Awkward.

Painfully awkward.

Jane inhaled softly before taking a hesitant step forward. Instinctively, almost emotionally, she started leaning in slightly for a hug.

At the exact same time, Lukas extended his hand for a handshake.

Both of them immediately realized it.

Jane froze midway.

Lukas noticed too late that she had gone for a hug and instinctively shifted slightly, trying to adjust so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed—

but by then Jane had already pulled herself back awkwardly after seeing the offered hand.

So Lukas immediately switched back too.

And in the end—

they both settled on the handshake.

An awkward, clumsy correction from both sides.

Their hands met.

Softly.

Jane’s hand trembled slightly.

"I’m Lukas Brandt," Lukas said politely, almost too formally.

Jane opened her mouth.

Nothing came out at first.

Then quietly—

"...Jane."

That was all she managed.

Not "your mother."

Not anything emotional.

Just—

Jane.

And somehow that made the entire thing even more awkward.

The silence afterward stretched painfully until Javi finally stepped in.

"Let’s sit down," he said gently, trying to rescue the moment.

Everyone immediately agreed.

They moved toward the table and sat down carefully. Lukas took the seat beside Javi while Jane and Roger sat opposite them across the table.

For a few seconds, nobody spoke.

The air-conditioning hummed softly overhead.

Cutlery clinked faintly somewhere outside the private room.

Inside—

silence.

Then Roger finally broke it.

"I really appreciate you taking the time for this," he said sincerely, looking between Lukas and Javi. "Both of you."

Lukas nodded slightly.

"It’s fine," he replied calmly. "I also wanted to hear what you had to say."

Roger gave a small nod at that.

Then Javi leaned back slightly in his chair, his eyes fixed directly on Jane.

"So," he said flatly. "What was it you wanted to say to my son?"

Jane immediately tensed.

Her fingers tightened together on top of the table as she looked down briefly before trying to speak.

"I just..." she started softly. "I just wanted to..."

Her voice faltered.

She swallowed.

"I wanted to have a conversation with Lukas."

Javi’s expression didn’t soften.

"What for?"

Jane blinked once at the sharpness in his tone.

"I just thought maybe we could—"

"What do you care now?" Javi cut in, his voice harder this time. "After all these years?"

The words landed heavily in the room.

Jane visibly shrank slightly into herself afterward. Her shoulders hunched inward almost instinctively, like she was retreating back into a shell. The confidence she had tried to gather all morning disappeared almost immediately.

Roger noticed it at once.

He looked at Javi for a second before speaking carefully.

"Javi," he said quietly, "can I speak to you alone for a moment, please?"

Javi turned his head toward him immediately.

"Why? About what?" he asked bluntly. "Why can’t we talk about it here?"

Roger held his gaze calmly.

"Please."

The room fell quiet again.

Javi looked irritated, clearly unwilling to leave things alone, but after a moment his eyes shifted toward Lukas.

Lukas still hadn’t spoken a single word since sitting down.

He was just watching.

Watching Jane.

Watching the tension in the room.

Then finally, he gave the smallest nod toward his father.

Javi exhaled through his nose, clearly unhappy about it.

"Fine," he muttered as he pushed himself up from the chair. "But make it quick."

Roger stood up immediately afterward.

The two men exchanged one last glance before walking toward the door together and stepping outside, leaving the room quieter than before.

Now it was just the two of them.

Lukas sat across from her calmly, one arm resting lightly against the chair as he studied her silently for a moment.

Jane still looked nervous.

Still looked like she didn’t know where to begin.

Finally, Lukas spoke.

"So," he said quietly, "what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Jane looked down at her hands for a few seconds before finally speaking again.

"I just wanted to ask how you’ve been doing," she said quietly. "How your life has been."

Lukas sat back slightly in his chair, his expression calm, almost unreadable.

"As you can see," he replied evenly, "I’m doing alright. Life was good with my dad."

A small smile appeared on Jane’s face at that.

A weak one.

But genuine.

"I’m happy to hear that," she murmured softly as her fingers continued fiddling together on top of the table.

Lukas watched her quietly for another second before speaking again.

"Is that all you wanted to ask?"

Jane hesitated.

Then slowly—

very slowly—

she raised her head and looked at him properly.

This time she forced herself not to look away.

"I missed you," she said.

Her voice cracked slightly near the end.

"I really did."

Silence.

Lukas stared at her for a moment before finally responding.

"You were the one who made the decision to give me away."

Jane immediately lowered her eyes again.

"I know," she whispered quickly. "And I’m sorry. I was too young. I couldn’t care for you properly back then. I was at a point in my life where I could barely take care of myself and I... I didn’t know what else to do."

Lukas’s gaze stayed fixed on her.

"It’s been sixteen years," he said quietly. "Why are you trying to contact me now?"

Jane swallowed.

"I tried before—"

"That’s not an excuse."

The words weren’t loud.

But they landed hard.

Jane’s fingers tightened together slightly.

Lukas stayed silent for a moment after saying it, almost like he was trying to decide how much he actually wanted to say.

Then finally—

"You know..." he started quietly, his eyes lowering briefly toward the table. "There was a time in my life where I really wanted to know why I didn’t have a mother."

Jane’s breathing hitched slightly.

"My dad never talked about you. Never mentioned your name. Never told me anything about you."

He looked back at her again.

"So for most of my childhood, I genuinely thought my mother was dead."

Jane’s lips trembled faintly.

"But then I found out you were alive," Lukas continued. "And not only alive... you had made the decision to give me away. To sign away responsibility for me completely."

The room felt painfully quiet now.

"And then I find out that you moved on," he said. "Started a new family. Had another child."

Jane closed her eyes briefly.

"It hurt."

His voice remained calm.

That somehow made it worse.

"It really hurt."

Jane’s shoulders trembled slightly now, but she still didn’t interrupt him.

"So no," Lukas said after a pause. "I don’t know if you expect us to suddenly start rebuilding some kind of mother-son relationship now, but... it might already be too late for that."

Jane stayed completely silent. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Her head lowered again toward the table as her fingers continued nervously rubbing against each other.

Lukas exhaled softly and leaned back slightly into his chair.

"I don’t know what happens in the future," he admitted. "I can’t speak for future me."

A pause.

"But right now... I’m happy with my life as it is."

**********

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Love, Writ