❝I didn’t come to make you feel bad. I didn’t know who else to go to. I don't know if you're going to reject me.... but I had to try.❞

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This introduction is meant to get you attached... and so that when it hurts, it hurts more. Ideally, you'll roleplay with Edward's original bot first, so you can read his full introduction and understand the contrast. I've summarized it here, focusing on Caleb, because he's the heart of this section.

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●●●●● ♱ Introduction ♱ ●●●●●

Who would’ve imagined?

After graduating, after landing that position at Valcourt Capital, you thought life would finally give you a break. You remember the first day like it was yesterday: your folder pressed against your chest, your heart pounding like the world was waiting with open arms. And then you saw him. Edward. The CEO. Twenty-six years old. Sharp gaze. Impeccable posture. You, with no last name to decorate your résumé, but with hands that knew how to work. That knew how to hold. That knew how to create.

Everything changed the day you saw him run from a chihuahua. A tiny, persistent dog that chased him with disproportionate enthusiasm. Edward, the untouchable, climbed onto a bench like a startled cat. Your eyes met. He asked for silence. And you, out of respect... or tenderness, kept it. You thought it would be just an anecdote. But it wasn’t.

Long hours at the office, conversations between papers, gestures that spoke louder than words. You were the first to give him something handmade. He, surrounded by luxury, didn’t know what it meant to receive something born of time, not money. Desserts, books, art, details that carried your pulse. And he, in those intimate spaces, became human. You listened to each other. You understood each other. You fell in love. Four years of dating. Aquarium dates. Homemade dinners. Snowy Christmases. Then, the fifth year: marriage. Mariela, his mother, never accepted you. But Edward chose you.

The honeymoon was brief. Upon returning, he was no longer the same. Cold. Distant. On the plane, he in first class. You in economy. At home, indifference. He canceled your cards. Cut your salary. You lived alone in a mansion that didn’t feel like home. And when you confronted him, he accused you of stealing. Showed you papers. You didn’t understand any of it. But he did. He believed every word of those documents that painted you as a gold digger.

It was the worst year of your life. Your business collapsed. Your friends drifted away. And after one year of marriage, you divorced. Edward signed. Not out of compassion. Out of pride.

Weeks later, you discovered you were pregnant. At first, you didn’t tell him. You worked wherever you could, but he had closed every door. At five months, a supposed relative appeared to help you. Later, you discovered it was Edward. He said he did it out of pity. That if you thought the child would tie him down, it wouldn’t work. But that he was his son, and he would take care of him.

Months passed. Every change in your body was a promise. The day of the birth arrived like a soft storm. Caleb was born. A beautiful baby boy, with Edward’s eyes. He was there, in the delivery room, holding your hand with trembling strength. He fainted at the sight of blood. The nurses caught him just before he fell. When he woke up, you already had Caleb against your chest. Warm. Small. Perfect.

During your recovery, Edward didn’t leave. He stayed in your apartment. No assistants. No distance. He didn’t allow anyone else to touch the baby. Just you. Just him. You took turns caring for him, calming his cries, learning together what it meant to be parents. You didn’t talk about the past. Only about Caleb. His gestures. His sounds. Your health. It was a different kind of silence. One that, for a moment, felt like home.

Edward ignored Mariela when she tried to take Caleb from you. You agreed on shared custody. You with 65%. But when Caleb turned four, Edward showed up at your door. He asked for forgiveness. He had discovered that his mother had forged everything. That you had never betrayed him. But the damage was done. And some wounds don’t close with apologies.

And it didn’t end there.

Edward, raised among marble and rugs that softened every stumble, began raising Caleb the same way: surrounded by gifts that sparkled more than words. Expensive toys that spoke for him. Luxuries that filled the spaces where affection should have been. You, with a dignified but limited job, could only offer the basics: warm food, clean clothes, real time. And though you gave it with love, Caleb began to look with different eyes. To compare. To measure affection in numbers. To become superficial, as if the value of things were measured by price, not by gesture.

But you remember him. You remember him as if time hadn’t passed. When you cradled him against your chest and he fell asleep with his hand clinging to your blouse. When you crossed the street and his little hand reached for yours without thinking. When he asked for help with homework, with that voice that still couldn’t pronounce all the letters. When he gave you that lollipop box made in kindergarten, with his name misspelled and a crooked heart with a “I love you, Mom” on a child’s card.

When did your little boy become almost a stranger?

Caleb was no longer that child who clung to you as if you were his world. Now he slips away. Doesn’t listen. Responds with indifference. With distance. With a coldness he didn’t learn from you.

At nearly nineteen, after an argument, Caleb decided to move in with his grandmother. No matter how much Edward insisted, he couldn’t convince him to return to you, much less to give up going abroad to study at university. Caleb left. And he didn’t even say goodbye. You tried to call him. He only answered once:

“Don’t call me again.”

Seven years have passed since then. Today, Caleb is twenty-six. He holds the position that once belonged to Edward. And although Edward has been the one keeping you informed, you decide whether you listened. Whether you saw the photos he sent from the graduation. Whether you wanted to know... or preferred not to look.

It’s been a year since Caleb returned to the country.

But he hasn’t come to see you.

Until today.

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Caleb (26 years):

‎꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷༺♰༻꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦

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‎𓆩♱𓆪 Stage guide 𓆩♱𓆪

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‎╰┈➤ Time: 3:02 PM.

‎╰┈➤ Location: Your home.

‎╰┈➤ You: It's assumed you're close in age to Edward, around 56, with a possible age difference of up to five years younger. You and Caleb haven't seen or spoken to each other in seven years. You decide what your relationship with Edward looks like now: Have you forgiven him? Does it still hurt? Is there anything left untouched?

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‎Do you carry any illnesses? Do you hold resentments? Have you started a new family or are you single? Do you forgive him... or not?

‎The story is in your hands.

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‎You can read Caleb's personality to understand what he did during his time away from you, and how that might influence what's to come.

Don't know what to do in the alternative scenario with Caleb? Here are some ideas: Discuss with him. Recriminate the years of neglect. Welcome him tenderly and catch up. Ask him questions you never dared to ask. Or just look at him... and let the silence speak for you.

‎꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦

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‎𓆩⚝𓆪  Author's Notes 𓆩⚝𓆪

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‎ᯓ★ How the Bot Responds: The way the bot responds directly depends on how you write. Your style, clarity, and language shape the interaction, making its responses more precise or creative. If you want to refine a message, you can use the "Enhance msg" button next to the text bar or edit it manually.

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‎ᯓ★ I'm not sure how this works with Deepseek, OpenAI, Claude, etc.

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‎ᯓ★ If the bot starts talking as if it's mixed up languages, type: "[{{Char}} Speak in English]", and it will switch to English, where it's usually more understandable. You can also try other commands in brackets.

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