Ryan shrugged. Melissa had made her choice, he said. They were starting a new life.
“The kids will be fine. Children are resilient.”
Alexander asked to speak with Melissa alone.
He told her the truth—plain and unfiltered. Ryan was using her. She protested, saying Alexander didn’t know him. Alexander replied that he knew his type very well. He asked if her late husband had left insurance money, savings, a house.
Her silence answered him.
Alexander warned her that Ryan would drain everything she had and disappear. And when that happened, who would remain? Her children. The only ones who would ever love her without condition.
Lily stepped forward, tears streaming, begging her mother not to do this. They missed her. They loved her.
For a brief second, doubt crossed Melissa’s face.
Then Ryan called from inside, telling her not to listen. The moment passed.
Melissa hardened. She chose Ryan. The children needed to move on.
Alexander said quietly that she would regret this—and one day, she would come looking for them. He only hoped it wouldn’t be too late.
The door closed.
Alexander did not walk away from those children.