Beneath the sky, which was beginning to blaze, the atmosphere in the city park felt increasingly oppressive.
The scorching heat seemed unable to thaw the frozen tension among the people standing there.
Mrs. Sinta gazed at her son, her face filled with disappointment.
As a mother, she understood all too well how shattered Marcel's heart was after the loss of his wife, the late Carren, who had died after giving birth to their first son.
But the cutting words that had just left Marcel's lips had truly crossed the line.
The child she had raised with courtesy and good manners had suddenly turned into a cold man with no empathy for a woman who was grieving.
Mila stood frozen.
Her heart, already shattered by Anton divorcing her in front of her baby's grave, now felt as though it were being stabbed all over again.
It had never once occurred to Mila that her life could be torn apart in a matter of hours.
That morning, she had lost her one-month-old baby, followed by rejection and being driven away by the man who had once promised to protect her.
And now, in front of this unfamiliar family, she was once again being treated like someone unwanted.
Even so, Mila tried to straighten her shoulders.
She drew a deep breath, holding back the tremors in her chest so she would not collapse in front of people she had only just met.
"I'm sorry, sir, ma'am... It seems Mr. Marcel doesn't want me to go with you," Mila said softly, her voice sounding steady.
She tried to force a faint smile, though her swollen eyes could not hide the depths of her pain.
"I'm truly grateful for your kindness, but I think I should just leave."
Mr. Sony let out a long sigh.
His sharp gaze fixed on Marcel, who stood with his arms folded across his chest, making his rejection perfectly clear.
"Mila, don't listen to what Marcel says," Mr. Sony said firmly in his deep, protective voice.
"His mind is a mess, and he's being ruled by his emotions. You're still coming with us. Whether Marcel likes it or not, the decision is in the hands of his parents. We believe you're a good woman."
Mrs. Sinta quickly nodded in agreement with her husband.
She stepped forward and clasped Mila's cold fingers.
"Your dad is right, Mila. You aren't alone anymore. Don't take Marcel's words to heart, okay? When he's emotional, he tends to speak without thinking."
Marcel let out a low growl.
His jaw tightened as he heard his parents defend this strange woman.
To him, bringing a woman who had just suffered a terrible tragedy into their home was a grave mistake.
Mila's presence would only deepen the atmosphere of grief surrounding a family that had not yet fully recovered either.
"Mom, Dad, are you really going to let her stay in our house?" Marcel cut in, his voice slightly restrained.
Yet his sharp rejection remained evident.
"You don't even know who she really is! What if that arrogant ex-husband of hers comes here later and drags his problems into our home?"
"Marcel! Enough!" Mrs. Sinta scolded him, her tone gentle but strikingly pointed.
"Where is your empathy, my child? You know exactly what it feels like to lose the person you love most, don't you? She just lost her baby and was cruelly divorced by her husband on the very same day. Her situation isn't so different from yours when Carren was taken from you!"
Marcel immediately turned his face away.
The mention of his late wife by his mother felt like a blade piercing straight through his chest.
The wound was still wide open, the blood still fresh.
His heart fiercely rejected having his suffering compared to that of this woman he had only just met.
To him, Mila was an outsider who had no right to enter his family's circle of grief.
Mr. Sony, who had been holding himself back all this time, finally stepped toward his only son.
"Marcel, watch your mouth! Dad never taught you to look down on women, especially someone at the lowest point in her life, like Mila. Everything that happened to Mila's baby and your baby was the will of the Almighty. You have no right whatsoever to judge Mila!"
Marcel gave a cynical chuckle, a hollow laugh that held no trace of happiness.
"Are you seriously going to let this woman take care of my son, Dad? If she does, Samudra's fate will end up just like that dead baby of hers!"
Mrs. Sinta drew a breath, her chest rising and falling, her eyes glistening as she stared at Marcel in disbelief.
"I may have given birth to you and raised you, Marcel. But today, I am truly ashamed of your behavior," Mrs. Sinta said, her voice trembling as she held back her tears.