My unbelievable life with CATS (Con and Thief system)

A week passed. Dylan returned to the hospital, this time only with Maya, to handle the funeral arrangements for Maya's mother. After leaving the administration office, they suddenly ran into Mike and Carla, who had come after hearing the news about the removal of Mike and Maya's mother's life support. Both were startled to see Dylan and Maya exit the administration office.

"Dylan, you came," Mike said softly.

"Hello, Mike, yeah, looks like you came too," Dylan replied.

They fell silent, while Carla looked at Maya's stomach, which was now clearly showing her pregnancy. Maya also looked at Carla, who she had actually been close with since childhood. Without saying anything, the two of them finally walked toward each other and hugged.

"How are you doing, Maya," Carla said.

"I'm doing great. How about you, Carla?" Maya asked.

"I'm fine too. Congratulations on your pregnancy," Carla answered.

"Thank you," Maya replied.

Then, they all walked to the hospital cafeteria to discuss the mother's funeral. After settling the division of tasks and expenses, everything immediately fell silent. The atmosphere became very quiet and awkward. Dylan could see that both Maya and Mike were looking down; they seemed to want to speak but didn't know how to start. Dylan just stayed quiet, crossing his arms over his chest, waiting. After a moment,

"Maya and Dylan, for some reason, ever since I moved into Dad's house, I haven't felt like myself... I don't remember what happened or who made me think that way, but there's a deep feeling of regret inside me. Because of that, I sincerely apologize to both of you... especially to you, Maya," Mike said.

Mike lowered his head again. He didn't want to, or didn't dare to, look at Maya. Carla stroked his back without saying anything, understanding the situation and fully supporting her husband. Dylan turned to look at Maya, who was bowed down beside him, and squeezed her hand under the table for support. Maya raised her head to look at Mike sitting across from her. Her face looked calm, though she wasn't smiling.

"It's all over now, big brother. Dad is gone, and so are Mom and that person. It's just the two of us left in the world now. I don't think there's any reason for us to fight anymore, but I'm just setting boundaries for our relationship because I'm not ready to accept you back yet. What happens in the future, I don't know. Maybe we'll be brother and sister again, or maybe not. But right now, I don't feel anything toward you," Maya replied.

"I understand. Forgive me, Maya. When you needed me the most, I sided with someone else and accidentally pushed you away. I admit I misjudged everything, and the result is that I lost my only sister. That's my consequence," Mike said.

"Yeah, that's true, big brother. When I needed support, you prioritized that person with the excuse of keeping the family peace, but all that is over now. I forgive you, but forgiveness doesn't mean reconciliation. I'm not sure our relationship can go back to the way it was, so please understand," Maya replied.

They fell silent again. The atmosphere became quiet once more. Carla and Dylan didn't say anything and just supported their respective partners.

"Thank you for forgiving me," Mike said, breaking the silence.

"I did it not for you. I don't want to hold onto anger because I'm tired. I forgave you for myself, for Dylan, for my child, for my family," Maya replied.

"I appreciate that and completely understand. Maybe someday we can talk again, just the two of us," Mike replied.

"Yes, maybe," Maya replied.

"Alright, I have to go. I still have a lot of things to take care of. Thank you for listening to me," Mike said.

"You're welcome, big brother," Maya replied.

Mike stood up, then said goodbye to Dylan, who only replied with a nod. Carla hugged Maya once more to say goodbye, then they walked away, leaving Dylan and Maya still sitting at the cafeteria table. They remained silent, only their hands linked under the table. Dylan turned to look at Maya.

"Are you okay?" Dylan asked.

"I'm fine, thanks, babe... was I too harsh on my brother?" Maya asked, giving a faint smile.

"Hmm... you expressed what you needed to express. Besides, rebuilding trust that's been shattered into pieces definitely takes a long time," Dylan answered.

"You're right, babe. Even though I've forgiven my brother, going back to the way things were... I just can't yet," Maya replied.

"I understand. It's okay," Dylan replied, putting his arm around Maya.

Maya leaned sideways, resting against Dylan's chest as they sat, and then they were silent for a moment, watching Mike and Carla walk far ahead of them. Suddenly,

"Wait... Dylan and Maya?"

