"Junior," Kyle continued patiently, still not letting go while the s.h.i.+vering boy was hollering, "Adults can make mistakes, too. Even your mother. She is only human.""No, no, no, no," Junior continued wailing.
Kyle stopped hugging him and looked at him in the eye, "Even though I am not your father, it does not mean I will go away."
Junior suddenly stopped wailing, but his chest was still heaving from the outburst earlier. With gasping breaths similar to hiccups, he asked, "Wh-wha .. do … *hiccup* … mean?"
"I am not your father," Kyle emphasized, "But I do not mind taking on the role as a father figure for a while."
Still gasping, his breath uneven, Junior wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeves. Kyle stopped that and started wiping Junior"s face while saying, "Not so hard. You can spoil your eyes that way."
"I .. I … dun … understand," Junior said, tears falling down again. At least he wasn"t wailing uncontrollably like before.
"Your mother is a wonderful woman," Kyle said, "Sooner or later, she will find someone to share her life with."
"No! … She … wants you! … I … want you …" Junior insisted, his lips quivering while he was trying hard to talk and breathe normally.
Kyle sighed, and shook his head, "You can"t always have what you want. I am not in love with your mother anymore. So, I cannot be with her."
"I am not your father, so I do not have the right to be with you as your father as well," Kyle continued, "That right is reserved for the man that loves your mother and you. Do you understand?"
Junior shook his head.
"When two people get married, it is because they love each other, right?" Kyle asked.
Junior nodded.
"So, should I marry your mother when I do not love her?" Kyle asked gently, "Even if she loves me?"
"Yes," Junior replied innocently, "Mummy is the best."
"Of course she is," Kyle agreed, "But not the best for me. I have Sayuri in my life, and she is the best for me."
Junior glared at Sayuri, then looked down. He felt guilty, but he could not help being angry. Sayuri was nice but if it meant that his mother could not be with his father ...
"You have to learn, Junior," Kyle said, "And understand. You cannot force people together, no matter how much you want it. You want me as your father because that is what your mother told you. You cannot imagine anyone else as your father. I understand that, I do."
"But no matter what you want, or what you believe, it does not change the truth. That I am not your father," Kyle repeated.
Kyle had to keep reminding himself that the boy was only five years old, and would not be able to truly understand the complexities of the matter. He had to try and explain it as well as he could, but he didn"t know how to.
He just hoped it was simple enough, and if repeated enough, the boy would understand.
Sayuri came then, with a photo alb.u.m. Kyle brought Junior to sit down on the sofa next to him and Sayuri sat next to Junior. So, he was in-between the two of them. Sayuri reached over and opened it, showing the first page.
It was when Kyle and Kay had been born. Two small babies, holding hands, lying down on a crib.
Slowly, the pages of the alb.u.m turned. The life of Kyle and Kay growing up were shown in the pages of that alb.u.m. From birth until 6 years old. The more Junior looked, the more devastated he appeared.
He did not look like his father at all.
He did not inherit much of his mother"s looks, so he had a.s.sumed it was because he resembled his father. He had thought he would grow up to look like his father. Yet, from these pictures, it was obvious.
The tears fell down again, and he sniffed.
Kyle put his hand on the boy"s shoulders and brought him closer, hugging him again.
"There is no way for me to tell you this without making you cry," Kyle said, "But I had to. The truth may hurt badly at first, but it heals and you get better. A lie, though makes you feel happy for now, will have bad effects forever."
"A lie can never remain hidden forever, and when you finally find out the truth, how would you feel? Wouldn"t it be worse?" Kyle carried on.
Junior continued crying, his chest heaving. Kyle took him and put him on his lap, leaning back on the sofa and hugging him close. Letting him cry his little heart out for as long as he needed.
When Derek came an hour later, Sayuri opened the door and told him to enter quietly. He nervously limped inside, his face full of bruises and was shocked at the scene he saw in the living room.
His nephew, with a tear-streaked face, was sleeping in the arms of Kyle.
✿ Author only posts on w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l. ✿
It took Junior some time to get over the intense feeling of sadness upon discovering that he didn"t have a father after all. Derek was there, as a familiar face, to appease him but it did not mean the pain was any less.
Samantha was being treated by the best, and Kyle bore all of her treatment costs. He felt some sort of responsibility towards her, for he was the one that had used her and had done so in order to kill her father. It was the least he could do, to atone for his sins against her.
As for Junior? With the help of a child psychologist, he was coping better. The problem was, while Kyle"s actions grounded him emotionally, he became dependent on Kyle to cope.
Hearing this, Sayuri asked Kyle, "So what are you going to do? Are you going to adopt him?"