Chapter 122

As Vera helped her into the backseat of the car and buckled her in, Eira turned to her with an almost dreamy sigh. “His name was cool too.”Vera froze, hands pausing just above the seatbelt clip. “You asked for his name?”“He told me!” Eira said, chewing her lip. “But I can’t remember it. I gave him a nickname instead.”“Oh?” Vera raised an eyebrow as she settled into the driver’s seat. “What nickname?”“Mr. Droopy Eyes.”Vera blinked, caught off guard.“What?”“He had droopy eyes! Like he hadn’t slept in forever. But he still looked like a superhero,” Eira declared confidently, swinging her legs as she held Princess Pickle tight. “And he talked so soft. Like you, Mama. When you talk to the moon.”Vera stilled.Talk to the moon.How many times had she found herself at the window whispering into the dark, wondering if Asher could hear her across the distance?Her daughter didn’t miss a thing.“You’re imagining things, baby,” Vera said with a gentle smile, brushing it off. “Still, no mo

Last Updated : 2025-05-26

Chapter 123

Sarah slammed the door so hard the decorative vase on the foyer table rattled dangerously.She stormed into the Donovan suite like a woman possessed, her heels echoing against the marble tiles of the luxurious floor.Her face, once carefully composed with elegant makeup, was now flushed red, eyes stormy with frustration and disbelief.“Asher!” she shouted.He was sitting on the couch, still wearing the same dark shirt from earlier, the collar loose and sleeves rolled up. A crystal glass of untouched scotch sat on the table in front of him. His eyes were distant, fixed on the city skyline outside the large windows.She stormed closer, stopping just a few feet from him, trying to catch her breath. “I’ve been calling you for hours! You left me sitting at that restaurant like some pathetic trophy wife to be, and now you’re just here, drinking and brooding? You don’t even have the decency to answer my texts?!”He didn’t respond immediately.Just a slow, exhale. Like her presence had barely

Last Updated : 2025-05-27

Chapter 124

A short while later, they were walking hand in hand toward the school, the streets already bustling with morning traffic.Eira skipped a little, chattering about how she wanted to finish her sandcastle drawing for show and tell today.Vera listened, smiling faintly, but her thoughts were elsewhere, lingering on the unknown man her daughter had spoken to. Something about it made her uneasy, a whisper of a past she thought she’d buried. But she shook it off. It couldn’t be...As they neared the school, Vera bent down and smoothed Eira’s hair. “Remember what we said?”Eira nodded. “No talking to strangers. Only Mommy, teachers, or Talia.”“Perfect.” Vera gave her a bright smile, though something inside her fluttered anxiously. “Have the best day, my love.”Eira hugged her quickly before running off toward the school gates, her bright backpack bouncing behind her. She turned back once and waved. Vera waved back, eyes lingering.She waited until Eira disappeared into the school building be

Last Updated : 2025-05-27

Chapter 125

The drive to the office was quiet.Too quiet.Vera normally enjoyed her mornings after dropping Eira off, listening to classical instrumentals or the occasional podcast on design trends, but today her fingers tightened around the steering wheel, her mind looping back to her daughter's innocent words:“He looked sad, Mommy… So I told him to smile more.”She had smiled at the time, even chuckled at Eira’s sweetness. But now, driving through the city with sunlight streaking through her windows, something about it just… wouldn’t leave her.A stranger? Right outside the school gates?No matter how harmless it had seemed, no matter how casually Eira described it, the thought made Vera uneasy.By the time she pulled into the underground parking of the Fontaine Tech Tower, she had convinced herself she was just being paranoid. Still, her feet moved faster than usual toward the elevator.She stepped out into the marble floored lobby and nearly bumped into a familiar figure.“Whoa, slow down th

Last Updated : 2025-05-28

Chapter 126

He shut his eyes hard, rejecting the thought before it could take root.“Don’t,” he whispered, his jaw locking tight. “Don’t even go there.”But he couldn’t stop himself.Because now that the idea had entered his mind, it wouldn’t leave. The curls. The smile. The way her nose crinkled. There was something eerily familiar in her face, but he couldn’t place it.No. Vera wouldn’t have kept a child from him.Would she?He sighed again and leaned back in the seat, removing his sunglasses and tossing them onto the dashboard.The light hit his tired eyes, and he blinked slowly, letting them adjust.From across the street, a mother and her daughter walked out of the gates, hand in hand, giggling over something the little girl said.He stared at them, unmoving. Silent. Empty.There was a time, not long ago, when he had imagined a family like that with Vera. Her laugh. Their child’s laughter. Mornings of burnt pancakes and tiny footsteps.And then, it all shattered.The letter. Her disappearanc