The person who just arived was in a military uniform, apanied by a sharply dressed woman.
It was Mark and Nina.
yo when Mack and
Ethel didn’t even bat <b>an </b>eye when Mark and Nina walked in.
She knew Mark’s identity, but wondered why someone like him kept showing up at the orphanage, especially since all his inquiries were about Aubree
Ethel remained cautious with Mark, offering only vague answers to his questions. She had no idea how much he already knew, or if he had connected the
dels to Aubree
When Autree ran into Mark today, Ethel involuntarily furrowed her brow,
Bowen, however, was waiting for Mark. Nina had tipped him off that Mark would visit the orphanage today.
He wondered why Mark had been so interested in the orphanagetely, and what he meant by those wants he’d said to himst time
“Why did he tell me to stay away from Bree? Bowen wondered.
Mark’s gaze shifted <b>and </bnded on Aubree. He frowned. Her again?”
Bowen <b>stared </b>at him. “That’s my line. What are you doing here? Since I had Nina follow you, you must’ve known i’de looking for you eventually”
Speaking of which, Mark rolled his <b>eyes </b>and scoffed, “You call this following me?“”
“It’s more like tant surveince Mark thought.
“Only <b>a </b>scheming bastard like you would think to send Nina to tail me,” Mark said, “If it were anyone else, he thought, I would’ve packed them up and shipped them back to the sly old fox Bowen by now!”
ther<b>. </b>
“But Nina Mark rubbed his temples, feeling a wave of guilt. He owed her too much. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything about h
“Looks like you have something to discuss, so I’ll leave you to it,” Ethel said with a chuckle, giving them their space.
Before leaving, she <b>gave </b>Aubree a knowing <b>wink</b>. “Aubree, could you run a quick errand for me?”
Aubree frogs Grandma Ethel deliberately sending me away?” she wondered.
“Sure,” Aubree replied
Nina had never met Aubree in person, but from what she’d heard from Ethan and the others, she knew Aubree was very likely to be the future Mrs.
Turner.
Nina watched as Aubree walked <b>away, </b>noticing nothing out of the ordinary
“Mr. Turner, I’ll wait over there,” Nina said.
Soon, the space was cleared, leaving just Mark and Bowen.
Bowen cut straight to the chase. “Come on, spit. Why have <b>you </b>been haunting this cetely? Don’t tell me your dad’s marriage pressure has you so desperate you’re thinking of just adopting someone from here.”
<b>Mark </b><b>rolled </b>his eyes. “Sometimes this guy can piss me off so much, he <b>thought </b>
He quipped, “If you won’t hand her over, how am I supposed to answer my
y <b>dad</b><b>?</b>”
Mon 14
Bowen threw up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t pin that on the Nina’s not into you. I already sent her your way, so if you happen, you’d better step up your gamel”
After trading a few jabs, Bowen’s expression turned serious. “Enough small talk. Get to the point”
Mark sighed inwardly. “Guess there’s no dodging this after all.‘
He sprawled in his seat across from Bowen. “That girl’s name is Aubree. You’re into her
As longtime friends, Mark could instantly read the changes in Bowen,
“Yeah, I am,” Bowen said.
“If you trust me, you’d best steer clear,” Mark said.
Bowen’s gaze froze. “Mark, I thought you knew me better <b>than </b>that. What I’ve set my heart on, I won’t let go of unless it’s impossible.” Then, he thought to himself, ‘Even if there’s not <b>a </b>sliver of hope, I’ll still fight for her,
Mark let out a sigh, He knew all too well how stubborn Bowen could be. That was why, back at Nightworld, he’d tried to nip things in the bad befor Bowen even realized how he truly felt.
“That kid Ollie doesn’t know anything, Mark thought, “He just loves to stick his nose in
Mark stopped hiding it.
He said, “You know, Alvin has had me investigating what happened to his parents all these years. It all happened so suddenly, and with no surveince footage from that long ago, I’ve just been hitting dead ends.
AD