Chapter 5 - The Uninvited GuestThat evening, the rain began to fall—heavy, relentless sheets that turned the streets of Garden View into shimmering mirrors of neon light.
Vivian sat at her kitchen table, staring blankly at a cup of cold tea. Leo was asleep in his bedroom down the hall, clutching a stuffed dinosaur Adrian had awkwardly bought him from the clinic gift shop before she forced him out.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Vivian froze. It was past nine o'clock. Nobody knocked on her door this late except patients in absolute crisis.
She pulled open the door, ready to snap, but the words died in her throat.
It was Adrian. He was soaked through to the skin, his expensive suit ruined, his hair plastered to his forehead. But he wasn't leaving. In his hands, he held a plastic bag from a local 24-hour diner—greasy burgers, fries, and a carton of milk.
"Go away, Adrian," she groaned, trying to push the door shut.
Adrian jammed his foot into the threshold, blocking it with quiet determination. "I didn't come here to fight, Vivian. I came to bring dinner. Just like we used to do in your tiny apartment when the radiator hissed and the table wobbled."
Vivian looked down at the bag. A sharp, painful pang of nostalgia twisted inside her chest.
"You're pathetic," she whispered, stepping back to let him in.
Adrian stepped inside, tracking water onto her linoleum floor. He didn't care. He set the bag on the wobbly kitchen table—the exact same cheap table she had kept all these years.
"I bought a house here," Adrian said softly as he shrugged off his ruined jacket.
Vivian turned around, her eyes widening. "What?"
"I bought a house on Maple Street," Adrian said, meeting her gaze steadily. "Down the road from the clinic. I’m not leaving, Vivian. You can hate me, you can lock me out, you can call the police. But I spent five years looking for my son, and I’m not spending another five minutes away from him. Or you."
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Before Vivian could reply, a small voice echoed from the hallway.
"Mommy? Is the sad man still here?"
