Episode 2

"Mom," Vivian said quietly, "I don't even know what kind of person he is. Or his children. I heard they have a hard time accepting new people."

Her mother waved a hand as if that were not a serious problem. "They're children. If you're patient, they'll come around."

Vivian looked to her father, searching for something. Support. Consideration. At least a pause in the pressure now filling the room.

Her father was still silent. His hand slowly touched the glass of tea that had gone cold. He was not looking at Vivian, but at the table, as if thinking about something much heavier than a proposal.

"Dad..." Vivian called softly.

He let out a long breath. "Do you want to keep working there?" he asked at last, his tone flat.

Vivian fell silent. It was not really a question. More like a reminder.

Her mother cut in again, gentler this time but still firm. "We won't always be here, Vivian. Your brothers have their own families. You live here with us. When we're gone someday, what will you do?"

Her father finally spoke again, more quietly than before. "If you ask me, I won't order you to do it or forbid you from doing it." He paused. "But you also shouldn't live your life only because you're afraid of losing a job."

Vivian lowered her head. Between her mother, who was too certain, and her father, who was too quiet, she felt that neither of them saw the same thing.

This decision was not merely about whether she married.

It was about entering someone else's life, a life she did not yet know, while her dignity, her future, and her fears all stood on the same thin line.

That night, Vivian did not give an answer.

But for the first time, she truly understood that whatever she chose, nothing about it would be light.

Vivian finally met Sebastian on the day Margaret arranged.

She arrived with a feeling she could not fully explain, somewhere between nervous, awkward, and faintly resigned. In her imagination, a widower with five children would be older, perhaps worn down, perhaps robbed of too many things by life.

That image collapsed before she could even properly assemble it.

The man standing before her looked nothing like what she had imagined.

Sebastian Hale. He was not much older than she was, perhaps three years. His face was firm, but there was no hiding his good looks. He carried himself neatly, with authority, yet something about him felt distant, as if his body were present while his mind was somewhere else entirely.

Vivian hesitated before stepping forward.

"Vivian Avery?" Sebastian's voice was flat, almost formal.

She nodded quickly. "Yes."

There was no welcoming smile. No warm small talk. Only a brief look that felt more like assessment than introduction.

Sebastian gestured to the chair across from the small table. "Please sit."

Vivian sat carefully, arranging her hands on her knees. The room was silent, too orderly to feel like home and too cold to feel welcoming. A few seconds passed without a word. At last, Vivian forced herself to begin, though her voice was soft.

"I'm Vivian. I teach at the academy."

Sebastian gave a slight nod. "I know."

Vivian studied the man in front of her quietly. Up close, she became even more aware of what did not match her expectations. Sebastian was not an old man tired by age. He was a young man tired by something deeper. It was not his body that seemed heavy.

It was his eyes.

As if he carried something unfinished.

"I'm sorry if this situation feels..." Vivian paused, searching for the right word.

Sebastian shook his head. "Not unusual," he answered shortly. "Just unnecessary to discuss for too long."

The sentence silenced Vivian. Not because it was cruel. Because it was cold. As if this conversation did not matter much to him.

Vivian breathed in slowly, trying to stay calm. "Margaret said... you need someone for your children."

For the first time, Sebastian's expression changed slightly. Not warmer. Heavier.

"The children don't need someone new," he answered flatly.

Vivian blinked. "Then?"

Sebastian looked at her for a long time. For a moment, something crossed his eyes. Not anger. Not hatred. Something held in for too long.

"What they need is already gone," he said quietly.

Vivian handled the words carefully. "Your wife?" she finally asked, nearly in a whisper.

Sebastian did not answer at once. But when he gave a small nod, the motion felt like opening a door to a room he never wanted to enter again.

"Has it been long?" Vivian asked, more carefully now. Margaret had told her the outline, but Vivian felt she needed to hear it from him.

"Not long enough to forget," Sebastian said.

The sentence hung in the air.

Vivian lowered her gaze, realizing this conversation was no longer about her or the marriage being offered. It was about someone still alive in the memory of the man sitting across from her.

Sebastian leaned back and looked toward the window. "I don't know why my mother chose you," he said at last. "But if you're hoping this will become a warm family... you've come to the wrong place."

Vivian lifted her head. A small urge pushed her to ask more, but she held it back.

For the first time since the offer had come, she understood something much more clearly.

The problem was not only five children rejecting a new mother. The problem was a father who had never truly let go of his dead wife.

And Vivian, without realizing it, had just stepped into a house still full of someone who could not be seen but had not left.

Vivian took a long breath before speaking again. His earlier words still hung between them: his wife, the cold house, two strangers forced to sit at the same table. But Vivian knew if she was not honest now, everything would only become more unclear.

"Before this goes any further, I need to be honest about my condition."

Sebastian turned slightly toward her. He did not interrupt.

Vivian clasped her fingers over her knees, trying to keep her voice steady. "When I was nearly twenty, a doctor diagnosed me and said I wouldn't be able to have children." She continued, softer. "I didn't really understand the medical terms. At the time, I was only told there was a problem that made my chances of pregnancy almost nonexistent."

She glanced at Sebastian, then quickly lowered her eyes again. "But I have all the papers. I still keep all the test results. If you want to see them, I can show you."

Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to continue. "So... with a condition like that, I want to ask you directly."

Vivian drew a breath.

"Do you mind?"

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