After dinner, Alexander received another call and stepped outside to answer it.

Bella immediately clung to my hand.

"Aunt Alicia has to bathe me and braid my hair tonight!"

Aunt Angela’s expression darkened at once.

"Bella, let your nanny bathe you and get you ready for bed."

"But I want Aunt Alicia tonight," Bella protested, refusing to let go of my hand.

I glanced at Angela cautiously.

"It’s alright, Auntie. Just for tonight."

She looked at me coldly for a moment before waving a dismissive hand.

"Do whatever you want."

"Yayyy! Let’s go, Aunt Alicia!"

Bella pulled me upstairs to her room.

Her bedroom was decorated entirely in pink, filled with dolls, ribbons, and soft lights like something from a fairy tale.

She led me straight into the bathroom.

I helped her out of her dress and filled the tub with warm water and bubbles.

The whole time, Bella chatted nonstop about school, her friends, and how a girl in class cried because someone stole her crayons.

When I helped her into her pink Barbie pajamas afterward, she suddenly stared at me very seriously.

"Why are you so pretty?"

I laughed softly.

"You’re very pretty too, Bella."

She shook her head with complete confidence.

"I am. But you’re prettier. I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as you."

"Is that so?" I smiled. "Then thank you very much. And I’ve never met anyone as adorable as you."

She smiled shyly.

Later, while I braided her hair, we were already halfway done when she suddenly turned around and leaned closer.

Then she whispered in a conspiratorial voice—

"I think my grandma doesn’t want you to be my aunt."

I paused for a moment, surprised by how observant a six-year-old could be.

"Why would you say that?"

Bella pursed her lips.

"Whenever Uncle Alexander came before, I always heard him talking with Grandma. It sounded like he used to be meeting another aunt."

She glanced around dramatically, as though sharing top-secret information.

"I wanted to go with him, but he never let me."

Then she leaned even closer.

"My grandma really likes that aunt."

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her troubled little face.

"Thank you for telling me, Bella. You’re very smart. But this is an adult matter, and we’ll handle it ourselves, alright? You don’t need to worry about that."

She nodded obediently and sat back properly.

I smiled and gently patted her head before continuing the braid.

The "other aunt" she mentioned was most likely Lilian.

I remembered Lilian once mentioning it herself—during Alexander’s business trips, he would go to her every year.

But hearing it now from Bella stirred very little emotion in me.

Or at least... that was what I told myself...

‎After finishing Bella’s braids, I tucked her into bed.

‎She asked me to stay with her, so I decided to wait until she fell asleep.

‎I sat quietly beside her, watching her soft breathing and peaceful little face.

‎I had only met Bella today, yet she had already grown so attached to me.

‎My hand drifted unconsciously to my abdomen.

‎What would my own baby look like?

‎Would it be a girl... or a boy?

‎And if one day our child looked up at Alexander with the same bright eyes Bella did...

‎Would he hold them just as naturally?

‎I smiled faintly.

‎My future with Alexander had not even been decided yet, and here I was thinking about such things.

‎If anything, I never wanted to become the woman he chose out of responsibility... or guilt.

‎And right now, that was exactly what I feared was happening.

‎The soft creak of the door pulled me back.

‎Alexander stood there.

‎"Is she asleep already?" he asked quietly.

‎"Mm."

‎I rose, kissed Bella’s forehead, adjusted her blanket, and walked toward the door.

‎Alexander stepped aside for me, then closed it gently behind us.

‎"She doesn’t get to meet many people often," he said as we walked. "So she gets excited."

‎"I understand." I said simply

‎My mind drifted back to her asking who I was , and a bitter smile touched my lips

‎Alexander had visited here often.

‎Yet I had never existed in the stories he brought with him."You were very natural with her earlier."his voice broke my trance

‎"Was I?"

‎"Mm."

‎"Well..." I lifted a brow. "Maybe I’m just very good with children."

‎A faint smile touched his lips.

