Stella smiled gently. “Keep eating this for a while longer and your cold hands and feet will get much better. Once that’s sorted out, I’ll help you with your stomach issues too. But you’re still very young-your digestion isn’t fully developed yet, so it’s best to cut back on sweets, cold drinks, and fried foods, okay?”

Marvin nodded obediently. “Stella, then what do you think I should order?”

Stella opened the menu, pointing out a few dishes for him. “These are all good for kids. See if there’s anything here you’d like.”

Keen sat beside Stella, silent. Ever since they arrived, she hadn’t said a single word to him, not even a glance, while she kept chatting away with Marvin.

A wave of panic crept over Keen, a feeling of being left out.

He remembered how, in the past, whenever he saw Rachel Pearce, he would run up to her, talking non-stop and sharing every silly thing that had happened that day. But when it came to his own mom, he could barely muster a word.

All the other kids at preschool had parents who’d at least finished college. His mom hadn’t even graduated high school. Grandma once said she probably couldn’t even read properly. How could someone like her ever have anything in common with him or Dad?

As he got older, Keen slowly learned the meaning of shame… and pride. He went from clinging to his mom to feeling embarrassed by her. At preschool, he never dared talk about her with the other kids or teachers. Whenever someone asked who picked him up, he would always say it was the housekeeper.

Grandma said it was normal for kids to look up to those who were stronger or better off. Before he turned five, his mom was his whole world. But after five, nothing about her could make him feel proud anymore.

Rachel’s arrival filled the gap his own mother left behind, allowing him to keep believing in something better. He never thought it was his fault. But seeing his mom so close and warm with another child filled him with a fierce, wordless anger -like someone had snatched away his favorite toy.

“I’ll have this one, this one, and this one…” Marvin’s cheerful voice snapped Keen out of his thoughts.

He looked over and saw Marvin beaming at Stella. “I remember you like these too, Stella.”

Stella felt a quiet warmth in her chest. “Oh, you just pick what you like. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Marvin shook his head, suddenly very serious. “No way. You always cook what I like, and you eat all those plain meals just for me. If I can help it, I don’t want you to keep missing out on the things you enjoy. When we eat together, I want you to have your favorites too. You’re good to me, Stella, so I want to be good to you.”

For a moment, Stella was too moved to speak. Her throat tightened up, and she could only manage one word. “Alright.”

Watching the scene unfold, Keen felt his vision burn with jealousy.

Rachel had once told him that his mom only left Dad and gave up custody because she found another child to love. He hadn’t believed it then.

But now, looking at the way his mom doted on Marvin, Keen finally understood: she really had chosen someone else over him.