Ste''s tone was t. "To be honest, I didn''t go to Novaris to visit Keen. I went to avoid you. Joshua, you''re suffocating me. I had no choice but to run."


    Through the receiver, she heard his heavy, rapid breathing. Worried he was just stalling for time, she didn''t say another word and hung up.


    She immediately instructed the pilot for takeoff.


    With a deafening roar, the private jet ascended into the sky.


    Outside, heavy clouds gathered, mirroring the dense gloom weighing on Ste''s heart.


    Just as the ne lifted off, she spotted a familiar silhouette on the tarmac. Dressed entirely in ck, he stood out starkly against the empty expanse of the airport, looking as though he were the only person left in the world.


    As the ne climbed higher, his figure shrank, eventually bing a tiny speck before vanishingpletely.


    In that moment, Ste felt a sudden, hollow emptiness in her chest.


    ...


    Uponnding in Neo-Vespera, Ste was immediately picked up by Haynes''s men.


    She suspected it wouldn''t be long before Joshua followed her. Sure enough, shortly after arriving at Haynes''s estate, she received word that Joshua''s flight had just touched down.


    Keen was overjoyed to see her.


    "You mentioned earlier that the house was burrized and a lot of things were stolen," Ste said. "What exactly did you lose?"


    "I''ll show you, Mom," Keen replied.


    Even though Haynes had


    immediately ordered all the missing furniture and appliances reced upon his return, Ste was still stunned into a prolonged silence when she saw that nearly everything in the vi was brand new. Had she not lived there for five years, she wouldn''t have recognized the ce.


    "How did this happen?" she asked in disbelief. "Didn''t anyone notice when the burrs broke in?"


    "Maisie said she went to sleep, and when she woke up the next morning, it was just like this," Keen exined. "Aside from the servants'' quarters and the storage room, the house waspletely emptied."


    He paused, looking up at her. "Your old bedroom took the worst hit."


    He led her to the room she used to upy.


    Looking inside, Ste realized Keen''s description had been an understatement.


    Aside from the walls and the floor, the room looked like it had been wiped out by a hurricane. Even the curtains were gone.


    "Dad wanted to restore this room to exactly how it was, so he hasn''t put any new furniture in yet," Keen murmured. "But it''s going to take some time to track down the exact


    pieces. He''s been sleeping in a guest room."


    Just then, the steady sound of footsteps echoed behind them.


    Haynes''s deep voice drifted from the doorway. "Star, you''re here." Ste turned to face him. "I''m sorry for imposing on you again."


    Haynes walked over and gently told Keen to head back to his room. Once the boy was gone, he looked at Ste "It''s no imposition. I broke a memposition, I lot of promises to you in the past.


    This time, no matter what happens, I won''t let you down."


    Looking at his handsome, stoic features, Ste suddenly realized that all their past grievances, the intense love and bitter hatred, no longer seemed to matter.


    "Thank you, Haynes," she said sincerely.


    A rare smile touched his lips. "We married before we even knew each other. Now, we finally have a chance to start over."


    Ste remained quiet for a moment before replying softly, "No matter how perfect


    the recements are, even if they look exactly the same... we can never go back to the way things were."