Episode 13

2. The Man, Kyle

One sunny day, a messenger from the post office arrived at the townhouse with a note for Tanesia.

She had planned to spend her day off playing with Henry, but an urgent ghostwriting request came in. Being the top ghostwriter for three consecutive years, many clients now specifically requested her.

“Suddenly, work has piled up, and I think I need to go. It’s a busy place, so it might be difficult to take Henry with me. What should I do?”

“Go ahead, I’ll watch Henry,” Rosanna replied.

“But you have plans today. I was thinking of taking Henry to Vlad’s office. That way, I can keep my outing promise and drop him off with his dad. Maybe he won’t be too upset then.”

Rosanna waved her hand dismissively. “What fun could he have at a law office? I’ll take him with me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt your plans. You’ll have to watch him the whole time,” Tanesia said, unaware of Rosanna’s true intentions.

Rosanna preferred taking Henry along. With him there, the session with Kyle would likely be cut short, giving her an excuse to schedule another meeting.

“Henry’s adorable. No one would think he’s a bother. The person I’m meeting likes kids, so don’t worry.”

“Then I’ll leave him with you. Thank you, Rosanna.”

After checking the time on her pocket watch, Tanesia waved.

“I’ll head out now. Henry, Mommy will be back soon!”

Henry, who had been holding Rosanna’s hand, quickly turned his head away, clearly sulking. Though he had come to the door to see her off, he was still upset.

“Oh dear, someone’s mad at me… I’m sorry! I’ll bring you something delicious.”

Tanesia said, casting a longing glance back at him before leaving with the messenger. As the front door closed, Rosanna lifted Henry into her arms.

“Shall we get ready for our outing?”

“Mommy promised to play with me. I don’t like her. She didn’t keep her promise!” Henry pouted.

“Mommy was wrong, wasn’t she? So let’s get some revenge. We’ll have so much fun today, and when we tell her about it tonight, she’ll regret not coming with us, don’t you think? She’ll be sad she missed out on playing with you.”

Henry’s sulky expression softened a little.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to meet a handsome guy. You’ll like him too, Henry,” Rosanna teased, poking his puffed-up cheek.

As Henry imitated her by scrunching his eyebrows and letting out a giggle, his mischievous spirit shone through. He was absolutely adorable, more so today than usual. After all, this little one was about to become a perfect excuse for Rosanna.

Once Henry and Kyle got along, it would be much easier to arrange more meetings with Kyle, push for sudden plans, or even invite him to the house. If she involved Henry, Kyle wouldn’t be able to say no.

Rosanna’s plan to break down the distance between her and Kyle was flawless. She had played it out in her mind, and now all that remained was to bring it to life.

* * *

The three-person meeting took place in a pavilion in the central park.

Henry, who had been excited to meet the “older brother” and had even dressed up for the occasion, hid behind Rosanna as soon as he saw Kyle. It was adorable how he still thought hiding his face would keep him unseen, just like a year ago. Though Henry was more mature than his peers, he was still just a child.

Rosanna sat down and lifted Henry onto her lap, making sure Kyle could see him. With no escape, Henry squirmed shyly. Kyle, noticing the boy’s unease, gave him time to settle in before slowly sitting beside them.

“Hello, I’m Kyle. What’s your name, young gentleman?”

Kyle asked with a gentle smile.

“…Henry.”

The boy mumbled, his cheeks flushing pink. Seeing Henry’s reaction, Kyle’s smile softened, reminiscent of ripples on a calm lake. He extended his hand toward Henry, recalling Rosanna’s complaint about how Henry had recently replaced morning and evening kisses with handshakes.

“Henry, shall we shake hands?”

“Okay!”

The small hand grabbed Kyle’s and shook it enthusiastically.

Henry had recently become obsessed with handshakes after observing guests at the house shake hands with Vlad. In his mind, it was a very adult thing to do. The household staff often humored him with quick, half-hearted handshakes, which left him slightly disappointed, though he never expressed it. But this time was different—he could feel the warmth and sincerity in Kyle’s grip, and it made him happy.

In that moment, Henry gave a small piece of his heart to Kyle. His shyness melted away, leaving only admiration for the older man. Rosanna, seeing the sparkle in Henry’s eyes, knew her plan was working and decided to step in.

“Sorry, Kyle. Henry’s mother had an urgent matter to attend to, so I had to look after him. I hope it’s not an inconvenience to bring him along.”

“Not at all. I’m glad I got to meet Henry.”

