[Flashback]

After finishing his studies and dinner, Leo was about to head toward Ivy’s room like usual.

However, the moment he stepped out into the hallway, he noticed someone else walking in the same direction.

Xander.

The father and son immediately stopped at the exact same time.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

Yet somehow, an entire conversation seemed to pass silently between their calm gazes.

A few minutes later, both of them ended up sitting across from each other inside Leo’s room with gaming controllers in their hands.

Leo stared at the screen before slowly turning toward his father in disbelief.

"Since when do you know how to play this well?" he asked suspiciously after watching Xander smoothly control the game with the remote.

Honestly, Leo had never imagined Xander playing video games.

The sight alone felt strange enough already, but seeing him actually play well made it even more unbelievable.

Without taking his eyes off the screen, Xander replied calmly,

"Your mother taught me while you were staying at Grandpa’s place."

Leo instantly stopped pressing the buttons.

His brows slowly furrowed as he turned to look at his father.

"Did you threaten her into teaching you so she could lose?"

Xander finally looked at him in disbelief.

It was clearly the other way around, yet somehow his son was automatically taking Ivy’s side.

"She threatened me to play," Xander corrected flatly before motioning for Leo to stop staring at him and continue the game.

Leo still looked doubtful.

Meanwhile, Xander quietly focused back on the screen, wondering how his own son had become so biased toward Ivy already.

Still, despite their constant expressions and dry comments, Xander and Leo strangely shared the same wavelength whenever they had their little man-to-man conversations.

Not long after, the game ended.

Leo immediately stood up and headed toward the door again.

But just as he reached it, Xander suddenly spoke.

"How long do you plan on staying in Ivy’s room every night?"

Leo paused mid-step.

Slowly, he turned his head and gave his father a suspicious side-eye.

Xander remained calm on the outside, but internally he was carefully thinking through every word before speaking. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally say something that would make his son misunderstand the situation.

Meanwhile, Leo’s mind had already started racing somewhere else entirely.

His thoughts drifted back to a conversation he once had with his friend Mia at school.

Back then, Mia had complained about how her parents suddenly moved her into a new room because they wanted "more privacy."

Then, barely a month later, her mother happily announced that Mia was going to have a younger sibling.

At that time, Leo hadn’t fully understood what she meant.

But now...

His eyes slowly widened.

A look of realization crossed his face as he stared at Xander.

Xander noticed the strange expression immediately and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked cautiously.

Leo blinked once before suddenly speaking in complete seriousness.

"...Are you trying to give me a sibling?"

"...."

For the first time in a long while, Xander was left speechless.

The room fell completely silent.

Leo continued staring at him suspiciously, clearly waiting for an answer.

Meanwhile, Xander slowly closed his eyes for a brief second, silently questioning every life decision that had brought him to this exact moment.

Even though Leo barely understood how these things actually worked, his little brain had already started connecting random pieces together.

Parents sleeping together.

Needing privacy.

Then suddenly a sibling appearing.

To Leo, the logic made perfect sense.

But just as he was busy thinking about it, another memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Earlier that day, Ivy had told him something while fixing his collar before dinner.

"You’re more than enough for me, Leo."

At the time, he hadn’t thought much about it.

But now, standing there in the middle of his room, the words suddenly made his chest feel strangely heavy.

What if things changed?

What if Ivy stopped spending time with him?

What if a new baby meant she would love him less?

The excitement in his eyes slowly dimmed.

Xander noticed the change immediately.

One second, Leo had looked curious.

The next, he looked unusually quiet.

Xander’s brows furrowed slightly as he watched him.

"Do you want one?" he finally asked.

Leo immediately looked up at him.

For a moment, he hesitated.

His small fingers tightened slightly around the gaming controller still in his hand.

Then slowly, he nodded.

"I think so..." he admitted softly.

Xander remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Leo lowered his eyes.

Suddenly, the corner of Xander’s lips twitched slightly.

"But it might take some time," he said calmly. "Your mother just started working again."

Leo instantly nodded, though his expression became even gloomier.

