From Keen, Ste and Haynes learned the full story of what had happened. Hearing it only made Ste''s heart ache more for Joshua. Haynes, too, was silent after listening. As much as he disliked Joshua, he had to admit that the man''s sacrifice had been enormous.


    Keen recounted the tale between sobs. When he finished, he asked timidly, "Mom, I heard Mr. Joshua is awake. Can I go see him?"


    Ste nodded gently. "In a few more days, when he''s a little stronger, I''ll take you to see him. Keen, I need to talk to your dad for a minute. Why don''t you go get some rest?"


    Obediently, Keen left the room.


    Once he was gone, Ste asked, "Haynes, have you been in touch with Foremantely?"


    "I''ve tried," Haynes said, "but I haven''t been able to reach him. I don''t know if he went back to Novaris."


    Ste''s brow furrowed.


    Seeing her expression, Haynes asked, "Star, did you... know Foreman before all this?"


    Ste sensed what he was getting at. "You mean, he knew me?"


    Haynes hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell her everything he knew about their past.


    The memory clicked into ce for Ste. "So it was him."


    At the time, Foreman''s face had been covered in a rash, obscuring his true features. Ste had been buried in her studies, only hearing about him in passing from Abby Murphy She''d paid little attention not even knowing his name. To think it had been Foreman all along.


    Haynes looked at her, his expressionplex. "He might have started noticing you back then."


    He had recently learned more about Ste''s student days from Antoney Watson. She had been brilliant. If she took second ce in anything, it was because no one had been able to take first. She excelled in music, art, and academics—a true campus queen. Nearly eighty percent of the male students had considered her their dream girl. She received countless love letters and gifts daily, but she ignored them all, focusing solely on her studies and music.


    It was only now that Haynes truly realized how exceptionally bright and dazzling the old Ste had been.


    Antoney, seeming to read his thoughts, had taunted him: "Haynes, you had a treasure in your hands, and you threw it away for a piece of fake jade like Rachel Pearce."


    Ste''s voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Whatever his reasons, they don''t give him the right to hurt Joshua, to try and kill him."


    Haynes snapped back to the


    present, turning to look at her. Her delicate features had taken on a sharp cold edge. The woman before him felt like a stranger. He had never seen her look so fierce. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if she would have ever been this way for him, even when she had loved him most.


    Instead of defending Foreman, Haynes asked a different question. "Star, in your heart... is Joshua more important than Keen?"


    Ste met his gaze. "Haynes, do you also believe that my child should, by default, be the most important person in my life?"


    Before he could answer, she continued, "Let me tell you something, Haynes. I am a person first, and a mother second. A child isn''t someone''s entire world. He has his own path to walk, and I have my own life to live. The title of ''mother'' is not a cage."