He opened his phone and saw it was a message from She.
"Timothy... I feel so sad. You''re hurt like this, and I can''t even be with you to take care of you."
The middle of the night, when the world is quiet, is always the best time to talk about feelings.
She wasn''t about to let the moment slip away.
Her foster parents'' attitude tonight had said it all-they didn''t want her getting too close to Timothy.
But she was determined to fight for what she wanted.
Timothy stared at the message, letting it sit there for a long while before finally replying.
"I''m fine. Don''t worry about me."
Just a handful of words, and to She, they felt cold and mechanical.
A little too distant.
She couldn''t ept it.
He never used to be like this.
Bing the adopted daughter of the Howard family had once seemed like a stroke of luck.
But as she grew older, it began to feel more like a shackle.
She was about to send another message when Timothy''s reply came through.
"It''ste. Get some rest. I''m going to sleep too. Goodnight."
A sharp ache pierced her chest.
To love someone and not be able to be with them—nothing hurts quite like that.
When Timothy arrived that evening, she''d barely managed to exchange a few words of concern before her foster father ushered her off to bed.
She had no idea what was said after that.
Timothy had dragged his injured body all the way to Aetherion. She couldn''t imagine any other reason.
Could it be that Jessica was here?
Was she joining Mr. Smith''s team?
That must be it.
God.
She didn''t dare think further.
If she kept going down that road, she would lose her mind.
For seven years, Timothy had barely paid Jessica any attention-what changed all of a sudden?
She needed to find out where Jessica was.
Even if Timothy''s feelings for Jessica had shifted, She knew her own presence weighed heavily on Jessica''s mind.
Jessica was running from Timothy.
Which meant She still had a real shot.
As long as Jessica was bent on divorce, Timothy''s hands would be tied.
For now, She couldn''t leave the Howard family. As long as she stayed, she was Timothy''s aunt, and
there''d always be an excel
eto see
him.
But if she left, things would be different.
Her biological parents were already urging her toe home.
She just needed to wait a little longer. Once Jessica divorced Timothy and she returned to her real family-once she shed that "Aunt She" title-she could finally be with Timothy again.
Early the next morning, Vince reached out to Timothy. Once he heard Timothy
was staying with the Howards, he swung by to check on him.
He also had something important to discuss.
Timothy was still bedridden, unable to move much.
Not long after Vince arrived, She came in carrying a breakfast tray.
"Timothy, you should eat something."
"Thanks, but I''m not hungry. I don''t have much of an appetite."
She was genuinely frustrated.
She''d gotten up early, kept a close eye on the kitchen, and made sure everything was something Timothy liked.
Why wouldn''t he eat?
"You''re still recovering. You can''t just skip meals.”
Timothy pressed his lips together. "I really don''t have an appetite. Don''t worry
about me go take care of your own things."
She had no choice but to take the tray out again.
For days now, Timothy had barely eaten, surviving mostly on IV fluids.
Once She was gone, Vince spoke up. "Why won''t you eat?"
"It''s just not convenient."
"What''s so inconvenient about eating?"
Timothy''s face darkened. "Do you have to interrogate me about everything?"
"Alright, alright, I''ll drop it. If you don''t want to eat that''s your call. Anyway, my assistant just called. All those names you gave for the paternity tests one of them matched. The database is updating every day, but we''re stilling up empty. Can you have your people keep looking?"