A faint cool, woody fragrance lingered subtly in the air, as if gently wrapped


    around me.


    My brow furrowed ever so slightly before snapping out of my thoughts. I quickly stepped back, then raised my hand to rub the spot where Tom had touched. "Is it gone now?"


    "It''s gone." Tom chuckled softly, his expression as calm as ever. But as he withdrew his hand, he instinctively rubbed his fingers together, rolling them a little more before curling them up into a fist.


    By the end of the meal, despite my efforts to control myself, I had eaten too much. My stomach felt ufortably bloated.


    "I told you to eat less earlier. Feeling ufortable now, aren''t you?" Tom shook his head helplessly. "There''s a pharmacy downstairs. I''ll go get you some digestive aids."


    Seeing him reach for his coat, I quickly grabbed his sleeve. "There''s no need for medicine. I''ll just go for a walk instead."


    After all, I was pregnant, and there were many medications I couldn''t take.


    Tom nced at my hand clutching his sleeve. Once I let go, he raised his gaze, his lips curling into a warm smile. "I''ll join you for a walk to work off this meal then."


    Since moving here, this was my first time taking a stroll in the neighborhood. Being a high-end residential area, thendscaping was exquisite, and ambient lights along the paths created a warm and romantic atmosphere.


    Just as I was enjoying the walk, my phone started ringing. It was a call from Alex. Since our mother''s passing, Alex seemed to have vanished without a trace. His phone had been unreachable, and no one knew where he had gone.


    I knew he resented me and was avoiding me, so I didn''t expect him to call out of the blue.


    "Hello, Alex..."


    The moment I answered the call, his tired voice came through, "Where are you right now?"


    "I''m..." I instinctively wanted to say I was home, but I quickly changed my response. "I''m at a friend''s house. Alex, where are you? Where have you been these days? I''ve been so worried about you."


    "It doesn''t matter where I am..." he took a deep breath, then continued, "Let me ask you something. Did you cheat on your husband?"


    "Cheat?" I froze for a moment. "I didn''t."


    "You dare tell me nothing is going on between you and Tom?" My brother let out augh. "Right now, everyone''s saying you had an affair with Tom while you were married, and that''s why Gavin wants to divorce you!"


    The more he spoke, the angrier he got. "I told you on your wedding day that Tom was acting weird toward you! Grace, have you lost your mind? You knew mom''s body couldn''t handle any more emotional turmoil, and you still did that? You''re the one who killed her!"


    "It wasn''t me..." Panic washed over me as I struggled to understand what rumors Alex had heard that led him to me Mom''s death on me.


    "Alex, please listen to me. I only asked Tom to help because I wanted to divorce Gavin..."


    "Stop making excuses! Grace, you killed Mom!" he cut me off.


    "Alex..." I tried to plead.


    "I''ll never forgive you for this!" he cut me off once more.


    Before I could respond, he hung up the phone.


    Hearing the monotonous beeping in the receiver, I panicked and immediately tried to call him back, but all I got was an automated response telling me that the call couldn''t be connected.


    "What''s wrong?" Tom asked, frowning at my distressed expression. "Did Alex misunderstand our rtionship? Do you want me to exin things to him?"


    I shook my head, trying to calm myself down. "No, I''ll exin it myself."


    Alex must''ve misunderstood something to believe I was responsible for Mom''s death...


    As long as I could clear up the misunderstanding, it would be fine. If Tom stepped in to help, it might only deepen Alex''s misunderstanding, and he wouldn''t believe Tom anyway.