Chapter 178 Chapter 178

Chapter 178 Chapter 178
MICA
Leo's birthday fell on a Tuesday.
He had been talking about it for two weeks, waking up every morning to announce how many days were left with the focused dedication of a four-year-old counting down to the most significant event of his life.

Mica had been saving since the month before, putting aside whatever she could spare from each hotel shift, folding the bills carefully into the envelope hidden at the back of her drawer.

The envelope contained just enough for a small cake, one toy, and the ingredients for pancakes. It wasn't much, but she had earned every single note with her own hands. Standing in the quiet kitchen before dawn, watching the butter melt in the pan beside a bakery box with four tiny candles, a fierce, protective warmth bloomed in her chest.

Small bare feet pattered across the floor and Leo appeared in the doorway in his faded pajamas, his hair sticking up wildly on one side, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The moment he spotted the table, his eyes went wide as saucers, and he let out a gasp so pure and ecstatic that tears prickled the backs of Mica's eyes.

He charged forward and she dropped to her knees just in time to catch him, pulling his small, warm body tight against her heart. She buried her face in his hair, breathing in his sweet baby scent, feeling the crushing weight of the last four years, the desperate running, the terrifying isolation, the endless double shifts, all melting into this one single, perfect embrace. Every tear she had cried to get here was worth it.

"Happy birthday, my love," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

"Mommy, a cake!" he squealed into her neck, squeezing her tightly.
"Four candles," she smiled, pulling back to look at him.

He stared back with those dark, striking eyes, his father's eyes. It was a daily heartbreak, a lingering ghost of a love that still echoed in her soul, but right now, looking at Leo's radiant smile, the grief surrendered to absolute joy.

After pancakes, she lit the candles and sang to him, her voice cracking with suppressed tears. Leo clapped his hands, took a deep breath that puffed out his tiny chest, and blew out every flame. When she handed him his gift, a toy wrapped in newspaper decorated with hand-drawn marker stars—he tore into it with pure thrill. He didn't care about fancy wrapping paper; he only cared that his mommy loved him.

Mica sat on the floor, watching him race the small toy car across the rug, her heart full.

Then Leo stopped playing. He looked up, his dark eyes turning thoughtful in that sharp, perceptive way he had inherited.

"Mommy?" he asked softly.

"Yes, my sweet boy?"

"Why don't I have a daddy?"
The question hit her like a physical blow, knocking the wind right out of her lungs. Her throat locked up. She had rehearsed a hundred safe, sanitized answers in the shower, but staring into her son's innocent face, every single word evaporated.
"Some children have mommies, and some have daddies," she stammered gently.

"Kai at nursery has both," Leo noted, his lower lip trembling slightly. "Why do I have one?"

Mica felt a tear break free and slide down her cheek. She didn't want to lie to him, not today.

"You have both baby," she whispered, her heart breaking into a thousand pieces for the boy who didn't know his own flesh and blood. "You have a daddy."

Leo's eyes widened with intense wonder. "Where is he? Why isn't he here?"

"He is very, very far away, baby," she said, choking back a sob. "He... he doesn't know about you yet."

"Will he come?"

Mica pressed her hands together to stop them from shaking. The pain of Adonis's absence, of him living a grand life on television screens while she raised his son in quiet survival, flooded her chest until she could barely breathe.

"I don't know, my love," she admitted, her voice trembling. "But I am here. I will always be right here."
Leo looked at her tears, dropped his toy, and climbed into her lap. He wrapped his small arms around her neck and rested his cheek against her chest.

"It's okay, Mommy," he murmured softly, stroking her hair. "I have you."
She held him so tightly her arms throbbed, sobbing silently into his hair, drowned in a love so fierce it swallowed the room whole.

Later that afternoon, Mica was at the hotel, managing the front desk with the calm authority she had built over years of hard work. The ache of the morning stayed tucked deep inside her, masked by her professional posture as she coordinated staff and took care of guests.

As her shift ended, Nathan walked up to the counter, leaning lightly against the polished wood.

"The hotel was just selected as the primary accommodation for the international hockey finals next week," Nathan said, "We have three floors reserved for the teams and their staff. I need you to oversee the VIP welcome personally."

"The finals?" Mica asked, a slight pulse of pride clearing the heavy fog in her mind.

"It's a massive contract," Nathan replied with a warm, encouraging nod. "I'll text you the full team roster and arrival schedules tonight."

"I'll handle it," she said with a faint smile, grateful for the distraction.
She went home, cooked Leo dinner, read him his favorite story twice, and kissed him goodnight. Once his room was quiet and dark, she sat down at the small kitchen table with a hot cup of tea, letting the exhaustion of the day settle heavy on her shoulders.

Her phone buzzed on the table. A text from Nathan with an attached document.

Mica was exhausted already and she promised herself to check the files tomorrow.