"Don''t touch my mom!"


    Forrest raised his brows. This kid-unbelievable. Use him and ditch him the second he''s no longer needed. Cunning little rascal.


    "Adrian!" M''s tone sharpened as soon as she saw Adrian talk back. "Mr. Whitmore stayed with you sote and even protected you-what kind of attitude is that?"


    "He didn''t, he—" Adrian started to shout back, but before he could finish, he felt a gentle weight settle on his head. He looked up to see Mr. Whitmore smiling down at him, warm and unbothered. "It''s alright, really," Forrest said. "Kids will be kids. Adrian''s just been anxious to find you. Let''s go home for now. Next time, if you''d like, I''ll show you more photos of your mom from back in the day. How does that sound?"


    Adrian red at him, jaw set tight, but didn''t say another word.


    M paused, caught off guard. "Photos?"


    "Pictures from our college trips," Forrest exined, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "There are a few with you in them as well. I kept all of them. If you''re interested, I can show you next time."


    His tone was so casual-almost matter-of-fact that M couldn''t find any reason to object. They had, after all, taken plenty of photos together during those years— weekend getaways, city adventures, spur-of-the-moment road trips. Most of the time, it was Forrest who brought a camera along. It made sense he''d have backups.


    "Mom," Adrian whined, clearly annoyed to see his mom chatting so happily with the weirdly friendly Mr. Whitmore. He tugged insistently at M''s hand. "I want to go home! I want to go home! I want to go home!"


    "Alright, alright. We''re going," M soothed him, then turned to Nathaniel, who had just caught up. "I''m taking Adrian home. As for Julian, we''ll talk once I''ve sorted things out."


    Nathaniel hesitated only a second, then nodded. "Alright."


    In truth, he''d been there for a while already. From a distance, he''d watched M and Forrest standing close, speaking quietly to the child between them-so at ease, so natural, that for a moment Nathaniel could almost imagine they were a family.


    That odd sense of discement stopped him froming closer. It wasn''t until M looked his way that he snapped out of it and managed to answer. He had never seriously considered stopping her. After all, keeping someone else''s child in your house—no matter the reason—just didn''t sit right with him.


    He nced at Forrest, lingering by M''s side, then couldn''t help but ask, "Would you like toe in for a bit? Have a cup of tea?"


    "Thank you, but maybe another time," M replied politely. She didn''t step inside, didn''t even ask if Adrian had left anything behind just took her son''s hand and hurried toward the gate.


    She was eager to get home. There were things she needed to ask Adrian.


    Forrest, a step behind, nced at Nathaniel''s slightly dejected figure with a mild, indifferent arch of his brow, then quickly caught up to M and Adrian as they left together.


    With everyone gone, Pembroke Mansion fell silent again. No more shouting that could rattle the windows, no more sounds of things being knocked over. The sudden quiet was almost startling.


    Nathaniel lingered outside in the garden, watching them disappear into the night before finally heading back inside. He paused in the living room gaze drifting upstairs to thending, where he spotted Giselle leaning against the banister, lost in thought.


    How long had she been standing there?


    After dinner and a bit of conversation, she''d gone to rest in Sophia''s room, only


    now emerging.


    "What are you doing up there?" Nathaniel called, his tone frosty.


    He''d always regarded Giselle with a


    certain respect-older than them, childhood friends, brilliant and charming, talented in business. She was the kind of person everyone


    naturally looked up to. Lately, though, Nathaniel found her increasingly hard to understand. Meddling in someone else''s marriage was bad enough, but the way she''d spoken to Adrian tonight-had she lost her mind?


    There was no warmth in his voice now.


    "So cold," Giselle said with azy yawn, unmoved by his attitude. "Sophia already


    told me I could stay as long as I like. I''m off to bed. Good night."


    Nathaniel watched her start back toward Sophia''s room, brows furrowing. He called out suddenly, "Giselle, what are you even doing? Can''t you see you''re nothing like the person you used to be?"


    Giselle stopped. After a moment, she turned slightly, her face half-shadowed in


    the dim light, just enough for Nathaniel to catch the sharp, mocking glint in her


    eyes.


    "The person I used to be?" she scoffed. "Don''t tter yourself."


    “Nathaniel, I haven''t changed at all. You''re the ones who''ve changed." With that, she lifted her chin and strode away, not sparing him another nce.


    Nathaniel stood there for a long while, realizing that not only had the past grown distant-even the Giselle standing before him now felt like a stranger.


    He didn''t have much time to dwell on it. His phone rang-Sophia was calling. Clearly, she''d already heard that Adrian had been taken home.