His eyes widened with shock when he heard the little girl kept repeating the same sentence over and over again. "Is this what I think it is?" he thought. He gazed at the little girl, thinking. According to the invitation, the little girl was now seven. He counted back the years and then the months that Cagalli was pregnant.
His eyes widened more when he figured out the date. His whole body felt numb as he just stared at both mother and daughter.
"Cagalli," he called out finally. She heard his voice and slowly turned to face him. Just by hearing his voice, she knew that he had already figured out. Her grip around her daughter tightened. "Just answer one question," he said. "Were you ever going to tell me?"
Cagalli looked away from his face, unable to look at him straight in the eye. Slowly, she shook her head.
"And why not?" he asked, shocked and hurt. She looked at him and glanced away.
Moving away from him, Cagalli lowered her daughter. "Rosalynn, why don't you go and find your Aunt Lacus?" she said, gently pushing her daughter towards the party. The little girl looked at Athrun gingerly and sprinted away.
"The reason why I never told you-" she started as she turned to look at him. "You did not return back to me," she simply said, lowering her eyes to the ground. "When you were gone, I could not handle it," she said.
"…DO YOU KNOW HOW IT PAINS ME TO SEE HER…" Athrun remembered Kira said. "Pains me to see her…cry?" he whispered. But her next words snapped him out of his trance.
"But when I found out that I was with Rosalynn, it made me very happy," she said, smiling as she closed her eyes. Her hands automatically moved to her slim stomach. "It made me very happy to at least have a piece of you with you. Even though it was a very small one," she said, looking up at him. As he watched, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Silence filled the air as Cagalli ended the last sentence.
"I actually thought of not telling you about Rosalynn. You could say payback for the six lonely years," she said. "But someone made me realize that revenge is not really that sweet. It just causes more pain," she said, smiling.
"…someone made me realize that revenge is not really that sweet. It just causes more pain," she said, smiling as she thought of a certain black-haired man. It was because of him that she was able to let go of the past and moved on with her life.
"Athrun, do you understand what I'm trying to say?" she asked. She watched as he took a breath and slowly nodded. She walked up to him and stopped only when they were face to face. She smiled wistfully.
"I loved you Athrun Zala. With all of my heart," she said, wrapping her arms around him. He followed suit.
"And I you," he whispered. She smiled as she hugged him tighter.
He leaned against the wall of the mansion and sipped his drink as he gazed around him. He could hear the happy cries of the children as they played and the murmurs of the parents as they conversed with one another.
He turned slightly and saw Kira being pulled away by Lacus from around the corner. He continued to look on as he pondered on it. Suddenly, he saw Cagalli coming out from the same corner and Rosalynn running up to her.
He watched on as Cagalli bent down and picked the little girl up. A shadow loomed behind them and she turned and walked back into the corner. He frowned as he walked towards them. He placed his glass on the tray held by a nearby servant and continued his way. As he got nearer, he saw Rosalynn ran out while looking back.
"Rosalynn," he called out and the little girl turned swiftly. She bumped into him and fell down. "Are you all right?" he asked, lowering himself down. He saw that her golden bangs fell forward and he could not read her expression. "Rosalynn?" he called out again, his hand brushing away the bangs behind. He faltered when he saw tears streaming down her soft cheeks.
"He is not my daddy," he heard her soft little voice murmured, trembling a little. Suddenly, the girl looked up at him. "Uncle Shinn," she cried, lunging into his arms. With ease, he caught the little girl in his arms. Rosalynn quickly laid her head on his shoulder as he straightened himself up.
"It's all right," he consoled, rubbing her back. He continued to console her with soothing words but he frowned up at where Rosalynn had come out from.
"Come on Kira," Lacus crooned. Her husband chose to ignore her and stared sulkily in front. She sighed. "Everything is going to be fine. She knows what she is doing," she said. Her husband whipped his head towards her.
"The hell she is," he said. "When it comes to him, her common sense flies right out of the window for sure," he said, narrowing his amethyst eyes. His wife did not reply him.
"Lacus," he heard Shinn called his wife from behind. He turned and saw the black-haired man walking towards them with Rosalynn in his arms. "Can you put Rosalynn in her room? She fell asleep," he said. Lacus nodded and held out her arms. Slowly he gave Rosalynn to her. Once he had transferred Rosalynn to Lacus, Kira saw the black-haired man walking towards the area where Cagalli and Athrun were. At that moment, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"Shinn," he called out. The black-haired man stopped in his tracks and looked back. He shook his head.
"Don't worry," he heard his friend said. But that feeling would not go away.
After what felt like hours, she opened her eyes again and saw that she was still in Athrun's arms. Tenderly, she removed herself and she felt him instinctively tried to pull her closer. It appeared that he had not understood her yet. Firmly, she pulled away from him.
"Athrun," she said as she shook her head. "I've always had a great time just being with you. But our time together is over. It is time to move on," she said, a wistful smile played on her mouth. She tiptoed and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "I will always cherish the memories we've made together," she whispered.
"I'm not marrying her," he said. She shook her head.
"Even so," she started. "I've finally found the one who had always been there for me. When I'm near him, I feel safe. In a way, he is like you," she said, smiling. "Always keeping me safe. But he has done much more. He was there when I was sad. He has helped me bring Rosalynn up all these years," she said.
"…helped me bring Rosalynn up all these years," he heard her say. He frowned as jealousy threatened to spill over. But he knew that being jealous was no use. He had failed her all these years. He saw her face glowed and a soft pink tainted her cheeks as she talked about Shinn.
"I understand now Cagalli," he said, lowering his head slightly. His dark blue bangs fell forward, covering his eyes. He then looked back up and smiled. "I'm glad that you've found someone who truly cares for you," he said. His voice was clear and no sign of anger or sadness in it. "The only thing I really regret is not being there for Rosalynn all these years. I'm sure she hates me," he said.
She laughed and shook her head. "No one could ever hate you Zala," she said. "I'm sure that after spending time with her, she will open up. It just needs time," she advised.