Chapter 1: A Loving Family Without Her

At Silverhaven Airport, Eleanor Hayes walked out with a bright smile and a light step.

Today was her son's fifth birthday. She had worked overtime for half a month and closed two big projects just to make it back in time.

An hour later, her cab pulled up at Westmere Manor.

The new security guard didn't recognize her, so she was stuck at the gate for a while. It wasn't a surprise. Three years ago she had been sent to Ravenmoor to run the company's branch, and since then she had hardly been home. In the end, the head of security came out himself and opened the gate.

She wheeled her luggage inside. The house was quiet. Eleanor glanced around.

Soon, Mrs. Porter, the housekeeper, hurried out at the sound. "Madam! You're back!" she said, startled. "Why didn't you call? I would have sent a car."

Eleanor's eyes dimmed for a moment. She had called Alexander the moment she landed. He told her he had something to send her by email, and that was that. She took a cab.

"It's fine, Mrs. Porter. Don't trouble yourself." She looked toward the stairs. "Where are Alex and Ollie?"

She crouched and unzipped her suitcase, smiling. "I rushed as fast as I could. Thank goodness I made it for Ollie's birthday. He mentioned on our video call last week that he loved Sir Pip the Egg Knight, so I got him the whole set."

She lifted the toy carefully, as if it were made of glass.

"The master went to the office," Mrs. Porter said. "Young Master Ollie is upstairs. He's only just woken up."

"Then I'll go up."

Mrs. Porter watched her happy back disappear up the stairs and swallowed the words on her tongue. Two weeks ago, Miss Sterling had given the young master a set of toys. He adored them. He fell asleep holding them every night.

She shook her head and sighed.

---

On the second floor, Eleanor knocked, heard a small voice answer, and pushed the door open.

Oliver Blackwood was already up, sitting at his little desk with his head bowed, busy with something.

"Ollie!" she called.

She hadn't seen him in person for two months, even though they video-called nearly every day. The moment she saw him, she couldn't hold back. She crossed the room and swept him into her arms.

Oliver looked up, surprised. When he realized it was really her, a smile spread across his bright eyes. "Mommy! You're back!"

"I'm back." She squeezed him tight. "What are you doing?"

"Drawing!"

"Oh, my Ollie is drawing? Can Mommy see?"

"Of course!"

He held it up proudly. He had been enrolled in every kind of enrichment class since he could walk, and even at five, his lines were smooth and his style was adorable.

"It's so pretty! This is Ollie, right? And the one in the middle is Daddy, and the one on the right is..."

Her eyes drifted across the page, then stopped.

"Mommy, don't you know her?" Oliver said loudly, thinking she had missed it. "It's Lily's mommy!"

Eleanor's chest tightened.

She had known Ollie liked Vivian Sterling. She had never imagined he had come to call her Mommy.

"Mommy, is it good? Does it look like her?" he went on. "It's my homework. The teacher said to draw the family we love. The best ones go in the whole school's exhibition. Do you think I'll get a little red flag?"

Eleanor could no longer hear him. Only three words rang in her head: the family we love.

Her mouth filled with bitterness. "Ollie... if the theme is family, why didn't you draw Mommy?"

"Oh. Sorry, Mommy, I forgot." He pouted. "But Lily's mommy is a mommy too, and we're a family."

"Daddy said it was okay to draw her! And Lily's mommy is prettier than you, so I'll definitely win if I draw her!"

Eleanor froze. As he cheerfully described the dress Vivian wore, she stood up and blinked hard against the sting in her eyes. "I'll... go warm some milk for you."

The door clicked shut.

Oliver set down his pen and spotted the set of toys on his desk. He opened it. His favorite characters. He picked up one piece, looked at it, and dropped it aside, bored.

Then he looked at the other set, lined up neatly on his bedside table. Lily's mommy had given it to him a few weeks ago. She had picked his favorite character on purpose, and it was a limited edition, too!

And Mommy's? So ordinary. You could find it in any shop window.

He curled his lip and tossed it away.

Then he remembered something much more important. He grabbed his phone and dialed.

"Daddy!" he whispered anxiously. "Mommy's back! What if she wants to come with us at lunch...?"

---

Downstairs, Eleanor asked Mrs. Porter to take a glass of milk up to Ollie. Then she took out her phone.

She breathed in slowly. Ollie was just a child, talking like a child. They were mother and son, and that bond could never be cut. Today was his birthday, and she wouldn't fall apart.

She called Alexander. It connected just as she was about to hang up.

He didn't like wasted words, so she got straight to the point. "Alex, it's Ollie's birthday. Let me find a place to celebrate at lunch."

"Sorry, I'll pass the phone to Alexander." A woman's voice. Eleanor went still.

Vivian Sterling.

Of course. After Eleanor was sent to Ravenmoor, Vivian had taken over as his secretary.

Then Alexander's voice came on, distant and cold. "I have my own plans. You don't need to worry about it."

He hung up.

It was always like this. Their calls never lasted more than three sentences, and he had never once let her finish speaking. Alexander saved his patience for Ollie and for Vivian, never for her.

Once, she had comforted herself: It's fine. Give it time. He'll come to accept me. She had been the one to fall first, and she had been willing to wait for him to turn around and see her. So out of habit, she tried to please him. She served him.

But five years had passed. Alexander still felt nothing for her, and he had only grown colder.

A line floated into her mind: If he doesn't love you, he doesn't love you.

So should she keep holding on?

Eleanor stared at nothing, her face blank and strangely calm. Then she switched off her phone.

---

She left Ollie alone all morning.

By the time she had showered and changed, it was already eleven. Still no call from Alexander.

Then Ollie came running down the stairs and threw himself into her arms. "Mommy, can you do something for me?"

When it came to her son, unless the request was outrageous, Eleanor almost never said no. "Of course, sweetheart. What is it?"

"I love the cakes from Honeycrown Bakery the best, but Daddy forgot to order one. Can you go buy it for me?"

So that was all. She smiled. "Of course. Mommy will take you there right now, and we'll meet Daddy after."

"No!"

"Hm? Why not?"

"Mommy, you go buy it first," Ollie said. "Daddy isn't finished at work yet. I'll have the driver take me to him, and then you come and meet us."

It sounded fine to her. She nodded, picked up her bag, and drove off toward the bakery.

The second she was gone, Ollie snorted. "Mommy, don't even think about ruining my lunch with Daddy and Lily's mommy! We're a loving family. You shouldn't have come back and spoiled it."

He stuck out his tongue, pulled out his phone, and called again. "Daddy! I sent Mommy to buy cake! When is Lily's mommy coming to pick me up?"

---

Two hours later, Eleanor parked at the side of the road. She rubbed her sore, reddened forehead and frowned.

Mrs. Porter had said Ollie left an hour ago. So why hadn't Alexander called?

She picked up her phone and thought for a few seconds, then reached to dial him. But the moment she lifted her eyes, she saw two familiar figures...