The moment Ariana saw the landline phone in Melon's hand, her heart skipped a beat. Realization washed over her. Her son had discovered something amiss, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.

As she had feared, Melon broke into tears upon seeing her.

"Mommy, you lied to me. You gave me a fake number," he accused.

Ariana found herself unable to speak. She opened her mouth, but her throat felt parched and constricted. An unspoken bitterness lingered there.

The number wasn't fake; it had simply been disconnected.

And the man who once owned that number, Melon's father, had indeed been real.

Tears streaming down his face, Melon gasped for breath, looking utterly heartbroken.

From the moment the call failed to connect, he'd sensed that something was wrong. Choking back sobs, he questioned Ariana, "Does Daddy not want me? Did you lie to protect me from the truth?"

Ariana was devastated. Melon had always been mature for his age and had never broken down like this before. Pulling him into a comforting embrace, she took a moment to compose herself. Finally, her voice quivering, she assured him, “Daddy does want you, Melon."

Still clinging to Ariana, Melon managed to ask through hiccups, “Then why hasn't he come back? Why doesn't he call me?"

Ariana felt at a loss for words. Thoughts of Theodore weighed her down Like a massive boulder, making it difficult even to breathe.

Her eyes reddened as tears began to well up, and she fought to suppress a torrent of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.

“Mommy promises you, Daddy does want you. He'll call you very soon, alright?" Ariana managed to say, her voice tinged with tenderness.

Despite her reassurances, Melon's tears flowed unabated. Finally, exhaustion won out, and he fell asleep in her arms, his cheeks still wet.

After putting Melon to bed, Ariana found herself alone in the dark living room.

Sitting in a daze on the couch, she felt the emotions she'd worked so hard to suppress come flooding back with even greater intensity.

Her emotional defenses crumbled. She covered her mouth to stifle her sobs as her body shook uncontrollably. Sliding off the couch onto the floor, she gave in to her tears.

Memories of her time with Theodore morphed into sharp thorns, each thought pricking at her heart and causing such agony that even breathing became a struggle.

Ariana cried for an extended period before finally regaining her composure. She wiped away her tears and slowly rose to her feet.

The phone issue still needed to be addressed.