เข้าสู่ระบบLavandaI pulled up outside the school gate to pick Lisa up myself. It had been far too long since I was the one doing the school run, and the familiar sight of the campus sent a pang of guilt through my chest.She was sitting all by herself, huddled quietly on one of the stone staircases leading down from the school entrance. Looking at her small, isolated figure sitting away from the other children made my heart sink.I need to change schools for my daughter as soon as humanly possible.The moment she spotted my car, her gloomy face dissolved. She scrambled up from the stairs and rushed toward me, a smile lighting up her face as she reached the door."Mom!" she gasped, sliding into the back seat. "Are we going to the hospital to see Will now?"My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I remembered the desperate promise I had made to soothe her the night before—a promise I had secretly intended to break to protect myself from the press.What was I supposed to do now? L
LavandaThe words caught like shattered glass in my throat. I stood frozen, utterly incapable of giving her an answer.Ainsworth pulled her. "No, mom was talking about something else"I couldn't tell her the truth because the truth would break her heart into pieces. I was trapped inside a massive, lie that had grown entirely beyond my control. She clearly hadn't heard our whole conversation, which meant I was safe for the moment—but not completely.What would actually happen if she found out that our entire life was a lie? That her parents' grand wedding renewal was nothing more than a legal transaction?Would she ever understand? Would she grow to hate me? Or worse... would she demand to go find her real biological father?At the OfficeA steaming cup of black coffee sat untouched on my desk alongside a mounting pile of urgent work but my mind remained hopelessly trapped in my daughter's bedroom from the night before.I knew I needed to take action against Cyanne. I should have repor
Lavanda She sat pale-faced, watching me with wide, terrified eyes. Her tiny fingers were clearly trying to shove something deeper underneath the pillow."Lisa," I said, keeping my tone low as I stepped toward her bed. "Who were you calling 'Grandpa' just now?""No one, Mom," she whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest.I stared at her, my throat tightening. I knew my daughter was lying to me, but the painful truth was that she had never lied to me before. A cold wave of panic washed over my chest. It felt as if I didn't even know my own daughter anymore."Lisa, don't lie to me," I pleaded gently, kneeling beside her mattress. "You know Mom hates lies more than anything."She lowered her gaze to the floor, her small shoulders slumping beneath her cotton nightwear. "The only one lying here is you, Mom."The words struck me. "What?" I asked, completely stunned by her response.I moved closer, reaching out to touch her arm. "Baby... where is all of this coming from?"She folded her
Ainsworth"Dad! Dad, are we not going to the hospital?"Lisa's urgent voice pulled me back to reality. I was driving like a man possessed, practically flying down the highway at full speed. My knuckles were white against the steering wheel. According to my watch, Lavanda was already on her way home from the office, and if she caught us out with Lisa after everything that had happened, all hell would break loose."I brought my drawing paper to give to Will!" she insisted from the backseat, clutching her sketch pad tightly against her chest."Tomorrow, baby," I whispered, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.I gently asked her to leave the drawing book at home when we pulled into the driveway, but she refused, holding on to it with a stubborn grip that was identical to her mother's.We managed to step through the front door just minutes before Lavanda's car pulled up outside. I let out a long, sigh of relief, leaning against the hallway."Princess, pull off your pink jacket and
Ainsworth pov I sat on the soft rug in the middle of Lisa's room, surrounded by a truckload of 4B sketching pencils, charcoal sticks, and professional-grade color palettes I had bought for her.Despite the colorful mountain in front of her, she wasn't happy. It was evident in the reluctant way her fingers picked up a blue crayon."Dad, I don't want to paint," she murmured softly. The bright, smile that usually lit up her little face completely gone.She was thinking about Will. I knew it because I was thinking about the kid, too. But if Desmond didn't want to step up and be the man of his own house, and instead chose to spend his days harassing my wife and dragging her name through the mud, then I couldn't bring myself to pity him.I carefully arranged the pencils in a neat row in front of her. "Then how are you going to become a world-famous artist, Princess?""I don't want to be an artist if Will is not okay," she whispered, her lip trembling."Is that why you refused to go to sc
Lavanda I slammed the bedroom door shut behind me, leaning my entire weight against the heavy wood until the lock clicked into place. My chest heaved as I tried to steady my breathing. Every slight touch from him didn't just skin my surface—it brought me straight to my knees. I closed my eyes, but it didn't help. My fingers unconsciously rose to trace the exact spot on my wrist where his warm breath had lingered just seconds ago. The skin there was still burning up with heat I couldn't wash off. It had taken every single drop of my self-control not to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him back into me. But midway through that spark, my past had flashed behind my eyelids. I remembered the exact feeling of falling blindly for a man, trusting him with my heart, and watching him destroy my entire life piece by piece. I can't do this again. If I allowed Ainsworth to get too close, I would lose my mind over a man who might just walk away when the contract ended. I couldn't afford







