LOGINKids are simple. They don't overthink things or twist meanings the way adults do.-By 5 p.m., the office building at the Academy of Aerospace had mostly quieted down.Amelia stared at the drone design on her computer screen, but her fingers hovered over the keyboard without moving.The clock in the corner kept ticking forward, a steady reminder that it was time to pick Evelyn up from school.Her mind drifted back to Christopher's expression the night before.She frowned slightly, hesitated for a few seconds, then reached for her phone. She pulled up a number she knew by heart and hit call.It rang three times before he picked up."Hello?" Christopher's voice came through the line."It's me." Amelia's tone was tight. "Something came up at work, and I can't leave right now. Where are you? Could you pick Evie up for me?"There was a brief pause on the other end. She could hear faint traffic noise, along with the quiet rhythm of his breathing.A flicker of unease crept into her
Amelia paused.Christopher's apology came out of nowhere.Her throat tightened, as if something was caught there.She looked into his eyes and saw the weight in them, the complicated emotions churning beneath the surface.Depression wasn't something light.Even Jessica, someone as professional as she was, had said his condition was serious.Amelia's lips parted slightly, and she took a breath. "Don't overthink it. No matter what you decided back then, you did it because you thought it was best for Evie and me. You just chose the way you believed was right."She gave a faint smile. "I don't blame you. And maybe one day, you'll be able to really open up and tell me what you've been carrying all this time."Christopher's chest sank. Hearing her try so hard to comfort him only made it worse.He had made the wrong choices. He had let her and their daughter carry the consequences for years. And now, in the end, she was the one comforting him.That hurt more than any accusation ev
Christopher's body stiffened again, something flickering in his eyes.He wanted to speak, to tell Amelia everything he had been carrying, every danger and every grievance. But the words barely reached his lips before they were swallowed back down.He was afraid that if he said it out loud, he would drag Amelia back into fear. He was afraid that because of him, even the quiet life she had now would fall apart.They stood side by side on the balcony.The distance that had always lingered between them began to fade, quietly dissolving in the silence.Christopher looked at her profile, his gaze dark and steady.After a while, he let out a faint smile. "You weren't like this before. You used to keep your distance from me."Amelia lowered her eyes to the ground, her fingers curling slightly. Her voice was calm, almost detached, as if she were talking about someone else. "That was a long time ago. People change."The air fell still. Only the distant hum of passing cars filled the qu
Amelia froze for a second, not expecting Christopher to be that direct.She looked at the exhaustion in his eyes and the careful way he held himself, as if he was already bracing for rejection.The refusal reached her lips, then she swallowed it."Alright. I'll get you a blanket."She turned and walked into the bedroom. As she searched through the closet, it hit her a second too late what she had just agreed to.She got up and walked into the bedroom. As she rummaged through the closet for a blanket, it hit her a second too late what she was doing.She had just let her ex-husband, the man she had been divorced from for years, stay the night.But when she thought of his pale face and the exhaustion clinging to him, she couldn't bring herself to send him out to find a hotel in the middle of the night."No need to go through the trouble. My coat's warm enough."When Christopher saw her come out with a blanket, he stood up right away and tried to refuse. "The couch is wide enough.
But now, there was a divorce between Amelia and Christopher. There were too many things left unsaid, too many misunderstandings tangled in between. Even a simple hello felt careful, almost fragile."Evie's asleep?" Christopher stepped closer, his voice lowered instinctively, like he was afraid of waking the child in her arms.Amelia snapped out of her thoughts and nodded, tightening her hold on Evelyn just a little. "Why didn't you wait in the car?""Didn't want you struggling to open the door with her."Christopher reached out, intending to take her bag, but the moment his fingers brushed the strap, she pulled back without thinking.His hand paused midair before he withdrew it. "About work… We could go over it tomorrow at the Academy. You look exhausted."Amelia blinked, caught off guard. She hadn't expected that from him.She studied the fatigue in his eyes, remembering he still hadn't fully recovered. Something softened in her chest. "It's fine. Let's just go upstairs and tal
Facing Christopher's searching gaze, Amelia took a slow breath, steadying her voice."I just met Keith. We're coworkers on the same project. We're just having a meal. He's showing me around. It's not that kind of relationship, so don't overthink it."Christopher lowered his eyes to Evelyn.He gently brushed his fingers through his daughter's hair, his voice softening a little."I don't mean anything by it. I just hope that, moving forward, you'll meet someone who truly treats you right. So you don't have to go through what you did before."Something tightened in Amelia's chest, a quiet ache spreading through her.She turned her head away, looking toward the warm glow spilling out from the restaurant windows, avoiding his gaze."I can handle my own life."Christopher didn't press further. He just glanced at his watch, his tone returning to neutral."Go on in. Don't keep Mr. Burns waiting. I'll be in the car. We'll talk about work after dinner. It won't take long."There was no
The next day, Amelia didn't attend Mr. Zephyr's burial. There was no need for her to be there, anyway.Rather, she had a brief meeting at Nova Nine's office.After the meeting ended, Josephine came running toward her.She looked at Amelia and said hesitatingly, "Regarding how Nicole was fired, we
Nicole smiled. "Why won't they come? They should be fighting for a chance like this. Infotech is the trump card of the industry. They'd be able to learn a lot through interacting with our technical personnel. They wanted to participate in all those industry summits, right? Didn't they do it in the
"I heard that Mrs. Zephyr is a very outstanding talent," The partner said enviously as he pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. "I must say, Mr. Zephyr must really love his wife to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in such a huge company and launch it with such great fanfare."Hundreds of mil
Amelia looked down and wiped her wet hands on a napkin, listening to Lucia ramble on.Lucia thought she had followed them here, probably in a bid to kick up a fuss over Christopher.What a joke!Amelia lifted her hand and flung the napkin into the trash can. She then looked indifferently at Lucia







