Mavik sat in his office, his pen cshing against the paper as he tried to focus.

  The more he sat there in silence, the more he regretted working this much. It was taking a toll on him, both physically and mentally, and it was honestly just draining.

  He sighed quietly to himself, feeling the thoughts start taking over his mind again.

  Memories of Cir asking him to spend more time with her started to pop up, bubbling inside his head as he regretted every time he brushed her off or pushed her away. All the times his son would py in his office to spend more time with him, all those times that his lover would beg him to leave his room, even if it was just to get a proper night's rest.

  That kind of behaviour was something he always called clingy, and disliked immensely. Yet, thinking back on it, it wasn't even that bad.

  It wasn't as if he wouldn't often overwork himself to exhaustion, staying up all night or locking himself in his office all day to focus on paperwork.

  Honestly, he was starting to regret paying so little attention to his family. He was so consumed by his desire for success and the perfect life he deserved, that he was blinded by it and forgot what was really important. Who was really important.

  He was so stupid. His ex lover was the best thing that had ever happened in his life, and he threw her away like she was nothing.

  It's not like the agreement he has with him helped him in any way, either. He could take Liam on weekends occasionally, although his son would usually stay with Cir and her new partner.

  Cir's new partner... He couldn't believe that she was actually dating her own boss. It made him wonder if he had any affairs while they were together.

  Well, not like he would put it past her to give the affection that he deserved to someone else instead. He did find himself getting a bit touch starved with Cir paying so much attention to Liam to the point of having a few flings himself, although Cir never gave him too much of a hard time about it. She always forgave him and moved on, not wanting to give up hope.

  Even if he tried to deny it, a part of him knew he regretted it all.

  He was such a fool to let her go.

  He hated Dyn for that. For being chosen over him. What did he have that Cir chose that ugly excuse for a man instead of crawling back to him? What did he do wrong that made her agree to their break up so easily?

  He was supposed to get Cir to stay with him. He deserved to have her begging by his feet and give him anything he wanted. He owned her. Cir depended on him.

  He sighed again, shaking his head. She doesn’t matter. He should keep looking forward and just forget about everything else. He needs to focus on his job. Nothing else matters. No one else matters.

  Maybe if he just works a little harder, things will end up better. Maybe if he just pushed himself a little more, he'd finally manage to get what he hoped.

  It was hard, sure, but he had to cope. This was more important. He shouldn't be thinking about Cir right now, nor about Liam. They were a phase, something to feel normal for a while, and they passed. He should just think of the future he could have now single and with no responsibilities. No one to care for, no one to stop him.

  No one to hold him.

  He had no one.

  Mavik cursed himself silently, standing up and pushing his chair back with a loud screech. He needed a break...

  Mavik sighed as he shut the door of his car shut, not caring that he smmed it so hard it might have broken. As if he needed any more money to waste after all the wine he'd bought himself these st couple months.

  Forcing himself to step away from his car, he looked up at the house- no, the mansion, that sat in front of him.

  A huge pce, all the lights turned on, and what seemed to be party music bsting loudly inside it. Needless to say, he wasn't looking forward to going in.

  Yet, he didn't have much of a choice. Although he wished he could go back in his car and leave, drive back home and bury himself in his paperwork, he knew that doing that would make him a coward. And he couldn’t appear as a coward in front of Cir.

  Not again.

  Convincing himself this was the right thing to do, he started walking towards the house.

  Each step felt long and heavy, each tap of his foot against the ground making unwanted memories flood up his mind. All the good memories, all the opportunities, everything had wasted. All because of Cir.

  It took a few minutes before he reached the door, noting to himself how big the pce seemed. She must love all the space she has here, unlike in the apartment they used to have together.

  Despite initially hesitating, he forced himself to take a deep breath before raising his hand to knock on the door, feeling rather nervous at the thought of seeing her again.

  And he knocked. Then once more. By the third time he sighed.

  No response.

  He shook his head before giving up, brushing his hair back with his hand which didn't help calm him down at all, he decided to just go for it and open the door.

