But explaining this to her son was a daunting task.

Should she reveal the truth, admitting she had been lying all along?

Or should she simply tell him his father had passed away long ago?

The decision weighed heavily on Ariana as she took a deep breath, bracing herself for the difficult conversation. However, before she could utter a word, Melon spoke, his voice trembling. "Mommy, that uncle isn't my daddy, is he?"

Ariana was momentarily stunned, her eyes locked on Melon as he continued, "My daddy would never be so fickle, and he wouldn't abandon us for five years!"

Melon's voice quivered with emotion, and he raised his tear-streaked face, eyes red and brimming with tears. He said, “Mommy, I understand you meant well, but tell me, did you find someone to deceive me because my daddy can't return anymore?"

Melon's precocious understanding caught Ariana off guard. She hadn't expected him to confront her so directly.

In that instant, a wave of guilt washed over Ariana, her eyes welling up with tears.

Melon shouldn't have been thrust into this harsh reality at such a tender age. Ariana had always wished for him to enjoy a carefree childhood.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as Ariana knelt, enfolding Melon in her arms. After contemplating, she said, "Daddy loved us very much.

He must be watching you growing up and missing us terribly."

Ariana's voice broke several times as she continued, "But Daddy turned into a star in the sky to watch over us. He'll always be there, guarding you and me."

Understanding dawned on Melon, and he couldn't help but cry in Ariana's embrace. His quiet sobs soon escalated into heartrending wails. “I'm truly a fatherless child! I don't have a dad!"

Ariana's heart ached as Melon's cries pierced the room. The weight of her decisions bore down on her. Her arms wrapped around Melon, tears streaming down her face, she whispered, “I'm right here with you, Melon. Always."

Those words were all she could muster.

At that moment, Mitchel dropped by. Noticing Ariana hadn't descended from upstairs in quite some time, he went up. The scene that greeted him, Ariana and Melon in tears, caught him off guard. With a surge of concern, he rushed to them. "What's going on? What happened?"

Melon, upon recognizing Mitchel's voice, clung to him, his face stained with tears. Mitchel embraced the child, patting his back gently, trying to soothe him.

Pulling herself together, Ariana's voice trembled. "I messed up. I hired someone online to pretend to be Melon's dad, and he found out...

I told him about Theodore."

Tears blurred Ariana's vision as she continued to dab them away.