Chapter 99: I’m Going To Forgive Him Now
- Reira ☾⋆⁺₊✧ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
- Oct 19, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 5, 2025
Michael opened his eyes, or rather, tried to, but frowned.
He could only open his swollen eyes so much.
Even so, Michael refused to give up and forced his eyes open as much as he could.
The child had a habit of snuggling into his mum’s arms upon waking.
But contrary to the child’s hopes, what appeared first were a pair of golden eyes.
“Mister—”
“Shh.”
Cabelenus pointed to a spot with a nod of his chin.
In the direction he indicated, Alicia was asleep.
Michael blinked a few times, then placed his index finger against his lips.
Michael, too, didn’t want to disturb his mum’s peaceful sleep.
“Come here.”
Cabelenus called out to Michael in a voice so soft it was barely audible.
Michael hesitated for a moment, then carefully climbed down from the bed.
“Why?”
Instead of answering, Cabelenus picked up a box from the bedside table.
Inside the box were various small medical supplies, including medicine and bandages.
“Give me your hand.”
“My hand?”
“Hurry up and give it to me.”
At the added urging, Michael lowered his head.
He hadn’t noticed, but a bandage had been wrapped around the back of his hand.
“We need to change the bandage.”
“But you’re not a physician, though?”
“I can handle simple treatment too.”
Cabelenus unwrapped Michael’s bandage.
As the thinly wrapped bandage came off, the hidden wound was revealed.
“Ow…”
“Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Michael lifted his chin, determined not to show any weakness to Cabelenus.
Cabelenus tilted his head as he looked at the scraped wound.
"It hurts, though."
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“Then tell me if it hurts.”
Cabelenus soaked a cloth in disinfectant and pressed it against the wound.
Michael’s eyes widened in surprise.
The unexpected pain sent chills down his spine.
If he hadn’t realised his mum was asleep, he might have screamed out loud.
“Does it hurt?”
Cabelenus’s hand paused as he applied the disinfectant.
Michael tried to endure it until the end, but eventually nodded.
It hurt too much to bear out of sheer stubbornness.
“If you don’t like pain, then don’t get hurt again.”
“Who gets hurt because they want to?”
“That’s true.”
Cabelenus let out a small chuckle.
Michael’s eyes darted around nervously, watching Cabelenus’s reaction.
“…Do we need to continue the treatment?”
“If you want to heal quickly, then yes.”
“...”
“And if you don’t want to worry your mum, you’ll need to do it even more.”
No sooner had those words left his mouth than the child’s hand was stretched out again.
Cabelenus picked up the disinfectant once more and let out a short sigh as he looked at Michael, who was shaking uncontrollably with his eyes tightly shut.
“If you bravely go through the treatment, I’ll give you a reward.”
“Do you think I’m a child?”
“So, you don’t want it?”
“I never said I didn’t want it.”
Michael quickly interrupted Cabelenus’s words.
Before long, the corners of the child’s mouth had lifted slightly.
“Then what do you want?”
“The most expensive and finest brush.”
“Brush?”
“Actually, it seems like Uncle is really angry with me.”
“...”
“So, if I apologise while giving a gift, wouldn’t that cheer Uncle up?”
Michael’s eyes sparkled with hopeful anticipation.
Cabelenus stared at Michael for a moment, then quickly averted his gaze.
“…Do you really like him that much?”
“Well, Uncle is a good person. He’ll calm down soon.”
Michael nodded.
Cabelenus silently applied the medicine and wrapped the bandage.
“Mister, you’re better at this than I expected. That’s surprising.”
Michael grinned as he inspected the neatly wrapped bandage.
Cabelenus quietly watched the child for a moment, then spoke cautiously.
“…He called you a monster, didn’t he?”
“How did you know?!”
“Even so, you don’t resent him?”
“I might have truly done something wrong, you know.”
Michael’s gaze dropped downward.
“What did you do wrong?”
“I don’t know. People who hurt others usually don’t realise it. I must have done something wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Cabelenus pressed his hand gently against Michael’s head.
Michael looked up at Cabelenus intently.
The man’s hand, stroking his head, was neither as natural nor as gentle as his mum’s.
But Michael could tell, at the very least, that he was being careful.
“You don’t know anything, do you, Mister?”
“I do know. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
“Because you’re not someone who would hurt anyone.”
Red-brown strands of hair slipped softly through Cabelenus’s fingers.
Michael bit his lip nervously and tugged slightly at Cabelenus’s sleeve.
“Uncle said this. He said it was because of me that Mum and you separated.”
“...”
“Is it true? Did you really split up because I was born?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“Really, it’s not?”
“That was my fault, not yours.”
Cabelenus said firmly.
But Michael’s eyes were still trembling.
“Mum had a really hard time living with me.”
“...”
“But if you had stayed by Mum’s side, she would’ve been living like a princess in a big castle, just like now.”
Michael’s voice was almost choked with tears.
Looking back, his mum had always struggled because of him.
The idea that his mum could become unhappy because of him might not have been entirely false.
“So that’s why Uncle hated me. Because of me, Mum's unhappy—”
“That’s never been the case.”
“...”
“Don’t pay attention to such nonsense.”