  The sight was... far from what he expected, to say the least.

  The pce was filled with little kids running around all over, adults chatting in every corner and some pying with the kids. He could recognize a few faces, but even they were ones he didn't think this Dyn guy knew.

  And it didn't help that everyone, including the kids, were dressed luxuriously, looking like they came straight out of a movie.

  Mavik felt a pang of jealousy in his chest at seeing how well off Cir must be with this new guy.

  Thankfully, no one seems to have particurly noticed him, so he felt a little more comfortable to step in and look around the house.

  It was evident how out of pce he looked, so he made a point to try and be seen as little as possible. It was rather difficult to find a room that wasn't crowded all over, despite the size of the pce. However, he didn't stop until he found a more empty part of the house. And it was flooded with kids.

  Upon closer inspection, they all looked to be around five to eight years in age, occasionally differing a bit. It made sense, in the end, as Liam befriended a lot of different people.

  He wondered for a moment if he considered Cir's new partner his friend, or something more.

  Pushing the thought aside, he looked around, until he finally spotted a familiar face. He walked towards the figure, watching as its little face looked up at him. He crouched down to their level, attempting to appear friendly.

  "Lawrence," He called, watching as the boy looked up at him.

  "...Yes? Oh, uh, hello. I didn’t know you were here." The boy mumbled in confusion.

  There was a short pause of uncertainty as neither of them spoke, before Mavik cleared his throat.

  "Do you know where your father or Liam are?"

  Lawrence looked around for a moment, before he pointed towards a hallway. One of the many hallways he saw around, which made him wonder how anyone could know their way around this pce. "I saw Liam there earlier," He expined, "He's in the kitchen. They're preparing to cut his cake."

  Mavik nodded, lifting himself back up. The thought of talking for a bit more, or at least thanking the boy for the information came up, but he digressed. He shouldn't waste any time; he didn't want to stay here a second longer than he had to.

  Without another thought, he headed the direction the little boy pointed at, hoping not to receive too many looks for his appearance. He didn't exactly dress fancily, not having thought he needed more than a simple shirt and a pair of oversized jeans, but all the other adults were dressed like they were getting married. It made him question just how entitled Cir was to think she deserved something like this for her son. Or, their son, he guessed.

  Thankfully, he didn’t have long to think about it before finally reaching his destination.

  The moment he stepped foot in the kitchen, all eyes turned to look at him. All three pairs of eyes of the people he was dreading to see here the most.

  Cir stiffened up as her gaze darkened upon seeing the man entering the room. It almost stirred something in him to see just how the interaction ruined her previous mood.

  "Cir," He called, his tone as unamused as it always was. Hoping she was done pying games and ready to return.

  ”Mavik,” She retorted, not having anything else to add.

  "Liam!" The little boy suddenly called from where he was stuffing his face with cake, making both exes roll their eyes, irritation and fondness taking over their respective expressions.

  Surprisingly, Cir immediately turned her attention to the boy, ruffling his hair and completely ignoring the man who just entered.

  Mavik was stunned, having expected Cir to at least pay more attention to his presence. To say something else. To beg to go back to him and apologize for everything she did. To admit she was just trying to make him jealous. To give herself up to him.

  Yet, all she did was turn back to Liam.

  To Liam and Dyn.

  A sudden jolt of awareness spiked through him at that thought. He's wasted over six years on this stupid woman that couldn't do a single damn thing right for him if her life depended on it.

  He couldn't help getting angry as he stood there like a fool, his fists clenching by his sides. He couldn't help what he did next either, as he walked closer to Cir, anger boiling in his veins as he grabbed her shoulder and tore her away from Liam.

  "So that’s it?" He growled, "You're just gonna ignore me?

  She visibly tensed up, shaking his hand off and taking a few steps back. However, she didn’t look at him, but instead right behind him. gncing back, he could see pink fluff creating a shadow behind him, already knowing who it was, but his attention was taken back to the woman when she spoke.

