Chapter 5

Dawn let go of Shawn and grabbed a lot of gifts from beside the sofa.

"These gifts are all for you, sweetie. Do you like any of them?"

Shawn's eyes lit up. "It's Iron Man!"

"Do you like him?" Dawn patted his head. "This is a limited edition, and I asked many friends to help me track it down."

"Thanks, Mom!" Shawn accepted the figurine, his voice echoing clearly throughout the villa. "You're the best!"

Dawn broke into a teary smile. "You finally called me mom!"

"Dad told me that you went through a lot to have me…" Shawn put down the figurine and grabbed a few tissues, reaching up to wipe Dawn's tears. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have been so mean… I won't be like that again!"

Hearing that, Dawn started crying even more, looking even more pitiful. "You didn't do anything wrong, sweetie. It's my fault. I'll do my best to be a good mother from now on, alright?"

"It's not your fault!" Shawn hugged her closely. "Dad said that you've always loved me, so I'll love you too!"

Dawn turned to look at Silas, tears overflowing. "Thank you, Silas."

Silas walked over to her and handed her his handkerchief. "I just did what I should have. Don't cry, alright? Shawn will be upset."

"That's right, Mom! You're too pretty to cry! You're going to become ugly!"

Hearing that, Dawn accepted the handkerchief and wiped away her tears. "Alright, I won't cry anymore."

The mother-son reunion was really quite touching.

Shawn, after receiving so many gifts, appointed himself a corner of the sofa and began playing with them happily. Dawn watched him play with a loving gaze.

Silas sat on the single-seater sofa next to them, busy with work on his phone.

Dawn turned to look at him and seemed to hesitate for a moment before she said, "What are you going to do with Ms. Vale?"

Hearing this, Silas turned his head to look at her. "I'll deal with it."

"Ms. Vale treated Shawn so well in the past few years… Honestly, I feel guilty towards her."

"You're not in the wrong," Silas said in a deep voice. "Shawn's your son."

"That's right, Mom!" Shawn looked up from his pile of toys, his words as sweet as honey. "I'm your son, so I should call you my mom. You're so pretty, too! Dad said that I'm this cute all because you're so pretty!"

"You cheeky little sweet-talker!" Dawn tapped his nose." You'd better not say that in front of your other mom Serena, or she'll get upset!"

"Nuh uh, she won't!" Shawn was confident. "She loves me too much to be angry at me!"

Silas got a work call and stood up. "I need to head to the firm for a bit."

"Alright, go ahead. Shawn's keeping me company." Dawn paused, then asked, "Are you coming back for dinner, then?"

Silas pursed his lips in thought, then replied, "I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Alright. Drive safe, okay?"

"Bye-bye, Dad!"

Silas nodded lightly in response and turned to leave.

-

Late at night, the lights were still on in the studio's restoration room.

The woman's long hair was tied up into a bun and secured with a hairpin, revealing her pale and slender neckline. She wore a pair of protective goggles on her face, her white gloves handling her tools with care.

With her head lowered, she was fully focused on the final steps of artifact restoration that she was working on.

Everyone had already left the building, so it was extremely silent, with only the minuscule noises made by Serena's tools.

The rougher life became, the more she poured herself into her work.

After all these years, she had already gone through many highs and lows of life, and she came to internalize one cardinal truth: the human heart was hard to grasp.

Only money and her career were things that she could hold onto tightly as long as she put in the effort.

Five years ago, to take care of Shawn, she refused a recommendation from her mentor to stay in Northlorn. Her mentor was so utterly incensed by this that he cut contact with her immediately.

To this day, Serena regretted that decision greatly. She felt like she let her mentor down, even after she was given so much guidance and so many opportunities.

Thus, in the past five years, she used her spare time to study and improve her knowledge and skills.

After she graduated from university, she established a studio of her own.

Now, back in the present, her studio was already on the right track and she was able to be commissioned for more and more valuable projects.

Her personal savings were enough for her and her mother to live a comfortable life without any worry.

So, in actuality, everything was developing in a good direction.

As for the matters that slipped through her fingers no matter how hard she tried, she supposed learning to let go was part of growing up…

After finishing the final steps of restoration, Serena placed the artifact into a container and returned to her office. She fetched a warm mug of water and drank it all at once.

As she put down her mug, she glanced at the calendar on her desk and took a pen, crossing out a date.

There were only eight more days until her mother was to be released from prison.

According to weather reports, that day was going to be sunny.

Bzz… Bzz…

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a call from Silas.

Serena furrowed her brows softly before taking a deep breath and accepting the call.

"When are you coming back?" he demanded, his voice rumbling from across the phone.

Serena turned to glance at the clock. It was 2 in the morning. She was really quite tired, so she didn't want to drive another half an hour to go home.

Rubbing her sore neck, she asked, "What is it?"

"Shawn's waiting for you to tell him a bedtime story."

Serena's hand paused. Thinking back to the events that happened earlier in the day, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

"I won't be going home today," she said, without much emotion in her voice. "Just try and calm him down."

After that, she immediately hung up.

But right in the next second, Silas called again.

Feeling slightly irritated, Serena turned off her phone and left it on the table, pushing the door to the lounge open.

Artifact restoration often went on until the wee hours of the night, so when she established the studio, she had the contractors build a separate lounge in her personal office.

The lounge had a bathroom, changes of clothes, and any basic necessities she needed.

Sometimes, when she was too busy, she would even bring Shawn to the studio and let him sleep in the lounge while she continued working, so his essentials were stocked as well.

Serena had just finished taking a shower and put on her sleepwear when the sound of a child crying came from outside.

"Mom! Mom, open the door!"

Serena paused.

Was that Shawn?

Immediately, she walked out of the office and stepped quickly towards the entrance of the studio.

Separated by a glass door, her eyes met Silas' while Shawn was crying in his arms.

The young boy was only wearing a down jacket over his pajamas. His little feet were bare, and he wasn't even wearing any socks.

The weather outside was freezing cold, almost negative thirty degrees. With Shawn's weak immune system, it would be no surprise if he got sick!

Enraged, Serena stepped forward and opened the door. "Why did you bring him out so late at night—"

"Mom!"

Shawn immediately let go of Silas and ran into Serena's arms, which were outstretched, as if on instinct.

Holding Serena tight, Shawn buried his head in the crook of her neck, sobbing loudly.

"Don't you want me anymore? Mom, don't leave me…"

Serena frowned, her face going pale.

Her lower abdomen, which had stopped aching earlier, suddenly began to throb again…