A girl's voice sounded from behind them. Dylan and Maya immediately turned around. They saw Sharon, wearing a nurse's uniform, standing behind them. Dylan and Maya immediately stood up and turned to face Sharon.

"Wait... Sharon? You're a nurse? Did you graduate from nursing school already?" Dylan asked, surprised.

"Oh... I've been taking online classes since we were still in school and just got my degree. I just started working at this hospital on Monica's recommendation. What are you two doing here?" Sharon asked.

"Just some personal business," Maya answered.

Sharon immediately noticed Maya's large stomach and that she was a little heavier than before.

"Wow, you really are pregnant! Congratulations again," Sharon replied, stepping forward and hugging Maya.

"Yeah, thank you," Maya replied, returning Sharon's hug.

Dylan smiled as he watched them, but then he noticed Sharon's finger. He saw that Sharon was wearing an engagement ring. After Sharon released the hug,

"You're engaged?" Dylan asked.

"Oh... you saw this? Yeah... Connor proposed to me, and I said yes, but... we still have a long way to go. The plan is to get married after Connor graduates and then comes back and finds a job in this city again," Sharon answered.

"Wait, you guys are long-distance?" Maya asked.

"Only in the next town over, though. Plus, I go there every weekend, or he comes here. It's the same thing," Sharon answered.

"Oh, in the next town over, huh?" Dylan muttered.

"That means our city, babe," Maya whispered to Dylan.

"Yeah, that's right," Dylan replied.

"Alright, I have to go. I still have duty, so it was nice to see you both. See you again," Sharon said.

"Okay, say hi to Connor for us," Dylan replied.

"Will do, I'll tell him," Sharon replied.

Sharon walked away, leaving Dylan and Maya to watch her go. Then Dylan and Maya sat back down to finish their drinks.

"Where are we going now, babe?" Maya asked.

"Shopping, right? We have a lot of requests from Ellie, Lena, and Amy. Looks like we'll have to hit a few stores," Dylan answered.

"Haha... true. Let's finish our coffee first," Maya replied.

"That was my plan," Dylan replied, smiling.

They returned to chatting casually, as if the meeting with Mike had never happened. Their energy was back to normal. Dylan was happy and grateful to see Maya cheerful and seemingly unburdened again.

***

Meanwhile, back at the house, Ellie, Lena, and Amy were in the bunker, soaking in the large bathing pool. The three of them were silent, staring blankly ahead.

"We should've gone with them, huh?" Lena said.

"Agreed. I'm bored," Amy replied.

"How about we go out after this, maybe to the mall? I want to buy supplies and look at baby clothes," Ellie suggested.

"Okay, agreed," Amy replied.

"Should we take a shared ride?" Lena asked.

"Yeah, we'll order one after our bath," Ellie answered.

"Cool! Finally, an outing just for us. Time to have some fun," Lena replied cheerfully.

Suddenly, "blak," the bathroom door was thrown open. The three of them looked over to see Fiona and Iris run into the bathroom, immediately stripping off their clothes. Then they rinsed themselves and jumped into the tub with the others.

"Did you guys just get home?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, big sister, just now," Fiona answered.

"Hmm... do you want to come shopping with us?" Amy asked.

"Huh... where, big sister?" Iris asked.

"To the mall. The three of us want to look at baby clothes," Amy answered.

"Yes!" Fiona and Iris shouted.

"Okay, let's bring them. You guys agree, right?" Amy asked, looking at Ellie and Lena, who frowned but reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah, Big Sister Clara was throwing up earlier," Fiona said.

"Big Brother Aaron took her to the hospital on the motorcycle," Iris added.

"Yeah, that's right. If we want to go out, we have to wait for them to get back first, right, Iris?" Fiona asked.

"Yeah, that's right, Fiona," Iris replied cheerfully, playing in the water and sitting on Lena's lap.

"Huh?" Ellie, Lena, and Amy asked in unison, turning to look at each other.

After that, they began to press Fiona and Iris for information, which resulted in them taking a very long bath and ultimately not going anywhere until Dylan and Maya returned later that afternoon.