?Chapter 377:


    A voice halted him just as he was about to climb the stairs. Turning, he spotted his parents, Roderick and Wilma Moran.


    “Dad, Mom.”


    The pair had just returned from a social affair.


    As luck would have it, Denver had been waiting for them.


    Wilma took a few steps forward, her expression unreadable as she sized up her son. “You’re back earlier than I expected…” Then her eyesnded on the box in his hand.


    Her gaze darkened like storm clouds rolling in. “What’s that you’ve got there?”


    “This…” Denver didn’t dodge the question. With a bright smile, he answered, “It’s a bracelet.”


    Since he was about to bring up Hadley anyway, there was no point in ying coy.


    Wilma’s brow creased instantly. She recognized the delicate jewelry box in a heartbeat. “Is that the one your grandmother left behind?”


    “Yes.”


    “Let me take a look.” Without waiting for permission, Wilma plucked the box from Denver’s hands, opened it, and gazed at the ruby bracelet nestled inside.


    She let out a brittle chuckle at the sight of the bracelet, her expression tinged with fury.


    The whispers she had overheard at the evening’s gathering gnawed at her as she cast a piercing gaze upon her son.


    “Come closer, we need to have a word.”


    “Oh?” Denver furrowed his brow, puzzled, and nced at his father. “Dad, what’s got Mom so riled up?”


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    Roderick let out a weary sigh, shaking his head. “You’ll see soon enough, son.”


    He too was far from pleased with the rumors that had reached his ears tonight.


    The trio settled onto the plush sofa in the living room.


    “Mom?” Denver sat across from his parents, still in the dark about the storm brewing. “What’s this all about? Why the long faces?” He had been meaning to bring up Hadley once they were done with whatever this was.


    “Tell me straight.” Wilma slid the delicate bracelet box onto the coffee table with a deliberate air. “Why did you take this out of the safe? Don’t tell me you’re nning to wear it yourself?”


    “Hardly!”


    Denver chuckled, a stroke of luck that they’d brought it up—he was just about to spill the beans.


    “I’m nning to give it to someone special.”


    “Give it away, you say?” Wilma shot a sidelong nce at her husband, her face clouding over like a gathering storm. “To whom? A sweetheart, perhaps? This isn’t some trinket you would hand out to a casual acquaintance.”


    “Well…”


    Denver nodded hesitantly, but then shook his head. “Not yet. I’m still trying to win her over.”


    At that, Roderick turned his head aside, his jaw tightening.


    Wilma’splexion paled, though a flicker of hope still danced in her eyes. “You’ve only been back a short time, and already someone’s caught your fancy? Who’s the lucky girl, and which family is she from?”


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