They were silent for the first 10 minutes of the drive, as they backed up and drove away from the new, luxury neighborhood and onto the busy Bucharest ring.

"Does she always call you Mircea at home?" Adam asked once they were on the highway. They left the city behind, burning under late summer heat, and headed towards the welcomed cool of the mountains.

"Yes," the kid pouted in the back seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "And I don't like it, but I don't think she'll keep calling me that for much longer. When my brother arrives, she'll start calling him Mircea."

“Wait… what?" Adam's eyes moved to the rearview mirror. "Is Simona pregnant?"

"I think so. I overheard them talking about a brother and moving to another country. I think old Mircea has a new job somewhere else," the boy shrugged, but his words triggered something in his aunt.

Ana’s tanned skin went pale as she grabbed her brother’s arm. "Adam, stop the car, we're going back."

"Moving to another country?" Repressed anger showed in the way Adam changed gears to pass a slower car, but not in the voice he used to talk to the boy. When he was back in the right lane, he looked at the boy in the mirror again. "Listen to me carefully… I will never let her take you away from me as long as you want to stay," he reached back to take his son's arm and squeezed protectively. "Understand? You know I never lie to you."

"I don't want to leave," Axel answered without thinking. His age specific innocence made the talk all the heavier. "I told them I stay here with dad. I told them I have to help you in the garage and granny in the garden."

Ana was biting her thumb, murder in her eyes. "Turn the car around, Adam, or move over, I'm going to fucking run that bitch over."

"You won't do anything because it would mess up our chances in court. Stay calm, let's think." He kept his reactions in check for his son’s sake, but Ana could easily read his agitation in his tone as he spoke the next words. "She can't take him without my signature."

"She can't, my ass, her husband is a politician, he can do whatever the hell..." she turned to look at Axel and the boy seemed ready to cry. That immediately deflated her violent outburst. "You know what, let's talk about it at home. Hey, Ax, why don't you tell me how you got that bruise under your eye instead? It’s almost healed but I can still see it.”

The small boy covered his eyes self-consciously. "Someone dumb at kindergarten," he murmured, a frown darkening his cute face. "Said that dad's a convict 'cause of his tattoos."

Simona's husband, Mircea, held firm to the belief that the boy needed to be enrolled in a proper form of education early in his development. Axel was currently in his second year in a ridiculous preschool establishment that referred to young boys aged four to six as 'gentlemen'.

"And you? Did you get back at him?" Ana asked, a glint of defiance in her eyes.

"Oh… I did, just like Dad showed me," Axel replied, a grin spreading across his face. He looked like a mini-Adam. "But don't tell Grandma… If she gets mad, I get no cake."

"We won't tell her, don't worry," Ana assured him. "Why didn't you tell us about this? We would've gone to the school."

"Well… Dad was in Spain," Axel said, his voice subdued. But at the memory of his father's trip, his eyes sparked with anticipation. "Did you bring me something?"

"What do you think, kiddo?" Adam asked, forcing a smile. His mind was far away, on France and Axel's future brother.

"What if he brought you a new mom?" Ana teased, ducking as if expecting a playful smack from her brother.

"Seriously? Dad has a girlfriend?" the boy asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Don't listen to your aunt. She had bad gyros last night," Adam reassured his son.

"Okay… tell us, little man," Ana encouraged him, sensing an opening. "Would it bother you if your father found a girlfriend… or a wife? Would you like that?"

"It’s okay. I'm sure Dad’s cool, so he’ll find someone cool. Just don’t call me Maria or Suzana,” Axel giggled as he said that.

"What? Where did that come from kiddo?” Ana was completely invested in their conversation, giving Adam time to process the disturbing news.

"Well… if Mom calls me Mircea… after her new husband, Mircea. If Dad gets a wife… and her name's Maria, maybe he'll call me Maria," he explained.

Ana burst into laughter. "Oh, that's too good! You’re too bright for your own good. But here’s a thought: just don't respond when they call you Mircea."

"I tried," Axel pouted. "And they locked me in my room until I answered."

"They did WHAT?” Ana hissed, her new found balance upset again. Her eyes turned back to her brother expectedly.

Adam's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. He didn't say a word but he sped up. He needed to calm down and get them home. He knew that his mother would be the one to see things rationally. He trusted his sister more than he trusted himself, but Ana was ready to go back to war and they needed a diplomatic solution.

"Anyway, Mircea doesn't like me… and I don't like him. So, I’m happy to be in my room. I don’t like to eat with them. Mircea always says bad things about how Dad was before," Axel's voice trailed off.

"Don't worry, I'll have a talk with Mircea about your father," Ana was already scheming her way to Mircea's office, fully intent on giving the man a piece of her mind.

"Let them talk.” Adam interrupted. “Actions speak louder than the whispered nonsense some people like to spread. Next time, you can tell Mircea that your dad's robots are already in action, saving lives in Spain. When was the last time he did something for others?"

"That's what I'll tell him,” The boy agreed, his toothless grin not doing much to quell Ana's ire.

The drive was a tense one, the silent tension permeating the air of the car. Noticing this, Axel took out his Nintendo Switch, a cherished gift from his father, encased in a pirate-flag-themed cover. Ana turned up the car radio, and slowly the scenery changed from monotonous plains to rolling hills, finally giving way to snow-capped mountains.

They arrived home before they knew it. Ecaterina was already waiting for them, opening the gate for Adam to pull into the yard. She was loyally flanked by a massive dog and two lively huskies that seemed to be running on overdrive.

