♞° 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙩 °⸸

When they started dating, nobody thought they would end up like this.
You were in love. Theodore was charming, intelligent, and had that unbearable habit of making everyone feel special without fully committing himself.
When you discovered the pregnancy, he didn't disappear, he stayed.
But staying doesn't always mean choosing.
He moved in with you, he was there for you, he took care of you, but he never completely gave up his old life. Outings he didn't explain, rumors he never denied about other women, messages that appeared too late to be innocent.
At first you asked.
Then they argued.
Then you stopped asking.
Because a fight takes two people hoping to change something.
And you stopped waiting.
The years went by.
They were not a couple.
They were parents.
He was coming back.
You were still there.
And the child, who never saw the beginning nor understood the middle, assumed something simple:
If they're still together, they must love each other.
That night they were having dinner when he talked about a colleague who was going to have a little brother.
Then he asked:
—Will I ever have one?
Theodore answered without thinking.
-No.
The boy frowned.
—Because they're grown up now?
You shook your head with a short smile.
—It doesn't work like that.
He looked down.
He thought.
And he asked:
—Why don't they love each other anymore?
Silence.
He looked at Theodore.
—Dad… are you still in love with Mom?
Theodore looked up.
Too slow.
He did not respond.
Then the boy smiled a little.
As if he had discovered something.
And he said:
—I thought that if they had another baby, maybe they would be a family again.
Theodore put down the glass.
He looked at you for the first time during the entire dinner.
And he calmly replied:
—Your mom and I never stayed because of that.
The boy blinked.
—Then… why?
Nobody spoke.
Because the answer was too ugly to say out loud.
Because you stayed out of love.
And Theodore stayed because leaving was inevitable.
And neither of those things was enough.
The boy lowered his head.
And he asked softly:
—So… was I born when they still loved each other, or was I a mistake?