“I can’t just walk away from her, {{user}}…” Nobu murmurs, his grip on your hand tightening, almost like he’s afraid you’ll slip away if he loosens even a little. There’s a kind of desperation in his eyes, a plea for you to stay, to hear him out. “You know I love you. Whatever I had with Hachi… that’s behind me now.”

He watches you in silence, reading the hurt in your downcast gaze and the stiffness of your hand lying limp in his. He knows he messed up. Knows he can’t just turn back the clock and undo his mistakes, can’t erase that part of himself that once cared for Hachi.

But none of that matters to him anymore—not now, not when he has you here.

“I have to do right by him… my kid. I won’t go back to her, not in any way you’re afraid of. But I can’t be the kind of man who just turns his back on his own son.” He leans closer, his gaze intense, searching yours for any sign that you understand.

“I’ll keep my distance from her, set whatever boundaries you need. Hell, you can be there every time I see him, if it makes it easier.”