Third Person's POV
The room erupted in whistles and cheers as soon as Edmond’s smug challenge left his lips, egging him on to “put on a show.”
Hattie fluttered her lashes dramatically, her voice dripping with playful annoyance. “You’re all so annoying... You’re making me blush!”
Outside the door, Haven stood silently, her gaze locked on the man she once thought she knew. The Edmond before her was a stranger—draped in decadence, reveling in a lifestyle she couldn’t reconcile with the man she had loved.
Turning away, her heart felt heavy as memories of a younger, devoted Edmond surfaced, clashing with the harsh reality of the man he had become. It was like looking at two completely different people, and she wondered if she’d ever truly known him at all.
That night, Haven didn’t sleep.
The next morning, she sat across from her daughter at the breakfast table, her expression calm despite the dark circles under her eyes.
Leigh, ever observant, tilted her head with concern. “Mommy, are you feeling okay? You look tired.”
Haven shook her head gently, her voice soft. “I’m fine, sweetheart. But I’ve been thinking... How would you feel about moving somewhere new? Just the two of us, starting fresh in a different place?”
Leigh’s young mind didn’t fully grasp the weight of the question, but the love in her mother’s eyes reassured her. She nodded firmly, her tiny hand reaching across the table to hold Haven’s. “Okay! Wherever Mommy goes, I’ll go too.”
Since the day Leigh was born, Haven had been her rock, her constant. Edmond, on the other hand, had been too consumed with work to be involved during Leigh’s early years. And now, his distractions outside the home left little room for fatherhood. So, for Leigh, her mother was her whole world.
Haven smiled, running her fingers through Leigh’s soft curls. “Mommy will always take care of you, my darling. I promise.”
Her thoughts hardened into resolve. 'I won’t let you grow up in a broken home. You deserve joy, freedom, and love—not the shadow of a fractured marriage.'
The sound of the front door opening broke her train of thought. Edmond walked in, still wearing last night’s clothes. Seeing the mother and daughter eating breakfast, he brushed off the fatigue from his night of indulgence and approached the table with a gentle smile. “What’s for breakfast today?”
However, Leigh wrinkled her nose as Edmond came closer. “Daddy, you smell funny.”
Edmond froze mid-step, instinctively sniffing himself. The mix of Hattie's perfume, alcohol, and cigarettes hit him like a slap. In his haste to return, he hadn’t even showered.
Embarrassed, he stopped and looked at Haven. “Last night... I ran into some old friends, had a few drinks, and stayed over. It was late, so I didn’t want to bother you with a call.”
Haven had grown immune to his lies. She merely nodded and said, “Got it. Go shower. Leigh doesn’t like how you smell.”
“Right. I’ll shower now. You two enjoy breakfast,” Edmond replied hurriedly.
As he walked away, he left his phone on the counter.
Moments later, it started ringing incessantly. Haven ignored it, but curious little Leigh, having finished her breakfast, toddled over and picked it up before Haven could stop her.
By the time Haven reached her, Leigh had accidentally answered the call. A woman’s excited voice came through the speaker. “I’m pregnant...”
Haven’s heart sank.
Leigh, unaware of who was speaking, asked in her childish voice, “What does ‘pregnant’ mean?”
There was a brief pause on the other end, and then soon followed by Hattie’s soft laughter. “Pregnant means—”
“Leigh! Don’t touch Daddy’s phone! That’s not very nice, okay?” Edmond’s voice suddenly boomed from the hallway, drowning out Hattie’s words.
He strode over in a bathrobe, snatching the phone from Leigh’s hand before she could respond, then quickly ended the call.
Leigh blinked up at him innocently. “Daddy, what does ‘pregnant’ mean?”
Haven scooped her daughter into her arms, her gaze fixed on Edmond. The stiffness in his posture and the flicker of guilt in his eyes said everything.
Edmond stammered, his voice faltering. “Haven, I... I’ve been meaning to tell you. That girl we’ve been sponsoring—uh, her name’s Lin something—she seems to have started dating someone.”
