Charles''s fingers tightened ever so slightly around his daughter''s tiny hand. He kept his face calm, but inside, a storm was raging.


    He never expected Luna to take the lead and offer such a suggestion.


    Just moments ago, seeing how much Charlie resisteding back to him, he couldn''t help but wonder if it had been Eve, would Charlie have been this distant? After all, Charlie adored Eve.


    "Ms. Cipoletti, thank you."


    This time, his gratitude was heartfelt.


    Right now, Luna genuinely seemed to have Charlie''s best interests at heart.


    "Mr. Jenkins, there''s no need to be so formal. Everything I do is for Charlie," Luna replied with a soft smile. "I may not be Charlie''s birth mother, but I truly care about her. If you hadn''te for her, I would have loved her as if she were my own."


    "In the Cipoletti family, I never had a say. I couldn''t even protect my own daughter —she didn''t make it out of that ce. I didn''t have the power to take Charlie away either. All I could do was watch her suffer."


    "So whenever I had the chance to visit the Cipoletti family, I''d sneak in to see her, bring her some painkillers, bandage her wounds."


    Luna''s words made it clear why Charlie relied on her so much.


    "Mr. Jenkins, I''ll do my best to convince Charlie to ept you, to return to your family. But I have one request-if she does go back, may I still visit her sometimes?"


    "Of course," Charles answered without hesitation.


    Once he got to the bottom of everything and was sure Luna truly cared about Charlie, neither he nor Eve would stop Luna from seeing her.


    "Thank you."


    Luna''s eyes shimmered with tears.


    She squeezed Charlie''s hand, gently brushing her cheek, her eyes full of tenderness.


    ...


    Charlie didn''t sleep long-less than half an hourter, she was awake.


    "I''m sorry, Mom. I made you worry," Charlie said, her voice small and apologetic. "You can''t scare Mommy like that again, okay?" Luna chided gently.


    "Okay," Charlie whispered, then looked at Luna with pleading eyes. "Mom, you''re not going to leave me, are you?"


    "Aurora, I''m not leaving you. I just hope more people can love you your real dad, your real mom-"


    "Mom, I''m hungry."


    Clearly, Charlie didn''t want to talk about it. She cut Luna off before she could finish.


    Luna looked like she wanted to say more, but Charles spoke up, not wanting to push his daughter too hard.


    He figured that once they saw Eve, maybe Charlie''s attitude would change.


    Right now, the most important thing was to get Charlie something to eat.


    Charles called for the doctor, and after making sure Charlie was okay, they all left the hospital.


    They found a cozy restaurant nearby.


    Charles knew exactly what Charlie liked-he''d spent years bringing ker favorite foods to the cemetery. He ordered a mix of dishes, just to be sure. Charlie didn''t turn down any of them.


    She still didn''t say much to Charles, but under Luna''s gentle


    ragement, she didn''t refuse Charles put food on bor te.


    when


    Even that little step made Charles quietly overjoyed.


    Just as they were finishing, Charles''s phone buzzed-a message from the bodyguards with Evelyn: she was awake.


    He nced at Luna, who nodded.


    After they left the restaurant, Luna took Charlie''s hand. "Aurora, want to go shopping with Mommy?"


    "Okay."


    Charlie never said no to Luna.


    They climbed into Charles''s car and headed straight for the mall.


    ...


    Evelyn woke up feeling calmer, though still empty inside.


    Some friends she''d just made came to find her outside her room.


    Evelyn didn''t want to let herself sink intos. She was here for tpetition, after all. She needed to


    bet


    therself together. Cone the


    So she epted their invitation and went shopping with them.