LOGINAfter thanking the officers, Louis checked the time—it was already half past nine.“Let’s head home. The temperature’s dropping; I don’t want anyone catching a cold.”Marcus stood still, muttering under his breath, “But Loraine’s favorite singer hasn’t even gone on yet…”Louis turned sharply toward
“He said he was thirsty, so I went to buy him a drink. I clearly told him not to move and when I got back, he was gone!”Loraine’s face went pale with worry. “Let’s look for him right now! I saw security guards and some police officers earlier. We can ask them for help!”The three of them forgot all
Mason, the quieter and more composed one, simply listened to the music, occasionally nodding along to the rhythm.The youngest, Manuel, was too short to see the stage at all, swallowed up by the crowd and left with nothing but the thundering music pounding in his ears.Before long, he got restless.
“Marcus, every time you sneak out, you use the same excuse,” Manuel said, crossing his arms. “Can’t you at least come up with something new?”Marcus froze. Loraine quickly jumped in with a smile. “Manuel, we really do have something serious to take care of this time. It’s boring stuff. You’d have w
“Raine, look, your fingers need to lift here, then drop cleanly. Watch my hand when I play.”In the Walker family’s grand music room, young Mason was patiently teaching Loraine how to play the piano.Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, half spilling over the glossy surface of the hundred-tho
Grace tried to lift her head, but she was too weak to manage even that small movement.A nurse quickly stepped forward and raised the head of the bed so that Grace only needed to lower her gaze to see the tiny baby in Laura’s arms.“A daughter… girls are so sweet,” Grace murmured, the words faint bu
The lively, bustling ballroom fell into sudden silence. Guests turned one after another, eyes widening in astonishment—men, women, young and old alike—all transfixed.Louis drew Adora’s wrist into the crook of his arm, the two walking in sync.They were flawless in both grace and appearance.Tonigh
At her words, Louis turned and glanced toward the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him.Rain streaked down the glass in shimmering sheets, blurring the view outside into a hazy wash of gray.“It’s really coming down out there.”“So?”Their eyes met. Adora could tell exactly what was running through
The moment Louis got into his car, he called Adora.She sounded a little surprised. “Weren’t you having dinner with your family tonight? How do you have time to call me?”He didn’t answer her question. “Jasmine came to see you again today. Why didn’t you tell me?”Adora paused, caught off guard. Sh
Though Adora had seen her fair share of grand occasions, meeting her in-laws was an entirely new experience.What made it more nerve-wracking was that Louis’ parents were already elderly—by the standard of a twenty-five-year generational gap, they were closer in age to her grandparents.Naturally, h







