Time went on, and several months had passed since their farewell. Since parting ways with Dominic, Nerissa has tried to live her life as normal. She spends many moments with Ace, inviting him to play and having fun.

Both seemed to be happily living their lives while waiting for Dominic to return from his voyage. However, Nerissa never stopped worrying about her husband. Every day, there was always a feeling of anxiety that came over her. Nerissa felt restless. Even so, she tried so hard to hide these feelings from Ace. However, her fear grew. Until one day, what had been her nightmare turned into reality.

"Nerissa!"

The woman was running with a worried face. Sweat was drenched all over her body, and her appearance looked so messy from running. She walked down a small path located near a large field. Her steps stopped when she finally arrived at a simple building. Frantically, she approached the door and shouted while banging on the door.

"NERISSA!" She shouted louder until the door finally opened, and she could see the woman she was looking for standing there with a shocked face mixed with confusion.

"Oh my, Isla. Why are you yelling and banging on my door so hard? You really surprised me—"

Grab!

Isla suddenly came over and grabbed both of Nerissa's shoulders with enough force to make the woman wince slightly. "E-emergency!"

Nerissa's expression turned completely confused as soon as she saw Isla who seemed to be staring at her with a serious face. The woman's eyes suddenly glazed over, and Nerissa could hear the heaviness in Isla's voice. "Wh-what's going on?"

Isla was silent for a moment. A feeling of indecision came over her as soon as she saw Nerissa. Dilemma approached. She really didn't know what to say to Nerissa about the bad news she had brought. On the one hand, she had to deliver the news, but on the other hand, she was not prepared to see Nerissa's reaction. Already in Isla's mind, how devastated Nerissa would be once she heard the news about her husband.

"Isla, what's wrong?" Nerissa asked while observing the face of the woman, who was her best friend, with a puzzled expression. Isla instantly snapped out of her reverie and immediately turned her attention back to the woman.

"I-I just heard the news. T-the ship Dominic was driving—"

"What happened?" Nerissa cut off her sentence. Her eyes began to glaze over, her heart was beating rapidly, her body was shaking violently, and her chest felt tight. Her instincts as a wife told her that her fears had just come true.

"The ship is gone. All the passengers and the rest of the crew... they've disappeared, and the ship can't be found either. People say that, most likely, the ship had an accident and sank."

Nerissa gaped. Her brain was still trying to digest what Isla had just said, while tears started streaming down her face. At the same time, Nerissa felt dizzy, and everything turned blurry.

"Nerissa..." Isla looked at the woman with a worried face as she saw Nerissa almost fall. Luckily quickly, Isla was able to immediately catch her body.

"N-no way..." Nerissa sobbed as she hugged Isla. "There's no way that happened. It's all a lie, right? You're not serious, are you? Dominic, he can't be..."

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry. But I'm not lying at all. Even right now, the existing sailors are starting to move to look for them."

"NO! NO WAY. I BEG YOU, PLEASE TELL ME THAT IT WAS ALL A LIE..." Nerissa pushed and pummeled Isla with all her might. But Isla tried with all her might to calm her down. She hugged Nerissa and tried to encourage her.

"I know it's hard, but you have to be strong..."

"Dominic can't have disappeared. He... he promised he'd come home. He even said that he would quit. Not only that, but he said this would be his last voyage because he wanted to spend more time with us..."

Isla hugged Nerissa tighter. She cried at the sight of her best friend so devastated. Nerissa seemed completely unable to accept the fact that her husband's ship had disappeared.

"Mommy!" Ace suddenly cried out as he ran over to her. The boy, who had just woken up, seemed surprised to hear his mother crying while hugging Isla. Moreover, he saw Isla crying too. With an innocent face, he approached Nerissa. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Nerissa immediately stopped crying. She tried to hold back the pain that made her want to cry. She didn't want to make Ace feel bad about it. Likewise, she wiped away her tears, then turned her attention to Ace, who stood beside them.

"Hi, honey. You're awake." Nerissa smiled bitterly while trying to turn her attention to something else. Staring at Ace, who had a face similar to Dominic's, really made her heart ache. She was constantly thinking about her husband.

"What's wrong Mommy?" Ace came closer as he cupped Nerissa's cheek with his tiny hand.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask? By the way, are you hungry? Mommy will bring you a little snack." The woman got up from her spot, intending to leave. But Ace quickly stopped her.