"I know..." he muttered quietly.

The disappointment in his voice almost made Xander laugh.

For someone who had only started thinking about siblings a few minutes ago, Leo already looked emotionally invested in the entire situation.

"But," Xander continued slowly, "I might be able to convince her under one condition."

Leo’s eyes lit up immediately.

"Really?"

The dullness on his face vanished in seconds.

"How, Daddy?"

Without hesitation, Leo dropped the gaming controller onto the bed and quickly climbed onto Xander’s lap, staring at him with sparkling hopeful eyes.

Even if it took time, Leo was willing to wait.

As long as Ivy hadn’t completely rejected the idea, there was still hope.

Meanwhile, Xander looked down at his son with quiet amusement.

Honestly, he never expected Leo to become this excited over the idea of having a younger brother or sister.

But seeing those hopeful little eyes staring at him now, Xander silently thanked the heavens that his plan of sleeping in Ivy’s room was finally working.

Leo was a smart and sensible child.

Xander was certain that one day, his son would eventually realize his father had shamelessly used him as an excuse just to sleep beside Ivy.

But that problem belonged to the future.

Right now, he needed cooperation.

Xander leaned slightly closer before speaking in a lower voice.

"But this has to stay a secret between us."

Leo immediately straightened.

"Secret?"

Xander nodded once.

"Not even your mother can know about it."

The seriousness in his tone instantly made Leo feel as though they were discussing some top-secret mission.

His expression immediately became determined.

"I promise," Leo whispered dramatically.

Xander almost smiled again.

"Good."

Then he lowered his voice even further and just like that he was permitted into Ivy’s room without any trouble.

....

[Present]

The atmosphere inside the conference hall suddenly turned unusually quiet.

At the head of the long table, Xander sat with one hand resting against the arm of his chair while the other lazily flipped through the presentation files.

Then suddenly the corner of his lips curved slightly.

It was subtle.

Barely noticeable.

But inside Emerson Group, even the smallest change in Xander Emerson’s expression was enough to shake people emotionally.

The executives sitting around the table immediately froze.

"...D-Did the boss just smile?" one of the executives sitting on the right whispered in disbelief.

The man beside him blinked several times.

"Am I dreaming?" he muttered quietly. "Was that actually a smile?"

Across the table, a few others subtly exchanged shocked looks.

Ever since Xander took over the company, nobody had ever seen him smile during meetings.

Forget smiling—most of them considered it a miracle if he looked mildly approachable.

But now?

Now he sat there seemingly lost in thought while the corner of his lips remained faintly lifted.

The sight alone was terrifying.

Meanwhile, Taylor slowly looked around the room after noticing everyone staring at Xander with stunned expressions.

Then his eyes shifted back toward his boss.

’What’s wrong with him?’ Taylor wondered internally.

His confusion only deepened.

This time he hadn’t even called Ivy during the meeting, so why was his mood suddenly this good?

Usually, his boss only became slightly more human after speaking to her.

But today?

Today, Xander had walked into the conference hall already looking suspiciously calm.

Taylor narrowed his eyes slightly.

’Did something happen last night?’

Before he could think further, Xander suddenly closed the file in front of him.

"We’ll go with this idea," he said calmly.

The entire room blinked in confusion.

That was it?

No criticism?

No cold stare?

No terrifying ten-minute silence that made people question their careers?

The executives looked completely stunned.

Meanwhile, Xander simply stood up from his chair as though nothing unusual had happened.

"I expect the revised proposal by evening," he added before calmly walking toward the exit.

Everyone silently watched him leave the conference room.

Nobody dared to speak until the door finally closed behind him.

The moment it did—

The entire room exploded into whispers.

"What just happened?"

"Did we survive that meeting?"

"Wait, are we actually using my presentation?"

"Someone pinch me."

Taylor immediately snapped out of his thoughts and quickly gathered the files before following after Xander.

Meanwhile, the executives continued sitting there in disbelief, still trying to recover from the shocking experience of witnessing Xander Emerson almost smile in public.