Leap OF Fate

Seeing her packing their things shattered his world. She's running away again. He just had a taste of how it felt to be a part of the twins' lives and she's taking them away.

He knew he hurt her before, but he wanted to make up for it if only she'd give her a chance. One chance to make it right and prove to her how much they mattered to him. A single chance is all he wanted.

He has not asked her about it yet, but here she is packing her luggage, poised to run away again. They've been playing cat and mouse for such a long time, it has become tiresome. How long would it take him to find them again this time?

He sat at the edge of Serene's bed. His elbows dug into his knees while his hands held his head. With his head down, a veil of dark hair fell on either side of his face. His slumped shoulder shook as he sobbed in silence.

Suddenly, his world became dark, and he had no one but himself and his pain. Like he had always been in the past five years.

"Serene, I know I hurt you. I was a jerk for not trusting you and for not bothering to listen to you. There was not a day in the past five years that I did not regret cutting you off my life." Justin's voice trembled when he spoke. He lifted his head to meet her eyes. Tears flowed out of them like a waterfall.

This was the first time Serene saw Justin look defeated. His usual arrogance and confidence gone. All she saw was a man, exposed and vulnerable. His pain written all over him. Has he been this way in the past five years?

She remembered her dark days when she had postpartum depression. It's a tough spot to be in, and it feels like it will never end. You stop living and simply exist until you reach a point where you'll choose not to.

"I missed you. All I wanted was to have you back. All these years, I looked for you. And now, you're here..." he scanned her face. A bitter smile formed on his lips. "You're here... but all you want is to run away from me." He bowed his head, his tears formed tiny pools on the floor. "I want you back, Serene. You and the twins."

"Justin..." Serene looked at him with complicated emotion. It pained her to see him this way. The Justin she knew was a strong and confident man. He's always sure of himself. The man before her now wailed like a boy. Even Pax has not cried that way.

Both of them had been hurting for the past five years. She from being cast away while he from regretting his thoughtless actions.

Both of them lived in pain. If she had any consolation, the twins were there to brighten her life. It's hard for her to imagine life without them.

"Justin..." she called him again, but he did not look at her. He continued to look at his feet, his tears dropped to the floor one after the other creating a tiny pool.

"Serene, I'm so sorry. I hurt you. I'm sorry." He chanted his apology. "Please don't leave. Don't leave, ok?" He looked at her with pleading eyes. He looked more like a pleading child than a man. His eyes red from crying.

Serene walked towards him and hugged him. Justin buried his head in her soft abdomen, inhaling her familiar scent. His shoulders continued to shake as he stabilized his breathing.

"Justin, I can't promise anything for now. A lot has happened in the past five years. We've both lived in pain. But I cannot deny that I have never seen my children happier after knowing that they have a father. Let's take this slow and see where it leads us, ok?"

Justin lifted his head to look at her tender eyes. Take it slow. They've already lost time. How can he take another day away from her? But then, this is better than her hiding from him. "You won't run away?" he asked her.

"No. Let's talk more about how we can co-parent, some other time ok? But for now, I need to finish packing."

"I thought you said you're not running away." Justin sounded like a deceived child.

"I'm not. We're not. I've been away from work for some time, so I need to shuttle between Coast and Pine City in the next couple of weeks. Of course, I'm taking the twins with me, solm packing their stuff."

"Pine City?"

"Yeah. Al and I started some business there two years ago. It's still quite new, so I need to be more hands on."

"Hm."

So it's business. He heaved a sigh of relief from knowing she will not go into hiding again. She's good at it, he'll give her that.

"Let's talk more when I come back, ok?" She talked to him in a soft voice and ran her fingers through his hair He's like Pax. Both man and child conceal their soft sides with their hard cold and arrogant exteriors.

"OK." He agreed, then buried his face again on her abdomen.

Serene cupped his face and forced him to look at her. "Or you can come to Pine City this weekend. We're opening a food park." She smiled at him.

Was she inviting her to spend a weekend with them? He couldn't be happier. A weekend with her and the twins.

"OK."

"Great. I'll have Viv contact you and give you details within the week. We can probably discuss how we'll co-parent then."

Although it was not what he wanted, he thought that co-parenting was a good start for them. At least, they no longer fought over the children.

He knew he needed to work hard to win her heart again. And work hard, he will. He'll spend the rest of his life proving to her and their children how much they mattered to him. Giving up is not an option.

The twins' kidnapping brought a change in her. She valued life and time more. Facing such a life-threatening situation, she realized that holding on to her pain did not help her or her children at all.

She thought she could provide her

children all the love they needed to be happy. But she never saw them happier when they learned they had a father Even Pax, who hardly smiled, became cheerful and chatty. If having him in their lives would make her children happier and better, so be it.

As for her and Justin, she'll leave that to time. If they're meant to be, then they will be. She had no intention of rushing things between them.00000