ZARIA

Chapter 21

Kei

The woman, being his absent mother, the same one who had hurt the both of them so much. Kei's instincts told him that he should be there, that he should be by his son's side, protecting him from whatever Jessica had in store for him.

He had intended to throw her out, unwilling to let Jessica hurt Ren again, despite her reassurances that she had changed, that she was sorry for leaving, and that she only wished to get to know Ren better.

But Ren had been adamant. He'd demanded to speak with his mother alone, looking so grown up in that moment, so stoic as he gazed at her coldly, so much so that he couldn't help but feel proud of him even though he knew the boy would have rather cried.

So, he allowed it, respecting Ren's choice despite being terrified. he didn't know why Jessica had returned after so many years of no contact, but he feared it couldn't be anything good. After all, she hadn't wanted to see her son for so long, so what could have changed for her to wish so now?

To say that Kei had been surprised when Betty informed him that Jessica was there and wished to see him would be an understatement. He had walked out of his office to meet her in a daze, unsure if he was awake or if all of this was some weird dream concocted by his brain.

But as soon as he opened the door, the woman he once loved standing on the other side of them, still the same, still ridiculously beautiful, he finally realized it was true.

Kei could still remember a time when seeing her there was everything he could ever wish for; despite his anger and pain, the love he once had for her was too great for him to stay mad for long. But now, after all these years and everything that had happened in between, all he felt was fear and a healthy amount of resentment.

And it was hard to admit, especially for a man like him, that he was afraid. But he was, he was worried for his son, for what this sudden appearance could do to him. Ren had been such a mess when Jessica left, and only recently had he started to get over it, with no small help from Zaria.

He was laughing again, talking, spending his time doing other things, childish things, aside from reading all day. And Kei knew, he just knew, that one wrong word or deed by Jessica could erase all that progress.

Kei sighed, slumping down into the small, white couch in the corner of his office as he ran a hand through his hair. He felt exhausted already, and it was only noon. He wished to return to bed, wrap his arms around Zaria just as he had that morning, and sleep. Forget that Jessica had ever appeared on the front steps of his home, wishing that this was just a nightmare from which he would soon wake up.

A slight, barely-there knock brought him out of his tumultuous thoughts, and he sighed again, wishing for whoever was on the other end of it to just leave him alone. He was in no state of mind to talk just now.

"Yes?" he still said, in case it was Ren or something pertaining to his son.

The door opened, and Zaria stepped in slowly, closing it behind herself. She stepped closer before stopping, her body language speaking of how unsure she felt about her welcome.

She was biting her lip, her gaze fleeting between her feet and his face as she cracked her knuckles repeatedly, all so reminiscent of the scared, unsure woman she had been the day she had entered his home. Kei felt guilty for causing it, no matter how unwillingly.

He remembered Jessica's words upon meeting Zaria, her words so innocuous and yet so cutting at the same time, and he felt ashamed for not stepping in right then. But he had still been so shocked, his mind and heart a mess of warring emotions, and then Ren had appeared, and everything else fell wayward in the face of his son's demand.