"I'm not hungry. I just want to be with mommy." Ace hugged his mother's leg tightly. He was trying to stop her from leaving. Nerissa, who saw her son's attitude, could only sob in place without intending to turn her head and look at Ace.

At that time, Ace still didn't know anything and didn't realize that the day he saw his mother cry for the first time would be the beginning of a change he never wanted.

*

Time went on, day after day, and month after month. More than five months of searching had gone into finding the ship that Dominic was piloting. However, the team that was formed to investigate the ship did not find any results. Finally, because they had wasted too much time on a fruitless search, the seafarers' organization that oversaw them decided to stop the search and declared that Dominic as the captain of the ship and the crews on the ship were declared dead without bodies.

Upon hearing the news, Nerissa felt like she was being struck by lightning in the middle of a sunny day. It felt like her life had turned dark and empty.

From then on, Nerissa lost her zest for life. She also regretted her actions in choosing to remain silent when, from the beginning, she already had a bad feeling about her husband's voyage this time. But no matter how much she regretted everything, what had already happened could never be taken back.

Nerissa spent her days crying for her husband. Crying for the loss of Dominic, the man she loved the most.

During those times, Isla always came to look after her. She made meals and helped with Nerissa's home work. But, being so immersed in grief, Nerissa completely lost interest in everything. She didn't feel hungry at all, and all she wanted was to cry while continuing to hope that her husband would return.

Every morning and evening, the woman would stay in the front yard of their house. Sitting on a fallen tree trunk and sitting facing the ocean in front of her. She continued to stay there while watching the ocean move.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Ace muttered while sitting beside her, noticing his mother still sitting there almost until lunchtime. Instead of responding to his statement, Nerissa remained silent, ignoring him. This made Ace feel sad and gloomy, especially since his mother had been ignoring him for months.

"Ace!" The attention of the young boy shifted as he heard a voice approaching and saw Isla coming with a shopping bag in her hand. "I brought you lunch from my workplace. It's your favorite. You must be hungry, right? Let's eat together!"

Isla smiled as she lifted the object in her hand. Ace's sad expression immediately disappeared. The child became cheerful and quickly rose from his seat. "Mommy, let's have lunch together. Aunt Isla brought us delicious food!"

Ace grabbed Nerissa's hand and tried to wake her up. Once again, she remained silent, but this time she shifted her attention to Ace.

"Nerissa, let's eat. I brought delicious food for both of you," Isla said as she approached them. Nerissa got up from her seat and tried to release Ace's grip from her hand.

"You guys eat it. I'm not hungry!"

"But, mom—" Ace tried to stop his mother as he saw her walking into the house and leaving them, but his efforts were in vain.

Isla felt sorry for Nerissa's family situation. Nerissa seemed to have lost her spirit, and Ace seemed to have lost everything.

"It's okay. Let's just eat together, okay?" Isla tried to comfort Ace. She immediately invited him to sit on the tree stump and started having lunch together while enjoying the sea view.

*

"Mommy, when is daddy coming home? I miss him," Ace murmured softly as he looked at his mother who was now lying beside him.

"Daddy is gone, sweetheart. We might never see him again. Now, it's just you and me."

"Why does mommy say that? Daddy will come back, right? He promised me he'd come back with lots of toys and will take me to eat delicious food." Ace got up from his position and looked at his mother with a disappointed face. He felt choked up hearing Nerissa say that Dominic would never return.

"You don't understand, honey. Everything has changed, and daddy has left us."

“Why did he leave us? Does he not love us anymore?” Ace started to cry. Meanwhile, Nerissa could only remain silent, staring at Ace with empty eyes.

I don't know either, sweetheart. Maybe this is the fate we have to face. But deep down in my heart, I always hope for a glimmer of hope that your daddy can come back safely and reunite with us.

*

The seasons changed, and there were no signs at all that Dominic would reunite with them. Nerissa felt like she was losing half of her soul.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ace ran with his tiny legs toward the window. There, he saw the cold air condensing, covering the entire surface of their window. Ace used his elbow to clear the chilly air, and now he could see outside the house clearly.

Ace remained silent, smiling as he looked at the thick blanket of snow adorning their front yard. It looked so beautiful and sparkling. Ace couldn't wait to play in the snow outside. With excitement, the child ran to his room and quickly retrieved his warm clothes.

He put on his coat, scarf, beanie, and gloves before heading outside to play. Once ready, Ace immediately approached Nerissa. "Mommy, let's play in the snow outside!"

