~Noah~

indefectible /●adj. not liable to fail, end or decay

"Oh my god! From where did you get the recipe of this thing?" moaned my little one as he stuffed the food into his mouth carelessly.

I chuckled and shook my head.

We were having dinner, eating another Indian dish I had tried a hand at this week. This one was a success, unlike the rest of them and I wished I could have Kaylen taste it too.

I missed him so much. I missed his papa so much.

He was so stupid. We were growing older and I didn't want to fight. But he pointed out the silliest of things and argued whenever he got the chance. I didn't want to live without him, not now, not ever, but I had grown tired of convincing him and saying 'sorry's.

My love for him was indefectible and it would always be. So in the end, I decided that if his happiness lied in being away, I'll give him that. Even though he left me empty.

~Ian~

I was 100% sure I had seen this guy somewhere.

About 5'8 in height, a skinny figure, those high cheekbones and the manner in which he carried them all.

He was now doing floor presses with the dumbbells while I continued to watch him, trying to think harder and harder where I had seen him.

When I finally begun feeling tired, I faced my right where my son was supposed to be, but found him gone. I stopped running with a smug grin on my face. I had defeated him. And they call me an old man. Ha!

I pulled out my towel and wiped the sweat off my face, my eyes still drifting to the man lying on the floor. Before curiosity killed me, I walked over to him, halting near his waist.

"Hey," I greeted to catch his attention and when his orbs flickered to mine, he narrowed them the same way I had done when I had seen him the first time that day.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as if he recognized me and he would've dropped the heavy weights on himself if I hadn't caught his hands on time.

"Oh my god," he whispered and I helped him stand up, getting excited to be nearing the end of my quest in finding out who he was.

"Ian!"

And the way he said my name did it all.

"Flynn!" I almost shouted and he laughed in mirth before tackling me in a hug as if we were long lost friends. I patted his back a little awkwardly and he withdrew, still keeping his hands on my shoulders.

"It's been ages! How have you been?" He asked, eyeing me up from head to toe.

"I've...been good," I replied, my ex-husband's face flashing in my mind and all the scenario of my life in early twenties playing out like a short film.

I looked at Flynn. And he wasn't the same guy anymore. Well, we all were growing older. Nobody was the same anymore; especially a particular someone I was in love with.

"How are you, Flynn?" I asked him, smiling genuinely. Despite his too straight-forward and unwanted attraction towards me in the earlier days, he wasn't a bad guy.

"I'm good, I'm good. I haven't seen you here before?" He said, looking at me inquisitively.

"Oh yeah, I've shifted here with my son just recently." I replied, making his eyebrows shoot up.

"You have a son! How old is he? Can I meet him, if it's not too much?" He said happily.

"He's nineteen and of course you can," I spoke, looking around to find Kaylen but he was out of sight.

"He was here just a couple of minutes ago," I shrugged and then decided to ask him about himself. "What's going on with you, hunh?" I wiggled my eyebrows for effect.

He laughed out loud.

"I'm living with my husband in the C Block. Hey! What about Noah? That guy was beauty!" He said excitedly.

But as soon as he mentioned his name, my own excitement died down.

"Ah, well. That didn't turn out as great. We're getting divorced," I said in a tone that couldn't help being low.

He squeezed my arm and smiled sympathetically.

"It's fine," I shrugged, cringing inwardly at the lie.

"So, this husband of yours. How's he?" I asked, diverting the conversation from my hapless life.

"Oh, he's good. We have twins," he replied, smiling with a fond look on his face.

"We-- um...Noah and I have twins too. The younger one lives with him now," I told him.

"I'd love to meet them both! Wait, why don't you guys come over for dinner sometime? It'll be great! Catching up on old times, eh?" He proffered with a wink that made me chuckle. The energy in his attitude was still indefectible.

"Sure," I smiled.

~

"Kaylen!" I called, picking up the car keys and proceeding to wear my shoes.

"Yes, papa?" He called back, appearing from his room, dressed up appropriately.

We were going out for dinner since I wasn't in the mood to cook and I was yet to buy half of the utensils and cutlery.

We walked over to the car and got seated and then I drove us off.

"I found an old friend of mine here," I told him during the ride. His expression was stoic as he stared ahead as if he was upset over something.

"Cool," he replied coldly.

"What is it?" I asked, making him shrug and look out the window.

What was wrong now? Why was he upset? Did I do something? Did he not like the place we were living in? Or did he hate me for the whole idea of separating from his dad?

I wish I could explain it to my kids why I had taken that decision. I wish I had the ability to advocate my feelings correctly, like I never did. I couldn't even confront Noah about it. I was too afraid of finding the whole truth out.

But I couldn't erase it out of my memory. I couldn't be the same after what I had seen. He thought I didn't know.

He thought I didn't know that he had slept with someone else.

A/N: surprise surprise