I snapped my gaze away, forcing my expression back to neutral, and started to leave.
But a small pair of arms wrapped tightly around my leg.
A child’s hands are surprisingly warm. She felt like a heavy, soft weight clinging to me. She looked up, and with absolute certainty, she called out.
“Mommy!”
2008
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
The room fell dead silent.
My eyes shot up, instinctively seeking out the man by the stairs.
Adrian was thinner. The youthful fullness in his face had receded, leaving his features sharper, defined by the clean, handsome
lines of his bones. He held my gaze for a long moment before looking down.
A faint smile touched his lips as he walked toward us. He knelt, gently trying to pry the girl’s hands from my leg. He was careful not
to use too much force. As soon as he pulled her away. Chloe clung to me again like a little octopus.
“Chloe,” Adrian said, his tone hardening slightly. “Be good. Don’t bother the lady.”
Chloe looked stunned. Then she called out again, “Mommy”
On the sofa, Chris’s eyes were practically bulging out of his head.
Adrian’s face went cold. He scooped her up without another word.
“My apologies,” he said, holding the girl with one arm, his voice steady. “She’s never known her mother. She gets confused easily.”
I finally found my voice and nodded. “It’s fine. I understand.”
“Jesus, you scared the hell out of me,” Chris exhaled, clutching his chest. “Bro, your kid is terrifying. For a second there, I thought I’d
been ordering my sister–in–law around for three years. I mean, really.
A few scattered chuckles broke the tension.
Adrian’s eyes fell on the gift boxes I’d brought.
“Miss Chen,” he said, stopping me. The child seems to like you. Would you mind bringing the gifts and keeping her company for a
little while?”
I looked at Chris. He just waved a hand. “Go on.”
I sighed internally. I picked up the gifts again and followed Adrian.
The long hallway was silent. Sunlight, sliced into neat rectangles by the windowpanes, fell across the carpet. Tiny dust motes dan
ced in the light like diamonds.
Chloe, draped over Adrian’s shoulder, watched me without moving a muscle.
“Planning to resign?” Adrian asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“There’s no severance if you quit voluntarily.”
“I know.”
“You’ve been in the corporate world for years. Are you still letting pride get in the way of money?”
“No, it’s not that,” I said.
He stopped and turned to face me. The muscles in the forearm supporting the child were taut and defined. “If you’re not trying to avoid the Blackwood family, then why quit?”
“The job isn’t busy, but it requires me to be on call 24/7. I want to devote more energy to building a family.”
His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip. “Oh. Building a family.” He repeated the words, his tone unreadable, then continued
2008
Chapter
walking. “Dating anyone?”
“Yes.”
“Bring him to me. I’ll vet him for you.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said with a small smile. “He’s just an ordinary person. He wouldn’t catch your eye.”
*An ordinary person can catch your eye?” he retorted.
Blackwood Corporation.”
When we were together, you never mentioned you were the heir to the Black
Silence fell between us again.