The air was so cold outside. Dominic, are you okay out there? I hope you're not freezing, and I hope you're still holding on. I hope you come back as you promised.

"Mommy, let's play outside. Let's play in the snow. Let's make snowmen like we used to with daddy." Ace tugged on his mother's hand, whining for Nerissa to go outside and play in the snow with him.

"I don't want to."

"Oh, come on, mommy. Let's make snowmen and put them in our yard so that when daddy comes back, he'll be able to see them! Come on, mommy!"

"I DON'T WANT TO! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?! GO AND PLAY BY YOURSELF!" Nerissa yelled, pushing Ace's hand away roughly, causing him to fall to the floor.

Ace was shocked when Nerissa yelled at him so harshly, even pushing him to the point of falling. His tears burst instantly. His chest felt tight from Nerissa's rough treatment.

"UWAA..." Ace cried loudly.

"Ace!" Isla, who had just arrived, immediately ran over when she saw Ace crying while sitting on the floor. "What happened, Ace? Are you okay?"

Isla looked at him with a worried expression. Ace could only cry before eventually getting up and running outside. "Ace!" Isla intended to chase after him, but she immediately abandoned her intention.

"Nerissa, what just happened? Why is Ace crying?" Isla shifted her attention to Nerissa, who now seemed to feel slightly guilty for being rough with her son.

"I accidentally pushed him, and he fell. He was whining, asking me to play. But I didn't want to, and I—"

"You've gone too far!" Isla interrupted her. "You shouldn't have behaved like that! Ace is still a child, and his feelings are so tender. If you don't want to play with him, just gently refuse; don't resort to violence. Besides, in this situation, you should give him some understanding and comfort him so that he doesn't feel like he's missing his father! Instead of using violence, just so you know, you've been too selfish. You kept thinking about yourself without ever thinking about how Ace felt. All this time, you've been acting like you've lost the most. Don't you realize that you're not the only one being hurt here? Ace is hurting too. He lost his father, and that must be very difficult for a child as small as him to accept. Coupled with you acting like you don't care about him anymore, it's bound to shake him up mentally."

Nerissa fell silent, unable to speak. Upon reflection, what Isla said to her was indeed true. All this time, she had been too absorbed in her own sadness to notice her son.

"I speak like this because I care about you, and I care about Ace too. I even love him as if he were my own nephew. I can't bear to see Ace lonely, I can't bear to see him mulling over alone with a sad face. It really hurts my heart." Isla's eyes welled up with tears. When she remembered Ace a few months ago, she felt very sad. Isla had repeatedly seen Ace brooding alone with a gloomy face.

"Ace!" Nerissa ran outside. There was no denying that she had indeed made a big mistake that hurt her son. Nerissa only realized it now.

She ran with tears pooling on her cheeks, immediately searching for Ace, who had previously run away somewhere. Arriving outside, Nerissa shouted Ace's name while looking for him. Isla, who was chasing after her, also joined in the search for Ace when they realized that the child was missing.

Panic began to set in as Nerissa couldn't find Ace anywhere. She was afraid of losing her son just like she lost her husband.

While continuing to scream, Nerissa and Isla continued to search. Then, she managed to find the boy. Ace was sitting near a field not too far from his house. There, near the field was a small hill with some towering trees. Nerissa and Isla could see him sitting in one of the trees crying, facing the ocean.

That place was where Nerissa, Dominic, and Ace usually spent time together. No wonder Ace ran there.

"Ace!" Nerissa ran and immediately hugged her son tightly. Her tears burst as she finally found her son again.

"Mo-mommy said daddy's gone, and I'll never be able to see him again. Mommy said I only have mommy. But mommy's gone too!"

"... Mommy keeps crying, and Mommy keeps daydreaming. It feels like mommy's also gone with daddy!" Ace spoke amidst his tears. Nerissa was stunned to hear the words that seemed to pierce her heart. How could she only now realize what she had done to her only son? How could she have been so selfish?

Nerissa truly felt guilty, and her tears couldn't be held back any longer. She sobbed while hugging Ace. "I don't want to! I don't want to... I'm alone, mommy..., I'm lonely..., I don't want to be alone. I don't want to lose mommy, and I don't want to lose daddy..."

"I-I'm sorry, sweetheart... I'm really sorry. Mommy is wrong, and I'm a bad mother. I'm a selfish mother. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings..."

***