Nadine plopped down in her seat. She didn't like what their parents had negotiated, but she felt rude for arguing. James' family had kept Sora a secret to the best of their abilities and she wasn't going to go back on her promise now just because she didn't want to live with James. So she was going to try making him disagree.

"How are you going to work if you work here in Sydney?"

He sat down and looked at her, "I moved to Central Coast a few years ago. I got promoted to a higher position in a sister company in Belmont. Newcastle is actually closer to my work."

"Does your lease not have a contract? What if you have to pay a fine?"

"It's one of Lauren's properties so I'm not on a contract."

"And all your belongings?"

"Just my clothes."

"What will your girlfriend say when she finds out you have to move in with your ex?"

James shook his head, "That'd be a problem if I had a girlfriend."

She pursed her lips, trying to think of something else, but Myraquel knew what Nadine was doing.

"'Nak, just let us have this. We're not asking you two to get married, but we want you two to be able to raise Sora without wanting to murder one another."

Nadine sighed and looked up at her mom before turning to face James.

"Okay," Ella spoke up. "We will go around the table giving the ground rules before we call Sora down. Jack and Alia, you start."

Alia looked wearily at Jack and patted his arm to say something.

"No bringing dates home unless you are absolutely serious. Sora doesn't need to be introduced to every single fling you two decide to have."

Lauren cleared her throat, "You aren't allowed to leave if the excuse is a fight. You either need to stay home and talk about it or ignore each other until you blow up in each other's face, but moving out of the house is not an option."

A noise echoed throughout the table showing the unanimous decision amongst their family.

"You both need to parent... co-parent. So if one parent disciplines Sora, it's with the consent of the other parent. Same with the rules," Ella and Malcolm said.

My and Dong added, "And that means you raise her together. James, you can't back down, especially if you think it's wrong. Just because Ate's been the parent for the past 3 years doesn't mean she has more control in parenting Sora."

"No fighting in front of Sora," Mimi, Ice, and Eze said in unison.

"And no---" Mike was about to say.

James interrupted him and looked him straight in the eyes, "I'm sorry. This is a family meeting. Since when are you part of the family?"

"Since he decided to move in to help me raise Sora. He's been more a father to her than you'll ever be," Nadine defended.

James turned to look at Nadine and back at Mike, hostility not hidden in his eyes. He held out a hand sarcastically to gesture Mike to continue on with what he was saying.

"And if you two decide to get back together as a couple, no telling Sora immediately. She doesn't need getting her hopes up just in case you two don't end up working out."

Nadine scoffed silently to herself, but James noticed her body jolt a little. He turned again making eye contact with her to ask what.

"As if we'd ever get back together."

James pursed his lips, hurt by Nadine's coldness.

"Nadine? James? Any rules you'd like to add."

Both of them shook their heads as Lauren called for Sora to come downstairs. James looked at Nadine, as they were waiting for their daughter, to see Nadine biting her lip. Everyone turned at the sound of Sora -- the little girl held onto the railings as she waddled down the stairs to her parents, right into Nadine's lap.

"Baby..." Nadine's mom voice back on. "How would you feel if your daddy moved in with us?"

Sora's face beamed from ear to ear as she looked at James. "Really?!"

"Well, I wanna get to know you since I haven't been around and I want to be there for you as your dad. But that's if you want me to move in."

She shook her whole body and jumped from Nadine's lap to his to give him a big hug.

"Do I call you Daddy now or Tito James still?"

"What do you want to call me?" patting her back.

"Daddy," she said in a firm tone.

Nadine looked at the way Sora's eyes lit up and she stood up, clearing her throat.

"If there's nothing else to discuss, I'd like to leave. All the adults have to get ready for the dinner-dance tonight, do we not?"

--------

Once everyone had settled to the agreement, they all dispersed. Nadine took Sora back to her parents' house, while James stayed with his family. While he was finishing getting ready, Jack knocked on the door as he opened it.

"Mind if we talk?"

James nodded, "Sounds serious. What's up?"

Jack sat down on the bed, "You're not mad at us for keeping Sora a secret, are you?"

"I am. But I'm also sure you all had your reasons for not telling me. Whether it was biased or not, I know y'all probably would've told me if Nadine never asked you to."

"She talked to all of us, I mean, the siblings before she told any of the parents. She explained to us what happened because she wasn't going to say everything that she felt in front of Mom and Dad," he sighed. "I never said this because you're my brother and I respect you... that and all the girls were already giving you shit, but you're an idiot."

James looked at Jack to keep going, seeing a different side to his little brother for the first time.

"She told us that if you really loved her, you would've stayed and talked to her. That she didn't want you forcing yourself into something that will only make you two hostile to one another. If you wanted your freedom that badly, then she was gonna let you have it."

James swallowed down the lump in his throat, choking out, "So what did she say to convince the parents to not tell me?"

