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From the moment Joe was born, Clint hated him. He couldn't explain it, but seeing himself in the child's eyes irked him to the core. All he ever wanted was a baby girl, and that was what he was told to expect when he went with his wife to see a doctor. But then during labor, after Daisy was born, he found out there was another one coming - a boy.

He put on a strong face in front of his family in that special moment. But as years went by, he couldn't hide his true feelings for the boy anymore. 

Now, he found himself in his favorite restaurant, AHONA, having dinner with his parents. They were the ones who introduced him to the place, as the three of them - plus his younger brother, Joseph - used to eat steak there every Friday night.

And on a couple of occasions - when Joe wasn't around - he took Daisy and the two ordered pizza. The girl had made him become addicted to junk food, telling him it was what young people ate. 

But AHONA wasn't the place it used to be. After a scandal involving its owner and an underage boy, the restaurant was shut down for six years and reopened a year ago. It barely had any customers, even though their food was still of the highest quality.

Clint gazed around and saw another old couple at the far corner of the room holding hands, while smiling at each other. They reminded him of his parents, expressing that eternal love they promised one another at the altar. He rubbed off a tear that had fallen down his cheek and cleared his throat.

"What's wrong?" Susan asked.

"Nothing, Mom," he replied, staring at her worried face. He turned his focus to Bush, who was gazing at him while chewing on a piece of rib. "Why did you call me here? You know this place brings back memories of me and Cleo."

"Stop talking about her like she's dead," Bush told him, then continued chomping the meat. He was a loud eater, and the two girls who ate ice cream at the booth closer to the main counter turned around and stared in disgust.  

"I know she's not dead, but... we could have had this meeting at home," Clint told his father.

"You're right. You, me and your mother could have talked at home. But Cleo doesn't want to step foot in that place, and we needed to talk to the both of you. So we chose this place."

Clint's eyes widened. "Cleo is coming?" He hadn't spoken to her since their separation months ago, and it was because of Joe. The boy had revealed to them that they had been cheating on each other for years, providing pictures of their infidelities as well. 

Clint felt embarrassed and ashamed, as Joe had chosen the Turner family barbecue as the place to confront them about their mistake. And it was after that day that Clint kicked Joe out of the main house and into the basement of his antique shop. 

"Yes, is that going to be a problem?" Susan asked.

"Not at all." A slight smile formed on Clint's lips. "It's good she's coming. It has been a while since I've seen her." He missed his wife. He hadn't realized how much for granted he had taken his marriage until his separation. Though he still hoped for him and Cleo to start acting like man and wife again, seeing her would be a good step in reconciliation as neither of them had asked for a divorce.

"Cleopatra, over here." Bush called, and she saw them.

"Sorry, I'm late," Cleo said, taking a seat beside Clint. "How have you two been?" she asked Bush and Susan.

"Wonderful as always," Susan replied with a smile. 

"That's good to hear."

"How have you been, Cleo?" Clint asked, but his wife glanced at him, then turned towards the waiter beside her. He watched her order food, hoping she hadn't ignored him and that she was just hungry. "Cleo," he put a hand on her shoulder after the waiter was gone, "how have you been?"

Cleo grabbed her husband's hand and slowly moved it away from her. "I've been good," she replied without looking at him. Instead, she maintained her focus on her mother and father-in-law. "Why did you want to see me in such short notice?" she asked. 

"It's about Joe," Bush said, and Cleopatra rolled her eyes.

"What has the boy done now?" she asked.

"He fought with Clint."

"Who won?"

"That's not what is important now. But if you need to know, Joe did," Bush told her.

Cleo glanced at Clint, then sighed. "Of course, he did. Clint isn't the man he used to be."

"And what does that mean?" Clint asked. "If I wanted to beat the living shit out of Joe, I would have. But I didn't because I let him have this one."

Cleo snorted a laugh. "You let him have this one? Wasn't that the same thing you said when Spencer beat the shit out of you?"

"Don't bring Spencer into this." Clint pointed a finger at her, his jaw clenched. Spencer was the man who Cleopatra had been sleeping with behind his back. Apparently, they had been seeing each other for eight years. "Don't you even dare!" He banged his fist on the table, and everyone in the restaurant - including the staff -  were startled. "I would have killed him if I wanted to. Is that what you wanted?"

"No, I wanted a man who would fight for me. Show me how much he cared and loved me. Tell me that I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. But you didn't do any of that. Ever since we got married, you took me for granted. Treating me like some housewife. Spencer never did that, that's why I fell in love with him."

It was like a bomb had been dropped in Clint's chest, blowing his heart into pieces. "You-You love..." A lump formed in his throat, making it hard for him to swallow his saliva. Tears welled up in his eyes, ready to fall. 

Their love towards each other was the only thing that encouraged him to keep on fighting for his marriage. They were high school sweethearts, meeting in the tenth grade and being together ever since. They were each other's many firsts, and the thought of losing her gave him countless sleepless nights. 

"No, no, no, don't do this, Cleo." Tears ran down his face as he reached for her hands, but the woman pulled away. "Think about the kids. Think about what this would do to Daisy. She's already messed up in the head. This would send her further down the drain."

"Don't use my daughter for your selfish gain," Cleo told him. "Let's be honest with each other; the love we once had for one another is dead. That's why we found solace in other people. Or in your case, in multiple women. So I see no reason why we should not just end this sooner, rather than later."  

"Please, don't do this to me," he said in an inaudible tone. "You're all I have left, Cleo. We were supposed to grow old together like Mom and Dad." He buried his face in his hands and started crying. The other customers in the restaurant stared at them. Susan had dragged her chair close to her son, one hand patting his back, while the other pointed at the door.

"If you no longer want to be married to my son, then I suggest you leave. You're no longer part of this family," she said.

Cleopatra got up, still looking at Susan who gave her a cold stare. Glancing at Bush, the old man looked away. She was closest with him more than anyone else in the Turner family. He had accepted her as his own daughter when Clint first introduced her, and had treated her as such since. "Fine," she said, before stomping away.

"It's going to be alright, son," Susan tried to calm Clint down.

"No!" He moved away from her, standing on his feet. His gazed moved between his two parents. "This is all your fault. Thanks for ending my marriage." He ran out of the establishment.