Arcane Breath felt so heavy, due to the high fever he was currently experiencing. He didn’t understand why he had fallen so ill, but one thing was certain. His head was killing him.
His body was also sweating profusely, soaking his bed. He opened his eyes, looking for Julian, but his husband was not near him at that moment.
"Julian," he called weakly, but Julian, who was with Donald at the time, couldn’t hear him.
Even though he called him several times, his voice was so small that he was sure Julian couldn’t hear him.
His throat felt so sore and dry, he wanted to drink some water, but his glass was empty. Since Julian still didn’t come when he called him, Arcane forced himself to get out of bed and look for him.
"Julian, where are you?" While continuing to call him, he leaned his body against the wall and walked slowly with his trembling legs.
As he left the room, he tried to head toward the kitchen. Instead of going to the kitchen, he heard the voices of two people talking at the front door. Feeling curious and thinking it must be Julian, Arcane held onto the wall to help him walk toward the front door.
When he peeked toward the front door, he was quite surprised to see Julian chatting with Donald. He hadn’t expected his father to come to his house that day. But why?
"Is the girl we talked about under the tree that day... Is she Wilona Romano?" asked Julian.
Donald was very surprised when Julian knew that name. Because he hadn’t heard that name spoken by anyone in a long time. Only he always mentioned that name every time he thought about it.
"How did you know that name? That name should have been lost a long time ago. It’s been almost 20 years since I last heard that name. I miss her so much..." he replied with a trembling voice.
That was it. Donald immediately told him everything about Wilona. How much he still loved that woman, even now. Not a day went by without him thinking about her, and that was what had been causing trouble between him and his wife all this time.
"She was such a cheerful girl. Even though she was clumsy and always got bad grades, it made her look so sweet. Seeing her struggle to get the best grades just to make me happy."
He took a photo out of his jacket pocket. A photo he had carried with him for decades, a photo of himself with Wilona under a tree.
The photo was taken when they had only been in a secret relationship between teacher and student for a few months.
"At that time, I tried to convince myself that our relationship was not a good thing. But she kept saying that she loved me. She didn’t care what people would say."
"Don’t let others dictate our relationship! If you like me, then I feel the same way! Now... Do you still want others to control your life?" That’s what Donald always remembered Wilona saying.
A smile appeared on his face as he recalled that moment. He vividly remembered the girl’s beautiful face pouting, just because he reminded her that they were teacher and student.
"Now she must be living happily with her partner and have children. I don’t know if she still remembers me or not," he said with a chuckle, remembering the past and assuming that Wilona was with someone else.
He admitted that when he first saw Arcane, he reminded him of Wilona. From how their faces were slightly similar, and their hair color was both red. Moreover, Arcane’s last name was also Romano, Wilona’s last name.
But he tried to dismiss the possibility that Arcane was Wilona’s child. Because Arcane should have used the last name of Wilona’s husband, or his father.
"So you think it’s just a coincidence that Arcane has her last name, an almost identical face, and red hair? Don’t you think he has green eyes like you?" asked Julian, who kept pushing Donald to realize that Arcane was his son.
"Anyone can have eyes like mine. You could even have yellow eyes like her, It’s common. It could just be a coincidence."
Arcane, who was listening to their entire conversation, slowly felt his heart beating so fast.
’So all this time he still remembers? All this time he still remembers about my mom. But why has he never tried to look for her?’
That’s what he was thinking at that moment.
Seeing how Julian kept pushing Donald to realize who he was, Arcane forced himself to get closer so he could hear more clearly.
"Is it true?" asked Arcane in a hoarse voice.
They both immediately turned to look at him, seeing his pale face. Julian immediately ran towards Arcane to hold him back and get him back into bed.
"You’re still sick! Why did you get out of bed?" he asked frantically. But Arcane told him to be quiet and wanted to hear his father’s answer.
"Your husband is right! You have to go back to bed because you’re still weak."
However, once again, he was so stubborn and refused to return to his room until Donald answered his question. He would return only if the man gave him the answer he wanted.
In the end, he agreed and would answer any question Arcane asked, as long as he would return to his room immediately afterward.
With a heavy sigh, Arcane returned to ask. "Is it true that you still think about her? Do you... still love her?"
He knew this was a silly question, especially since his father had married another woman and had two children. But from the way he said he still remembered Wilona, Arcane hoped that love still existed.
"Yes. Not a single day goes by without me thinking about her. She is my Wilona, and you really remind me of her," he replied without the slightest hesitation. Donald admitted that he still loved her.
"Does that answer your question?" he continued to ask. "If so, please go back to rest. Let me help you."
The middle aged man walked over to help Arcane back to bed. Just as he was about to help him back to the room, Arcane suddenly fell and lost consciousness.
Julian’s eyes widened in shock as he saw Arcane lying unconscious on the floor.
"ARCANE!"