Kyle replied, just as Rosanna had expected. He was that kind of person, after all, and she fully intended to take advantage of his kindness.

“You’ll have to play with Henry a lot today. I promised him,” Rosanna added.

“Oh, in that case…” Kyle began.

“The counseling session will have to wait. I’ll send word through the messenger when we set the next date,” Rosanna interrupted smoothly.

Kyle hesitated for a moment, a conflicted expression crossing his face, but he said nothing. Instead, he turned to Henry with a smile.

“What would you like to do, Henry? Is there something fun you want to do together?”

“Water! Over there!”

Now comfortable with Kyle, Henry was no longer the quiet boy he had been moments earlier. He was bouncing on Rosanna’s lap, pointing excitedly toward something. He resembled a restless colt, unable to sit still. Rosanna called him “my little colt,” trying to calm him, but Henry paid no attention. If anything, her patting his bottom seemed to make him more excited. In this, he was a mirror image of Vlad—once focused on something, nothing else existed for him.

Kyle watched the scene with a touch of fascination. Rosanna’s expressions changed so vividly when she was with a child. He was momentarily lost in thought, only snapping back to reality when he belatedly joined Henry in the conversation.

“The lake? You want to go to the lake?”

“Yes! There’s a boat! Henry saw it! I want to ride it!”

“A boat ride all of a sudden… Oh, wait.”

Rosanna recalled that Vlad was part of a rowing club. She often took Henry to watch Vlad compete in races.

“Henry’s dad is a rower. He started as a hobby, but after winning a few races, he’s gotten really into it. Now, every season, he’s all about the competitions.”

“Will he be competing this year too?”

“Probably. I don’t see the appeal, but he’s passionate about it,” Rosanna said, absentmindedly stroking Henry’s hair as she lowered her gaze.

“Henry, you want to try rowing because of your dad, don’t you? You little copycat.”

“No, I don’t.”

Henry quickly denied, puffing out his cheeks.

Henry puffed out his cheeks, clearly not liking being called a copycat. Recently, his favorite words were “no,” “I don’t like it,” and “that’s not true.”

Kyle exchanged a glance with Rosanna, signaling for her to let him handle it.

“Henry, do you want to go on a boat ride? Should we go now?” Kyle asked, extending his hand, likely intending to walk hand in hand. But instead of taking his hand, Henry threw himself into Kyle’s arms. The sudden weight didn’t faze Kyle at all. Rosanna, however, was a bit stunned.

“That’s too easy… I’m disappointed in you, Henry. No charm in being too easy,” Rosanna remarked.

Though she had said Henry would like Kyle, she didn’t expect him to open up so quickly.

The two were getting along even faster than she had anticipated, and while things were going as planned, she couldn’t help but feel unsettled. It was like an itch around a torn nail or the discomfort of something stuck in her throat. A small but growing sense of unease simmered within her.

Why did it feel so wrong?

Kyle was handling Henry with ease, almost as if it didn’t matter whether Rosanna was there or not. If someone saw them, they might think they were brothers out for a day together. That thought scratched at her nerves.

This meeting was supposed to be for ‘her’ It wasn’t meant to be a chance for Henry and Kyle to bond without her. Sure, she wanted them to get along, but this wasn’t the scenario she had imagined. It wasn’t jealousy—no, not that. But the strangeness of the situation was undeniably unsettling, and it didn’t sit well with her.

Kyle was smiling. She’d seen him smile plenty of times before, but this was different. It was a smile that brought warmth and comfort, like a soft light. She had never seen him smile like this before.

‘That smile should’ve been for me,’ she thought.

At last, she understood the source of her discomfort. She had been robbed of Kyle’s “first.” Even if it was something as small as a simple smile, it had been taken away. And that didn’t sit well with Rosanna.

She shifted her gaze toward the “thief.” Oblivious to the shadow that had passed over Rosanna’s stormy gray eyes, Henry playfully stuck his tongue out at her before hiding in Kyle’s arms like a child playing hide-and-seek. His cheeky behavior made it impossible to hold a grudge.

With a sigh of tolerance, Rosanna looked up at the sky. It was perfect weather for a boat ride.

“Well then, shall we go?”

Kyle asked, standing up with Henry still in his arms.

As Rosanna stared at the scene, Henry, now comfortable and eager, started urging her,.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Rosanna extended her hand, gesturing to her back.

“Escort.”

She demanded.

Kyle hesitated briefly before taking her hand, supporting her palm with his.

“Even if I’m not a gentleman, I’d be honored.”