Ana helped Axel out of his car seat. The boy dashed out even before his father finished parking and threw himself into his grandmother's arms, who smothered him with kisses. The huskies hopped around, tails wagging, while the larger dog nudged at the pair affectionately.

Adam was the last to step out of the vehicle. Despite his attempts to greet his mother with a cheerful demeanor, she saw right through his facade. His acting skills were abysmal.

Ecaterina made a mental note to ask him about it, but decided it could wait. She ran a hand through his hair, planting a kiss on his cheek before ushering them all inside.

"Come on, dinner's ready," she announced.

"What are we eating? What are we eating?" Axel asked, practically bouncing with excitement. "Did you make dessert, Grandma? Do we have dessert?" His relentless questioning was finally halted by Ana's sharp whistle.

"Forget the dessert for now. Let's take your dad's luggage inside first; then we can have something sweet," she told Axel.

As always, Ana knew how to read her brother's mood without him saying a single word. She knew exactly when to whisk the overly excited youngster out of the way so that Ecaterina could have a quiet word with her son. For all her craziness, when she did show up, his sister always knew what he needed.

"Simona's pregnant," Adam confessed, skipping all formalities while his mother continued to fuss over his hair.

That statement captured her full attention, prompting her to gently shake her head. Ecaterina was still a beautiful woman, vibrant in her early fifties with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "Oh, dear you," she sighed. "Sit down. What bothers you more – the fact that she's pregnant or that she's pregnant with someone else's child?"

"No, mom..." he finally managed a smile at that, shaking his head as she pulled him down onto the battered but clean porch couch. "I've moved on from her a long time ago. I thought I had fallen for someone else while I was away, but that's a different story. The point is, they want to move to France after the baby is born."

The woman heard him out attentively, always having the patience to listen and analyze, a trait her children often lacked. "And you think she wants to take Axel with her?"

"I'm sure she wants to take Axel. They've already told him about moving, they're making him learn French. But she hasn't told me anything – she’s scheming something for sure."

"Don't worry. Axel isn't going anywhere. You have a stable job now; we'll hire a lawyer and sort this out. Don't get upset," she reassured him, squeezing his hand. "Now, tell me, how was it in Spain?"

"It's… something out of a movie," he replied, managing a smile. "There's this area filled with yachts, if you drive a BMW there, you're considered poor. I even rented a board and went surfing every day."

"So, you had fun?" She frowned, not convinced by his impersonal reply. “You’re not telling me something…"

He glanced towards the door, half-expecting Ana to come to his rescue, but only Axel's joyful laughter reached his ears. He was on his own. "I thought I met someone… but it didn't work out, that's all."

"Adam, you know you can tell Ma anything. Why are you hiding from me?"

That question was the final blow – he couldn't bear the thought of Ecaterina being upset or thinking she wasn't a good mother. He kissed her forehead. "I'm not hiding, Ma… how can you say that? I just didn't want to upset you."

"Oh, how could you ever upset me, darling," she caressed his forehead again, under the pretense of brushing his hair back. "You could never upset me, you're the best child a mother could ever wish for."

"Don’t let Ana hear that," he tried to lighten the mood, but Ecaterina remained focused on the subject. Adam sighed, messing up the hair his mother just arranged. "I met a girl, mom. I wanted to bring her home, to meet you," he gave in. He could never really keep a secret from their mother, and his sister always teased him for being such a mama's boy.

"Tell me about her, what happened?"

"The usual. She had a better offer somewhere else," he was itching for a cigarette, but neither sibling dared to smoke in front of their mother.

"What do you mean? Nobody is better than you, sweetheart. Then that girl doesn't deserve you."

"It's not that simple, Ma. I can't go through life telling myself that all the women who chose someone else didn't deserve me. It means I'm not doing something right."

"Don't you dare say that," Ecaterina rarely sounded that aggravated. "I know the man I raised. Sometimes, I think your sister might be right that I raised you too respectful, too good. Not all women deserve such a man."

"You raised a good boy; I corrupted myself along the way," he laughed. "Come on mom, don't flatter me that much. I have my own flaws, I'm not exactly a gentleman. And it's not that I have problems with girls. I have plenty, just not the ones I want… Not the ones I would want for Axel."

"A girl who you thought was good enough for Ax? Now I need to know what's her name and why did you like her so much?" she smiled at him, reaching for him to rest his head on her shoulder while she ran her fingers through his hair. "Why didn't she want to meet me?"

"Her name is Yuiko… and I liked her because she's smart and determined. She's not easy to approach, but that's what I liked about her, a small, feisty woman," he wanted to be brief, but once he started talking about her, he found himself unable to stop. "But there’s more than her stiff corporate first impression, she has high standards of etiquette and work, and wants to see others rise to that level. She's super focused on whatever she does, but she's taken. She just had fun for a few days in Marbella."

"Oh, my dear boy," Ecaterina placed a kiss on his forehead while still caressing his hair. "You'll find the girl who deserves you."

On the porch of his mother’s house, as the sun set bringing a typical mountain air chill over the garden, Marbella and miss Yuiko Ishida seemed more like a dream than a fresh wound to his pride. He would be fine, his ego wasn’t his priority, Axel was. And it wasn’t like he had to see here again.

"I don't need another one, I already have the perfect women in my life. I have you and Ana," he kissed his mother’s cheek and stood up. "Now, tell me what goodies you made us. Axel is already drooling over dessert."