Morning came anyway.
It always did.
Soft sunlight filtered through the dining room curtains, warm and ordinary in a way that almost felt offensive considering the storm raging inside Neo's head. The quiet clink of cutlery against ceramic plates filled the space, along with the faint hum of the refrigerator and Pia's occasional scrolling noises from her phone.
Neo sat at the dining table already dressed for school, posture straight but stiff, his fork lazily pushing scrambled eggs from one side of the plate to the other. He hadn't taken a real bite in minutes.
His eyes were unfocused.Far away.
"Mmm… Neo…"
No response.
Maggie glanced up from her tea, her brows slowly knitting together.
"Neo." Still nothing.
Her voice softened but grew firmer the third time.
"Neo!!."
He blinked.
Like someone surfacing from deep underwater.
"Yeah-" His voice came out rough, distracted. He straightened slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm so sorry, Mom."
But the apology didn't fool anyone.
Not Maggie.Not Pia. Neo looked… stressed.
Not the normal school stress. Not the casual overthinking he usually masked with a quiet smile.
This was heavier.
It sat in his shoulders, in the tight line of his jaw, in the way his fingers kept tapping restlessly against the table.
Maggie set her cup down slowly.
Carefully.
The way only a mother who knows her child does.
"Baby…" Her voice was gentle but steady, eyes soft with concern as they studied his face. "Tell me please… what are you thinking about?"
Neo's throat tightened immediately.
Too fast. Too sharp.
"Mom… I…" The words rose, stumbled, then died in his mouth. His lips pressed together, shoulders tensing like something inside him physically refused to come out.
Silence stretched.
Pia sighed softly beside him, then reached across the table and grabbed his hands before he could pull away.
"Come on, Neo," she said, her voice warm but firm very big-sister energy, even though she wasn't "Say it. At least your family can also play a role somewhere, not just Lucas and the rest."
That…That hit, harder than Neo expected.
Because she was right.
Painfully right.
Somewhere along the line, he had started compartmentalizing building walls, deciding what his family could and couldn't handle. Convincing himself he was protecting them.
But all it had really done… was distance him.
Neo's fingers slowly tightened around Pia's hand.
His shoulders dropped a fraction.
"Mom…" His voice came out quieter now. Raw. "I saw him."
Three words. Just three.
But Maggie went completely still.
The air in the room shifted instantly.
Her eyes sharpened not panicked, but alert in that terrifyingly calm way she had when something serious was unfolding.
"Who did you see, Neo?" she asked gently.
She already knew. But she needed him to say it, needed to hear it out loud.
Neo swallowed, then his chest felt tight.
"I saw him. I saw D'uther, Mom."
Pia's grip on his hand tightened.
Maggie's face didn't crumble she was stronger than that but Neo caught the flicker in her eyes. The brief flash of something protective and dangerous.
"Why is he back?" Neo's voice started to shake despite his effort to stay composed. The words began spilling faster now, like a dam cracking. "What does he want from me... from us? He… he kidnapped me and Aiden to his house and…and"
His breath hitched.
"…and said he wanted us back."
The last word broke. Actually broke.
Neo's composure finally snapped under the weight of everything he'd been holding in. His fingers curled into fists on the table, shoulders trembling slightly as the stress, the fear, the anger all of it rushed to the surface at once.
"I don't need him here," Neo whispered hoarsely, eyes glossy now. "With me… with us… and especially close to you or Pia."
That did it.
The room fell into a heavy, emotional silence.
And for the first time since yesterday…
Neo looked like the boy who had been carrying too much for too long.
Maggie moved before Neo could even try to pull himself together.
Her chair scraped softly against the floor as she rushed to his side, hands immediately coming up to cradle his face warm, steady, grounding. The moment she pulled him into her arms, Neo broke completely, his composure dissolving as quiet sobs shook through him.
Maggie held him tighter.
Firm, unmoving.
"Don't worry," she murmured into his hair, voice thick but controlled. "It won't be like last time, okay? We left that life behind a long time ago… and we are definitely not going back, Neo."
Her arms shifted, one hand reaching blindly until she caught Pia and pulled her in too gathering both her children against her like she could physically shield them from the past.
Her voice dropped, softer now. More fragile.
"I… I can't bear to see either you or Aiden go through the same hell a second time again. Neither both of you… or your little sister Pia."
Neo nodded weakly against her shoulder, breath hitching between fading sobs.
"I know, Mom… we know," he managed, voice muffled but sincere.
For a moment, they just stayed like that three hearts beating close, the morning light wrapping around them like something protective.
Then Maggie gently pulled back.
Her hands came up to cup Neo's cheeks again, thumbs brushing away the dampness under his eyes. Her gaze was steady now. Focused. Strong in that quiet, unshakable way that always made Neo feel ten percent braver.
"Now hey… hey," she said softly. "Look at me."
Neo lifted his eyes.
"You'll clean yourselves up and head to school, okay? No more overthinking." Her lips curved slightly. "I'm not naïve anymore, okay?"
Neo's expression softened despite the heaviness still sitting in his chest.
"You were never naïve, Mom," he said gently. "You just loved too hard."
Maggie blinked.
Then huffed a quiet laugh. "True."
"Very true," Pia chimed in immediately, squeezing Maggie's side.
