Chapter 2

I gathered myself, stood up, and headed straight for the restaurant doors. I had no interest in arguing with them since it was pointless.

I'd better use the time to track down more local food and indulge my memories.

However, just as I reached the entrance, Aiden blocked my path. His lips were pressed into a tight line as he pulled out a check for $200,000 and held it out to me.

"Take it. Eat something decent. Buy yourself some proper clothes. If the servant quarters aren’t comfortable for you, rent a place outside for now. In a few days, I’ll help you find a respectable job.

"If that’s not enough, just ask me for more. Ever since I became Silverglade Pack’s top warrior, I’ve got more than enough to support two of you."

The condescension in his voice actually made me laugh. To him, I was still that cheap, easily satisfied girl from five years ago. In the five years since I left him, I experienced a kind of love and respect he could never give me, a life where someone would lay the best of the world at my feet and tell me to take my pick.

As the others looked on in stunned silence, I pushed his check away and replied coolly, "Thanks, but no thanks. We’re not that close anyway."

Aiden’s face darkened in an instant. He grabbed my wrist, his voice sharp and cold. "What’s that supposed to mean? Wren, I’m telling you, don’t push it. If this gets out of hand, it’s not going to end well."

His friends chimed in from the sidelines.

"Yeah, Wren, now’s not the time for a tantrum. Careful, or Aiden might really drop you."

His grip hurt. I yanked my arm back and glared, my voice slicing through the air, "Let go! We broke up five years ago. You have Janine now. I have someone I love, too. Why can’t we just move on?"

Aiden’s expression twisted, his eyes wide in disbelief. "What the hell are you saying, Wren? You’re cheating on me? How dare you!"

Pain flared in my wrist, and I cried out.

"What do you think you’re doing? Let go of my mom!" A child’s furious voice rang out from behind me. In the next second, a tiny body slammed into Aiden like a cannonball.

"Mom! Are you okay?" My son, Faelan, dove into my arms, his little body trembling.

I held him tight, my heart aching with love. Faelan had been born prematurely. Even though I had nursed him with care, and Nolan had spent a fortune hiring a nutritionist for him, making him sturdier than most kids his age, he was still just a child.

Behind me, Janine let out a soft gasp, covering her mouth. "Wren, is this yours and Aiden’s child? Oh my God. How bad off are you? Look at how your kid is dressed!"

I looked closer and frowned. Faelan was a mess. His clothes were torn into strips, soaked with mud, and wrinkled all over.

"What happened to you?"

Faelan shrank back a little and whispered guiltily, "I missed you, Mommy. I slipped past the bodyguards when they weren’t watching and ran off to find you…"

Fury surged through me. The forest-side restaurant was on the edge of Silverglade territory, dangerously close to the wild woods. I couldn’t even imagine how risky it was for a three-year-old to make that journey alone.

I no longer cared who was standing behind me. I just wanted to rush home and scold this reckless little rascal myself.

Once again, someone stepped into my path.

Aiden stood in front of us, staring at Faelan with an unreadable expression—gentle, yet tinged with something deeper.

"Wren… is this my child?"