  "I don't know you. I don't have a reason to pay attention to you." She expined simply, her voice a level of cold he’d never heard from his usually caring partner.

  "It was Liam's choice to invite you to his birthday, not mine. So I ask that you don't touch me, or I'll have security be called on you.

  Mavik couldn't help but scoff. Security? They ordered security to a birthday party? Liam was just a kid, he probably didn't even mean that much to them. They must have done it because they knew that he would show. She still thinks about him after all. She has to.

  "You have no right to do that to me," He snarled, "After everything you did. I'm staying here for as long as I want, and you're going to talk to me, you fucking coward."

  Cir scowled, but there was still that bit of sadness in her face that showed that she was hurt. That she cared. And Dyn looked just about ready to punch him.

  "Who do you think you are, coming into my house when you know everyone here would rather see you dead?" Dyn started.

  That finally caused Mavik to snap.

  “I’m Cir’s boyfriend, she isn’t yours. I don’t know what kind of whitcraft you used to scare her away from me, but she, she belongs to me. I’m here and I’m going to do whatever I want, do you hear me? You can’t stop me! You have no power over me, unlike all your little minions.”

  The rage was taking over him, seeing red as his tone grew louder and louder. He knew even people in the other rooms could likely hear him, but he couldn’t stop.

  ”Now, go take your-”

  He couldn’t stop until he heard a little voice interrupt him.

  "Can you stop shouting at daddy?" Liam asked, turning to the three from where he still sat on the kitchen counter, his cream-covered face showing a frown.

  Both Cir and Dyn’s expressions softened at the sight, while Mavik almost smirked.

  "You heard him, Doresson," Mavik said, his voice almost smug now at having the child defend him, "Stop yelling at his 'daddy'. You're no one to him."

  Dyn’s expression grew red, but the anger was not directed at Liam. He looked like he wanted to tear Mavik’s face off, and if not for the boy speaking again he likely would have.

  Gncing between the men as they continued arguing, Liam looked uneasy. He turned to Cir, btantly asking "Mommy, can you make Ma’ik leave? He's being mean to daddy."

  That statement made Mavik freeze. Was this stupid Dyn really more of a father figure than he was? Did Liam hate him that much? That kid was such a mistake.

  Now was Dyn’s turn to smirk, as he menacingly looked down at the shocked man.

  "You heard him, fuckface. Leave, right now. My son doesn't want you here."

  Those words only infuriated Mavik more, feeling himself get heated up with rage. He didn't even care that he was next to a child anymore, even if it was his own son. He didn't care that he was around other people. He only cared about Dyn and putting him in his pce.

  He reached up to grab the colr of the man's feather coat, his free hand moving back to throw his fist at him as he growled out his name.

  Right before his knuckles made contact with that ugly head, he realized he couldn't move. Physically, his arm wouldn’t budge.

  He spun around, seeing an unfamiliar man holding his arm, his grip so tight he almost thought he was made of metal for a moment.

  "Let me go, you-" he scoffed, struggling as he was forced into an effortless headlock. He gnced back up at Dyn.

  "Would you like him thrown outside, young sir?"

  Undeterred from the threat, Dyn nodded, grinning to himself.

  "Yes~ Leave him outside, and call the police for trespassing. You're doing splendid, Vd~ Really redeeming yourself,” And as if to add insult to injury, he spat “Unlike some people."

  Vd nodded, before he started dragging Mavik away with impossible force.

  "Fucking bastard! let me go," He growled, pulling and kicking at the man who seemed not to respond to anything. It was almost as if the praise from Dyn made him invincible.

  Before he was fully dragged out the door, he had one st look at Dyn and Cir as they hugged, Liam grinning at the two.

  She had everything she ever wanted. A fancy home, a happy son, and a loving partner.

  Something Mavik could never provide.

  Something that Cir was deserving of. Something that Mavik was dependent on achieving to get a happy ending, yet he lost.

  Just like he lost his family.

  And it was all his fault.