Haynes and Keen traveled in style on a private jet, sofortable that even after the long flight, they felt no fatigue at all.
Ste, having heard in advance that they wereing, had everything nned out.
"Solmaris has an amazing amusement park," she said with a smile. "Keen, would you like to go have some fun?"
Keen''s eyes lit up. "I''d love to!"
Steughed and took Keen''s hand.
Joshua naturally fell in on Keen''s other side. "So, Keen," he asked, "while I was away, did you keep up with your target practice?"
Keen puffed up with pride. "Every day, Mr. Joshua! Dad even hired a shooting
coach for me. This time, I''m sure I can beat you!"
Joshua grinned. "Is that so? Well then, let''s have a little matchter."
"Awesome!" Keen said, bouncing on his toes.
With their striking good looks, the group drew more than a few curious nces as they made their way through the crowd.
Snatches of conversation floated to Haynes'' ears:
"What a gorgeous family! Must be a family of three-look at them."
"With a mom that pretty and a dad that handsome, no wonder their kid''s so cute."
Haynes looked at the trio walking ahead-two adults and a child—and felt a dark cloud settle over his chest.
He was Keen''s father, after all, and the boy was the spitting image of him. Were all these people blind?
Just then, Ste seemed to sense something. She paused, turned, and called out, "Haynes, why are you just standing there? Aren''t youing?"
With just that nce over her shoulder, the gloom in Haynes'' heart vanished. She remembered him. That was enough.
He strode forward to catch up.
Inside the amusement park, the four of them explored every corner.
Their group-two men, one woman, and a child-made for an unusual sight, especially with their stunning appearances. They drew attention at every turn.
But none of the three adults paid any mind to the stares; they simply ignored them.
Some distance away, a shadowy figure trailed behind.
Rachel Pearce''s eyes burned with resentment as she watched Ste. She wanted nothing more than to rush over and tear her apart.
But she didn''t dare. Not with Joshua by Ste''s side.
It was just like at the music g-Ste basked in the spotlight while Rachel had to scurry around like a rat hiding in the shadow Back then, she''d fantasized about leaping out and taking revenge, but that''s all it remained-a fantasy.
Whatever Joshua''s reasons for staying close to Ste, Rachel wouldn''t risk making a move while he was around.
So she''d chosen to take it out on Simone instead. That, too, had ended in failure -Aurora had intervened.
A few days ago, tired of living in hiding, Rachel had reached out to Joshua. This time, he''d finally agreed to help her, arranging for her toe to Solmaris-and even to be here at the amusement park today.
At first, Rachel hadn''t understood why. But when she saw Haynes, her heart skipped a beat.
So what if that wretched Simone was pretending to be her? In the end, Joshua chose to help Rachel, not Simone.
She kept following the group, careful
to keep her distance. With Haynes and Joshua present, she didn''t dare pull any stunts. Her hand drifted, unconsciously to her lower abdomen, and a dark, secretive smile crept across her lips.
...
By midday, the group found a restaurant to rest and eat.
Keen and Joshua had their shooting match, but in the end, Joshua still came out on top.
Rather than feeling discouraged, Keen was more determined than ever. "Mr. Joshua, I''ll practice even harder when I get home. Next time, I''m definitely going to beat you!"
Joshua smiled and handed him an
intricately designed water bottle.
"Keen, your mom made this drink
just for you when she
were
heard
you
"Let''s skip
the sodas
and stick with something healthy,
alright?"
s?novel
Keen hadn''t tasted anything his mom made in a long while. As he took the bottle,
he found himself missing her cooking more than ever.