Ste''s eyes widened in shock.


    She thought she had been cruel enough, hurtful enough.


    But she never expected that Joshua, a man who had always been as proud and powerful as a king, would lower himself to such desperate depths.


    It felt as if a lump had formed in her throat, leaving her utterly speechless.


    Seeing her stop, Joshua took a step toward her.


    Ste abruptly snapped back to reality.


    She stumbled backward, putting distance between them, and fled in a panic, her retreating figure looking entirely defeated.


    Joshua stood silently, watching her walk away without making a move to chase her.


    It was another sleepless night.


    While washing up, Ste looked at herself in the mirror, her mind a blur as she realized that simply saying a few harsh words wasn''t going to make Joshua give up so easily.


    Time was running out; she couldn''t afford any more dys.


    Perhaps due to several consecutive nights of poor sleep, herplexion was dreadful.


    After she returned to her room, Joshua never came to knock on her door, leaving her to wonder if he had gone home.


    Once she finished getting ready, she stepped out of her bedroom.


    The moment she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heardughtering from the dining room.


    "Wow, Mr. Joshua, you actually know how to cook? That''s amazing! Is there anything you can''t do?"


    A crisp, clean masculine voice soon replied.


    "If there''s anything you like to eat, just let me know. I''m not busytely, so your mom and I can stay here with you every day."


    Keen cheered in delight. "Awesome! When we go to the amusement parkter, I''m going to race you!"


    Ste walked into the dining room and saw a tall, handsome figure arranging tes on the table.


    She nced at the spread. Almost all the dishes were her and Keen''s favorites.


    It was obvious Joshua had cooked them himself.


    She looked at him. "You didn''t leavest night?"


    Before he could answer, Keen chimed in, "Nope! Mr. Joshua slept in my roomst night."


    Frustration tightened Ste''s chest.


    She had wanted to use Keen as an


    excuse to break up with Joshua et


    Keen kept handing the man


    perfect


    opportunities.


    There was simply no child worse at reading the room than her son.


    Just then, Haynes entered the dining room.


    Seeing Joshua, his steps faltered


    a fraction of a second, but his expression remained entirely unchanged, as if he had expected this all along.


    As the saying goes, it is easier to invite the devil in than to show him the door.


    Now that Joshua was inside, he certainly wouldn''t leave quietly.


    Looking at the breakfast on the table, Haynes felt a wave of familiarity.


    He remembered a time at the Williams family home when Ste had cooked an entire feast herself.


    That table had featured Keen''s favorites and Joshua''s favorites, but deliberately excluded his own.


    The current scene was practically identical.


    Portions had already been served for Ste and Keen, but there weren''t even utensils ced in front of Haynes.


    He had no choice but to get up and serve himself.


    As soon as Ste sat down, her face paled, and a wave of nausea hit her.


    She jumped up and ran to the bathroom, dry heaving over the sink.


    But since she hadn''t eaten anything since the night before, nothing came up.


    She rinsed her mouth and sshed water on her face dust as she


    or a towel, clean one was


    ced into her hand.


    >


    Looking up, she saw Joshua standing right beside her, his gaze filled with concern.


    "Star, are you feeling unwell?"


    Ste took the towel, murmured a quick thanks, and said, "I probably just haven''t been sleeping welltely."


    His eyes drifted to the dark circles under her eyes.


    "Do you want to go to the hospital to get checked out?"