice bursting with morning cheer. My heart nearly melted at that single word. My hand reached out instinctively, stroking his warm little head.


    “What is it, sweetheart?” I asked gently, though my heart was pounding strangely.


    His small face tilted up, his round eyes full of hope. “Mommy, you’lle to my school farewell


    tomorrow, right?”


    His question left me stunned. I blinked a few times, trying to process his words. A school farewell? I hadpletely forgotten. Guilt struck me hard. I had been so wrapped up in my own pain that something this important had slipped my mind.


    <b>“</b>Noah.” My voice was barely a whisper.


    But before I could answer, Liam sitting across the table spoke first. His tone was calm, yetced with hesitation. “Noah, Mommy is still sick. So maybe Mommy can’te, sweetheart.”


    It was as if all the light drained from Noah’s face in an instant. His cheerful smile vanished, his eyes dropped to the floor, and his small shoulders slumped. I could feel the weight of his disappointment even


    before he said a word.


    His heart was still so pure, so easy to read. And seeing him like that felt like a knife twisting inside me. My guilt piled higher and higher. How could I bear to let him miss such an important moment, one he


    should be able to cherish?


    Without thinking twice, I bent down to him, gently brushing my hand through his hair. <b>“</b>Mommy will go, sweetheart,” I said atst, softly but firmly.


    His little head lifted instantly. “Really, Mommy<b>?</b><b>” </b>


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    I gave him a faint smile, though inside me doubt and fear churned. “Yes. Mommy will be there for you.‘


    His cheer burst out at once, hisughter filling the dining room. Noah threw his arms around me, his small body warm against mine. “Yay! Mommy’sing! Mommy’sing!” he shouted, brimming with <b>joy</b>.


    I hugged him back, fighting the tears that stung at the corners of my eyes. How easily he could be made happy by a single promise, when I myself wasn’t sure if my body was truly ready. But how could I say no, when his happiness depended on me?


    Amid Noah’s excitedughter, I heard Liam’s voice. Calm, but this time more serious. “Sienna, are you sure?”


    I turned to him. His eyes were locked on me, sharp, as if trying to see straight into my heart. Worry was written clearly there, but so was a helplessness, because he knew how much that promise meant to Noah.


    I nodded slowly. “Yes. I’m sure.”


    The words came out almost on their own, though I felt the tremor inside me. I knew Liam didn’t fully believe me, but I also knew I couldn’t take back my promise. Not after seeing the joy on Noah’s face, a joy so raretely.


    I looked back at Noah, still bouncing on his feet, his excitement radiating. It was warm, yet bittersweet. His happiness was so simple, and yet the weight of my responsibility to not disappoint him again pressed down on me heavily.