Jack pursed his lips and shrugged, "I don't remember because Mom started crying, asking her for forgiveness. Nadine said she forgave you for leaving, but she just made the deal that she wasn't gonna keep it a secret forever. That when Sora was of the right age and she thought it was a good time, she'd find you and tell you. She also said something about not bothering you so you could use that time to find your happiness."

Lauren walked in, sitting down on the floor next to Jack, despite wearing a gown. Chanty followed in right after, sitting on the other side of James.

"Before, I could tell you that she loves you," Jack continued. "...more than anything. That's why I think you're an idiot. Because even after you left her, your happiness was what was important to her. Looking at her now, she loves Sora more than anything now, which is how it should be. But she's dedicated her life to that little girl that I don't think she knows how to love anyone else that's not her, not even herself."

"But Nadine's not dense, James," Lauren chimed in. "The reason she said she wasn't going to keep Sora a secret forever was because she knew that one day Sora's gonna figure it all out. That and she's gonna need a real father figure. As much as Nadine loves her, she can't give her everything that Sora needs."

James' chest tightened so much he wanted to just curl into a ball and cry. If it wasn't for the fact that he had somewhere to be and that his siblings were in the room with him, he would.

"I think that's why she agreed to the parents' decision about you moving in without arguing," Chanty started. "One of these days, Sora's gonna need her dad. And Nadine can't be selfish and have Mike or Ivan or Jack or anyone else fill in. Not that I think she would do that... but she knows."

James was crying so much that he didn't notice that Chanty got up from the floor to hug him. Jack and Lauren were just looking at him, waiting for him to calm down, but a knock came from the door.

"We should leave soon," Lauren's husband, Alex, said.

He saw James wipe off his face and entered the room, patting him on the back.

"I never meant for it to be this way."

"We know," Jack said. "It's just that it did end up this way. We're not talking to you to make you feel bad. We're here to give you perspective on the whole thing since you're mad at us for keeping Sora a secret. My reason is different from Lauren's. Hers is different from Chanty's... it's just all goes back to you leaving."

"We're also here to tell you that you can't give up easily," Alex added. "Nadine's going to be cold-hearted towards you. She's going to treat you like trash and do anything to make you leave, but you have to stay."

"Why?"

"Because you love her," Lauren said quietly. "I see the way you look at her and Sora. It's the way you've always looked at Nadine. There's never been anyone else. And if you leave, Nadine might keep Sora from you. And you won't be able to see her and trust me when I say, if you like Sora now... that little girl, you're gonna be so in love with, James. She's a beautiful little girl, inside and out. Even if she's an 80 year old woman trapped in a 3 year old's body."

James chuckled and wiped the tears he didn't know were still flowing out until he felt one drip on his hand.

"Just be understanding," Chanty said.

"And if she doesn't love me back?" he breathed out.

"Don't go into this trying to win Nadine back. You have to gain her trust, Kuya. Just try and be friends with her so if things don't work out between you two romantically, then at least Sora's parents will be friends and can peacefully parent her together."

--------

James looked at Nadine mingling with all her old friends from dance team. She looked so beautiful that he couldn't help but stare everytime she came into view. Mike walked up to him and stood right next to him, watching him look at Nadine.

James couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Mike asked with furrowed brows.

"Now I know why you punched me when you saw me in the neighborhood a few years ago."

"I'd apologize, but I'm not even sorry."

James shook his head, "Don't apologize. I would've done the same if anyone did that to Lauren or Chanty or if I was in your position."

A moment of silence passed between the boys, both wondering when to speak, but they ended up talking at the same time.

"I'm sorry." / "Thank you."

Mike stepped back, "Thank you for what?"

"For always being there for Nadine. Thank you for being with her and for being someone Sora can look up to. I didn't interact with her much, but she seems great. You two did a great job."

"Group effort. Your parents, Tita, Tito, all your siblings... Mainly Nadine. I was just there for emotional support"

James nodded, "You're apologizing for what?"

"I am sorry about earlier," Mike pursed his lips. "Nadine's wounds are coming back out and you know she turns like that when she's hurt. So I'm sorry if what she said when she defended me earlier was too harsh."

"She's right though," James choked up. "You have a bond with Sora that I might never have."

"Oh you'll never have the bond we have because it's more like favorite uncle and niece. I never tried to act like her father because if I did, it might come back to bite me in the ass. You have this chance to make your own bond with Sora."

"That's if Nadine lets me get close to Sora."

"The problem is I think Nadine's wounds never fully healed and with all of this happening, she feels like she can't control her life. This issue about you never knowing, she's always had control over it until now. She's freaking out but she's going to do what she knows is right."

"What's the right way to go about this?"

"Don't let her push you out."

James laughed, "The ironic part is my siblings told me the same thing before we came here."

"But don't leave her either, James. If she closed herself off like this just from you leaving once, she might just close herself up forever if you do decide to leave again."