‎We stopped outside a room I assumed we would be using for the night.

‎He opened the door and led me inside.

‎Like the rest of the house, it was elegant in a quiet, understated way. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

‎"Want to freshen up first?" he asked.

‎"Mm."

‎"Our things are in the closet",he added. "I didn’t bother arranging them since we’ll be leaving soon."

"Right."

‎I took a few things from the closet and headed into the bathroom.

‎After showering and changing into my pajamas, I stepped back out.

‎Alexander was seated on the bed, looking down at his phone, his brows slightly furrowed.

‎"Is everything alright?" I asked as I climbed onto the other side of the bed.

‎"The employees at the New York branch made a mistake," he said, glancing at me. "I need to go back and handle it."

‎"I see."

‎"Want to come with me?"

‎"No. I’ll return to Velaridge City first."

‎He looked at me carefully before shifting closer and taking my hand in his.

‎"Will you be alright?"

‎"Of course."

‎I smiled faintly.

‎I slipped my hand from his grasp, then lay down facing the other side.

‎The room fell quiet.

‎After a while, the lamp clicked off, and the mattress dipped as he lay beside me.

‎Some time later, I heard his voice in the darkness.

‎"Alicia... are you asleep?"

‎I kept my eyes closed.

‎A moment later, I felt him checking my face.

‎He knew I was awake.

‎"If you don’t want to talk, then fine. Goodnight."he said softly.

‎His lips brushed my forehead.

‎Then his arms wrapped around me from behind.

‎Warm.

‎Protective.

‎Confusing.

‎Held there in his quiet embrace, I eventually fell asleep.

‎The next morning, we went downstairs for breakfast with Aunt Angela and Bella.

Bella was thrilled to see that Alexander and I were still there.

She chattered happily through the meal, swinging her legs beneath the chair and asking endless questions.

But after breakfast, when she saw the staff carrying our luggage downstairs, her cheerful expression immediately fell.

"Aunt Alicia, why are they bringing out your things?"

We were standing near the entrance.

I crouched down to her level and smiled gently.

"We have to return to Velaridge City, dear. We still have work to do."

Bella glanced between the three of us.

"Where is Velaridge City?" she asked curiously.

This time, Alexander stepped closer and crouched beside me.

"It’s our homeland, baby," he said patiently. "Maybe you should ask your grandma to take you there someday."

Bella nodded seriously.

"I will definitely remind Grandma to bring me."

Then her eyes returned to me.

"When will I see you again?"

"Very soon, Bella. Don’t worry."

She nodded reluctantly.

"Bella, you’ll be late for school," Aunt Angela said sharply.

Bella barely reacted.

Instead, she stepped forward and hugged me first.

Then she hugged Alexander.

After saying our goodbyes, she climbed into the car, and the driver took her away.

The moment she left, the warmth at the entrance seemed to disappear with her.

Our luggage had already been loaded.

Alexander had insisted on returning to New York by business class while I flew back to Velaridge City on the private jet.

I had tried to persuade him otherwise, saying it would make more sense for me to take the commercial flight instead, but he refused.

So I let it go.

"Alexander, you must come back another time, alright?" Aunt Angela said warmly.

"I’ll try, Auntie," he replied calmly.

Then he reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers.

The gesture made Aunt Angela glance at me with that same familiar disdain.

"We’ll be going now, Auntie," I said politely.

She did not answer.

Seeing this, Alexander’s expression cooled slightly.

Without another word, he led me toward the car.

They exchanged a final goodbye before he joined me inside.

Throughout the ride to the airport, Alexander kept hold of my hand.

He never released it once.

It was as though the moment he let go, I might disappear.

When we arrived, he squeezed my hand one last time.

"Jim will be waiting to pick you up at the airport, alright? Take care."

I nodded faintly.

Only then did he slowly let go and step out of the car.

And for some reason, the warmth of his hand lingered long after the door closed.