He tried to calm himself by opening an old file on his laptop. Photos of Kara flooded the screen. Kara laughing in a faded college sweatshirt. Kara holding a cheap sparkler at a Fourth of July party. Kara leaning her head on his shoulder during nights when he talked about his ambitions as if the world belonged to him already.
Then he found a picture he had forgotten existed. It was a photo of a pregnancy test she had texted him, taken right before he left the city for a business trip that eventually became the start of his new life. He remembered brushing off the conversation that day, telling her they would talk soon. He never followed through.
His phone buzzed. A message from his assistant, Mateo.
Found her. Sending the address.
The next afternoon, Mason drove himself to the location. It was a modest apartment building in a quiet working class neighborhood. He waited across the street until he saw Kara exit the building with the boys. They wore backpacks that looked a little too big for their shoulders. She held their hands tightly, guiding them toward a bus stop.
He crossed the street slowly. “Kara.”
She froze. Her eyes widened, but only for an instant. She instructed the boys to wait near a vending machine on the corner and then turned back to face him.
“What do you want, Mason.”
“I saw you yesterday. I… saw them.”
“And.”
“I need to know if…”
“Say it,” she said.
“If they’re mine.”
Kara inhaled sharply as if steadying herself. “And if I say yes, what happens. You walk back into our lives after six years and everything magically resets.”
“No. I just need the truth. I should have known it a long time ago.”
She watched him in silence. The anger in her eyes was old and deep. “You left without a single explanation. You did not call. You did not check. I did everything alone.”
“I know.”
“You do not,” she replied softly. “But you can try to understand. Tomorrow. Six in the morning. A café near the bus station. If you are late, do not come again.”
He was early.
Her answer was simple. Yes. All three boys were his.
The world tilted under his feet. He felt shame, grief, and disbelief mixing so fast he could barely breathe. Kara slid a folded birth certificate across the table. The space for the father’s name was empty. Mason touched the paper and felt something inside him fracture.
“Why didn’t you put my name.”
“Because you were gone.”