And just like that, the tension cracked.
Soft laughter filled the dining room, warm and real, chasing away the sharp edges of fear that had settled there minutes ago.
Maggie clapped her hands lightly once, slipping back into full Mom mode.
"Alright, time to move, okay?"
"Okay," Neo and Pia answered almost in sync.
They wiped their faces, fixed themselves up, and finally returned to the table. This time, Neo actually ate not much, but enough to keep Maggie from giving him that look.
The rest of breakfast passed in comfortable silence.
Not heavy.Not tense, just… quiet understanding.
Soon enough, bags were grabbed, shoes were slipped on, and the front door opened with the usual morning shuffle.
"Bye, Mom!" "Have a good day!"
"Text me when you get there," Maggie called automatically.
The door clicked shut behind them.
And just like that, the house fell still.
Maggie stood there for a long moment, the faint echo of their voices lingering in the air. Then slowly… the softness left her expression.
Her shoulders straightened.
Her eyes sharpened.
She exhaled once, long and controlled, before reaching for her phone on the counter.
Because if D'uther thought he could just walk back into their lives
Yeah.No.
Maggie had some visiting to do.
She headed to her room after cleaning up and arranging the kitchen and dining room, she walked until she came to her mirror.
Maggie didn't move for a long time.
She just stood there in front of the mirror, fingers resting lightly on the edge of the dresser, eyes locked on her own reflection like she was trying to read the woman staring back at her.
God… she looked tired.
Not just sleepy tired. Bone-deep tired.
The kind that came from juggling too many jobs, too many bills, too many silent worries that never made it past her lips. The faint shadows under her eyes told stories she never let her kids hear.
Still…
Her gaze softened slightly.
Neo had helped.He really had, even though she was against it the first time but clearly he was adamant about it so she let it be.
Some of the weight on her shoulders had eased these past months, and for the first time in years, Maggie had started to breathe a little easier… sleep a little deeper… smile a little more without forcing it.
And now,
Her jaw tightened.
D'uther had to show up and disturb the small, fragile peace she had fought tooth and nail to build for herself and her children.
Her fingers curled slowly against the dresser.
Not happening. Not again. Not like before
Maggie stepped closer to the mirror, studying every inch of her face with sharp, unflinching honesty.
She was different. Clearly different.
The softness that once made her hesitate… the hesitation that once made her endure and made her tell herself everyday he would would change one day.....it was gone now. Burned out. Replaced with something quieter.
Something harder.
Her ex-husband was not about to walk back into her life and start making demands like the past still owned her.
Absolutely not.
Without another word, Maggie turned and walked toward the bed.
She bent down slowly careful, deliberate and reached deep underneath, fingers finding the hidden groove in the wooden floorboard most people would never notice.
With a firm pull.
A large, heavy box slid out from the shadows.
It had been hidden well.
Even someone intentionally checking under the bed wouldn't have spotted it.
Maggie dragged it fully into the light and crouched beside it, her movements calm… practiced… familiar in a way that said this wasn't her first time doing this.
The lid creaked softly as she opened it.
Inside,
Order. Precision.
A carefully curated collection of weapons lay neatly arranged, from compact pieces to heavier builds, alongside rows of blades and meticulously lined ammunition. Everything clean. Maintained. Ready.
Maggie's lips curved slowly.
Not wide. Not dramatic.
Just a small, knowing smirk that carried years of history behind it.
Her fingers hovered briefly over the collection, almost… fond.
"Well," she murmured quietly to herself,
"…long time no see."
She picked up her all-time favorite and turned it over in her hand with quiet familiarity.
The weight was comforting, steady. Reliable.
Maggie checked it with practiced ease, movements smooth from muscle memory rather than thought. A soft, precise click echoed in the quiet room as she loaded it, her expression never once wavering.
Then, just as calmly, she slipped it into her bag between her usual things wallet, keys, planner like it belonged there.
Like it always had.
She rose to her feet and moved toward her closet.
Today, she didn't rush. Didn't scramble.
Didn't move with the breathless urgency that had defined so many of her mornings over the years.
Instead, Maggie dressed slowly.
Deliberately.
Taking her time button by button, smoothing down fabric, adjusting the small details most people would overlook. There was something almost ritualistic about it… like she was armoring herself piece by piece.
By the time she was done, the tired woman from the mirror was gone.
In her place stood someone composed.
Controlled. Ready.
Maggie stepped out of the bedroom and made her way down the stairs, the house now quiet after the kids had left. The silence pressed in, but she didn't let it linger long.
Halfway down the staircase, she pulled her phone from her bag.
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
For a moment…
She hesitated.
Her mind clearly weighing something heavy.
Then.
Tap. She lifted the phone to her ear.
It rang once. Twice.
The line picked up immediately.
Maggie's posture straightened just slightly.
"Good morning. It's Maggie."
There was a brief pause not uncertainty, but careful choice of words.
Then she exhaled softly and spoke again, voice lower now, more private.
"Can I ask you for a favor, please?"
She listened.
Waited.
Whatever came from the other end seemed to loosen something in her shoulders, just barely.
"And… oh, Lucas…"
This time, her tone carried quiet seriousness.
"Please don't tell anyone about this. Not even Neo."
Another pause.
Then, softly but firmly:
"Thank you."