It's Saturday morning and the sun spills into the kitchen like honey.
Angelique is standing on a stool beside Ryan, holding a wooden spoon like she's a top chef. Flour dusts her cheeks, and her hair is in the world's messiest ponytail. She's making pancakes. Well—supervising them.
Ryan's wearing an apron that says "Boss of This Kitchen", a gift from Angelique last week, and he's letting her taste the batter with a level of seriousness that makes Samantha lean against the doorway and just... watch.
Not just them.
Her life.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUMYp0FXGQ
Her family.
Ryan catches her looking and smiles. "We're thinking blueberry eyes and banana mouths. You in?"
She walks over, kisses Angelique on the head, and says, "Let's make them smile."
They eat together at the little round table.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcbhUDkQoT
There's music. Laughter. And when Angelique runs to get her crayons, Ryan leans in and whispers:
"This feels dangerously close to perfect."
Samantha smiles back, brushing a crumb from his shirt. "That's because it is."
Somewhere else...
Henry sits in a cramped internet café, reading old messages from Samantha he never answered.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjE37b0Zft
A photo of Angelique is on his screen—someone must've posted it from the school event.
She's smiling.
Next to Ryan.
And Henry feels something snap.
It's not jealousy. Not exactly.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGItJzQ6AHH
It's regret.
The aching, raw kind that builds from every decision you were too selfish to change.
He thinks about the moment Angelique said she didn't need him.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Rg3njytLh
About Samantha's calm voice, telling him: "You were never there to begin with."
And for the first time—he agrees.
He lost them.
He didn't just let them go.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiy9jbcA8s
He threw them away.
That night, Trina knocks on his door, eyeliner smudged and voice tight.
"I'm pregnant."
Henry freezes.
"No," he says. "No, we haven't—there's no way."
She crosses her arms. "You think I'm lying?"
"I think you're desperate."
She flinches.
"I think you saw what I lost and now you're scared to lose me too. But I'm not going to be your next ticket out of being alone."
She throws something at the wall. "You think Samantha's gonna save you? You're still a mess, Henry. You'll always be a mess."
He stands, voice cold.
"I already ruined one life. I'm not ruining another. If it's mine, prove it. Until then—leave."
She storms out. Slams the door.
And Henry?
He sinks to the floor, face in his hands.
Because for the first time in years—there's no one else to blame.
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