Ariana gazed at Melon, her heart weighed down by guilt. It dawned on her: hiring someone to pretend to be Theodore had been a grave mistake. Perhaps honesty from the start would have spared Melon the heartbreak.

Mitchel, seeing Ariana's distress, gently guided her head to his shoulder. “You acted out of love, trying to give Melon a complete childhood," he whispered.

His hand reached out to smooth Melon's hair. “Melon, your dad is still with you, just in a unique way. He was there when you both needed him most. His love remains."

Melon nodded as tears continued, but as they flowed, exhaustion took over, and he drifted to sleep. Ariana, eyes still swollen, looked at him and then slowly regained her composure.

She turned to Mitchel, her voice hesitant. "The man I hired to play Melon's dad is Holden."

Mitchel blinked, his emotions churning. This revelation was startling.

After a pause, he asked, “Have you ever seen Holden face-to-face?"

Ariana shook her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. “I've always wondered about his appearance."

Taking a breath, she confessed, "A part of me has never accepted that Theodore is truly gone. Their voices, Holden's and Theodore's, are uncannily similar. Sometimes I wonder... could this all be some elaborate ruse by Theodore?"

Ariana's voice quivered, "Sometimes, these thoughts seem so irrational, yet the idea gnaws at me. If this is some cruel jest of Theodore's, I'm not sure if forgiveness is within me. But the Longing for him to be alive is so intense. And if Holden were truly Theodore, what path should I tread? He has a family now. Do I yearn for a Holden who's alive but distant, or a Theodore who's gone but cherished me?"

Mitchel, lost in Ariana's torrent of emotions, took a moment to process. He never envisioned their lives entwining like this.

Drawing a deep breath, he began, “Theodore's chapter in your Life has closed. He's a memory now. Why would Theodore, if he were Holden, not reach out? Why a different life, a different family? Can you truly build a life with someone who's juggled your heart like this?

You've got to see it clearly, Ariana. Theodore is a memory; Holden is reality. And they're different people. You can't let the past tether you forever. There's a whole future ahead."

Ariana's gaze dropped to the floor, her shoulders shaking as tears streamed down. Taking a moment, she said, "I get it. I really do.

But letting go of him isn't easy for me."

She was caught in a torrent of emotions. Recognizing Holden for who he was and not seeing Theodore in him was a daily struggle. Aware of Holden's upcoming wedding, she chided herself for not distancing from him sooner.

Yet, when Holden was around, it felt as if Theodore still had a place in the world. Every time she heard Holden's voice, she clung to the illusion that Theodore was still breathing.

Mitchel took in her pain, guilt knotting in his stomach. He reached out, his hand comforting on her back.

He grappled with his secret; he knew the truth about Holden's real identity. But revealing that Holden was indeed Theodore felt like a potential catastrophe. How would Ariana handle such a revelation?

Could he watch her witness her love marry someone else? Or let her discover that her years of pain had been for naught?