No Daddy?

'Alright, that's enough motherly love for one day.'

Artis cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. The sun was high, and noon was creeping in. Which meant—it was almost time for his fucking date.

He patted Rai's head with all the wisdom and authority of a village elder and smirked.

"Go tell your father that someone stronger than him just saved your mother."

Then, like the absolute bastard he was, Artis struck a pose—arms crossed, chin lifted, chest puffed out like a goddamn heroic warrior. He looked fucking magnificent.

But—

Just as he was basking in his own divine glow—

Rai blinked. Then, with the innocence of a fucking lamb, he tilted his head and said—

"But Rai doesn't have a father."

Artis froze. His smirk flickered. The confidence drained from his face like someone had just yanked the floor out from under him.