Cabelenus cupped Michael’s face in his hands, making him look at him.
For a man who had lived as a person of power, catering to others’ whims was unfamiliar.
He still lacked confidence in offering comfort.
Even so, he hoped the child wouldn’t cry.
“Your mum has never regretted having you.”
“But—!”
“You didn’t make your mum unhappy; you made her happy.”
“...”
“That’s how I see it.”
Even as Cabelenus’s grip loosened, Michael didn’t pull away from his hands.
He had tried not to show his weakness, but he couldn’t help it.
That man’s higher-than-normal body warmth and his large hands felt incredibly reassuring.
・・・・・
“Mum, are you awake?”
Michael met her gaze with a beaming smile and then burrowed into Alicia’s embrace.
As soon as Alicia opened her eyes, she reflexively hugged the warm little body rustling in her arms.
“Are you okay, Michael?”
“Yes! Yes! I’m fine!”
“What on earth happened? You really scared Mum.”
“There was something sad, but it’s all okay now.”
“It’s all okay now?”
Alicia wrinkled the bridge of her nose.
But Michael’s face, smiling brightly, looked no different from usual, except for a little puffiness.
“Mum, you’re happy because of me, right?”
“Of course. After all, Michael is Mum's treasure.”
“Really?”
“Have you ever seen Mum lie?”
Alicia lowered her head and pressed a kiss to Michael’s forehead.
“No! I haven’t!”
Michael wrapped his arms tightly around Alicia’s waist.
Being in his mum’s arms made laughter spill out of him almost immediately.
“So you must never scare Mum like that again. If Michael were to disappear, Mum would be truly sad.”
“Okay. I won’t do it again.”
Seeing Michael respond so energetically, a smile spread across Alicia’s face as well.
“You’re a good boy, my son.”
Alicia gently stroked the child’s back, but her gaze fell on the bandage, and she frowned again.
“I hope it doesn’t leave a scar.”
“It won’t. Mister said so.”
“...Mister?”
“This is from when Mister treated me.”
Michael proudly showed the back of his bandaged hand.
“He took good care of you.”
“That’s right. He took good care of me. And….”
Michael paused, fidgeting with his fingers.
For some reason, saying the next words felt embarrassing.
“What? Weren’t you about to tell Mum something?”
“Well… um, Mum. What do you think of Mister?”
“Huh? What do you mean, all of a sudden?”
“Just… I was thinking it wouldn’t be so bad if Mister became my dad.”
“...”
“Of course, it’s not that I need a dad! I’m fine as long as I have you, Mum!”
Michael waved his hands frantically in the air.
The child’s cheeks were flushed, like they’d been dyed with the colour of flowers.
“Michael, do you like Mister?”
“W-well, Mister has a huge castle, and Rex, and lots of candy, and also….”
“And?”
“…You won’t tell Mister, right?”
“If my son wants, I won’t tell a soul.”
Alicia gave a gentle smile.
Michael took a short, deep breath and spoke.
“…You know, lately Mister’s been kind of cool.”
“Huh?”
“Whenever I’m scared, poof! poof! He just shows up.”
“So you like that?”
“It’s not that I like it, but…”
“Really?”
“…Actually, I think I do like it.”
Michael’s cheeks flushed an even deeper red, and Alicia’s smile grew brighter along with it.
“Mister would be happy to hear that.”
“He’d probably tease me about it.”
“That’s not true. Think about how much Mister cares for you, Michael.”
“No way.”
“He really likes you. Even when you disappeared, he was the first to step up.”
Alicia carefully tidied her young son’s messy hair.
Michael fidgeted with his lips before speaking cautiously.
“…Did that really happen?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then. Will you forgive Mister now?”
“Forgive?”
“Mister came way too late, you know.”
For a moment, Alicia’s hand froze.
Having heard the story about his biological father from James, Alicia naturally expected Michael to be shocked, which made her even more cautious.
But when she actually saw the calm expression on the child’s face, she realised there was no need for worry.
The child had known the truth much earlier than she had thought.
“Michael, do you happen to know who Mister…”
Alicia swallowed hard, unable to bring herself to continue.
All the reactions Michael had shown until now flashed through her mind like a series of images.
“Mister was the one who said it first, you know. That he’s not my dad.”
“...”
"That’s why I got upset. He came so late, and he didn’t even act like a dad."
“And Mum might end up liking him more than me.”
Michael pouted, yet fiddled with the bandage.
Cabelenus still wasn’t completely to his liking, but he wasn’t bad.
Even though he couldn’t speak properly and didn’t smell as nice as his mum, Michael still wanted to be with him.
"You know, Mum, I always thought Dad was a bad person."
“…Why did you think that?”
Alicia forced back her tears and gently caressed Michael’s cheek.
Thinking of the child who must have suffered in silence, pretending not to know despite knowing everything, made her heart ache.
"Everyone said Dad abandoned Mum, and he never came to see us even once. So I was planning to keep hating him."
“...”
“But the more I see him, the more I think he's less bad than I thought.”
“So I’ve made up my mind and I’m going to forgive him now.”
Michael smiled.
He gave a dazzling smile that revealed all his teeth.
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