Chapter 2

Frederick stepped into my room before I was even done packing.

“Malik, I don’t know how to feel about the decor inside the house…”

Upon hearing this, I immediately reached for the card Juniper had given me.

“Go ahead and have it renovated to your liking. Once I’m done packing, you can move into the master bedroom with your son.”

Frederick paused for a moment, then offered a quick smile.

“No need for that. I don’t mind sleeping in my current room!”

In the past, Juniper always made a point of reserving a room in the house for him even though we had plenty of other residences.

Over time, jealousy had gotten to me, and I ended up lashing out a few times.

“Juniper, this is my house…”

Every time, she brushed me off with the same reply.

“Frederick is my childhood friend. I can’t make him feel like he’s being cast aside just because of you!”

Even my parents expressed the same sentiment.

I was their child and Juniper’s lawful husband to boot.

Yet, I was always the one who had to bend over backward for him!

With this in mind, I smiled and persuaded Frederick again.

“The master bedroom gets lots of sunlight. A young boy needs plenty of sunshine!”

Suddenly, my mother showed up out of nowhere and took my hand. For once, she was smiling at me.

“Malik, I’m glad you’ve grown into such a mature and understanding man!”

In the last decade since my return to the family, this was the first time she had praised me at all.

As far as she was concerned, I had always been a lowly and crude man who would never be worthy of glory.

I could not compare to her soft-spoken and sensible Frederick.

One time, she gave me a stern scolding just because I accidentally wore Frederick’s shirt.

“How dare you steal his clothes when he hardly has anything to himself to begin with?”

It would be laughable if it wasn’t so heartbreaking.

A few days later, a friend of mine came to visit when he heard of my return.

As soon as he showed up, he became incensed and felt like he had to speak up to defend my rights.

“Malik, this is your house! What right does Frederick have to claim what is yours?”

All I could do was shake my head. There was hardly a trace of disturbance in my eyes.

“It’s just some renovations. He can do whatever he likes.”

I was going to leave with my adoptive mother soon enough anyway.

That was when Juniper returned.

The moment Frederick saw her, he rushed to her and embraced her happily while crying out, “Juniper… Look! I had the house renovated into the home we dreamed of when we were kids. Do you like it?

“Malik not only gave me the master bedroom, but he even had his study torn down so I could build a nursery!

“But there’s one thing… I’m not sure what to do with this painting .”

He was referring to the painting Juniper had spent a month laboriously painting for me.

Before Juniper could respond, I remarked candidly.

“I’m not sure if there’s enough room in the storage for it. Go ahead and burn it if there’s not enough space for it.”

Juniper went pale.

She pushed away Frederick’s hand and came up to me with her eyes wide and rimmed with tears.

“I drew the painting for you. Every stroke counted for something... Why would you want to burn it?

“Malik, do my feelings not mean anything to you?

“What will it take for you to forgive me?”

She may say so, but she had religiously hand-drawn a painting for Frederick every year on his birthday.

It was only after rounds of pleading from me that she finally did something to appease me.

“Fine, I’ll paint something for you once I’m done with my current painting!”

I protested then, “You always have time to paint for Frederick, but not for me!”

She cuddled in my arms and told me matter-of-factly, “When we were kids, I promised him I would paint for him until I was old and gray!”

The painting, which I had treasured for so long, was merely a discarded draft meant for Frederick, which she had touched up briefly before calling it quits.

I suppressed the bitterness welling up inside me and stated bluntly, “The boy is still young. You should be prioritizing Frederick and the boy.

“He cannot be without his mother. From now on, you should sleep with them in the master bedroom!”

Juniper was flabbergasted by my response. When she spoke, her voice contained a hint of ridicule.

“Fine! Then so be it! I did promise you that I would do whatever you told me to do!”

With that, I turned and walked to the guest room.