The next morning, Lila rushed to the hospital as soon as she heard about Iris being sick. She arrived with a large bag filled with snacks and toys.

"Oh my goodness, my poor Iris! Look at you—have you gotten so much thinner?" she exclaimed.

“Godmother!” Iris cried out, her small face lighting up.

From the moment Iris was born, Lila had claimed the title of her godmother.

“Come here and give your godmother a kiss, you poor little thing. Oh no, even your tiny hands are swollen from the IV drips!”

Lila cupped Iris’s cheeks and planted a dramatic kiss before pinching her face with exaggerated affection. Iris squirmed under the onslaught, laughing despite herself.

“Godmother! Don’t be so enthusiastic! You’re killing me! My cheeks hurt!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Lila hurriedly let go with a guilty chuckle. “Here, look—I brought you a mountain of treats and toys. Do you like them?”

Yvonne, standing to the side, gave her friend a skeptical glance. “You didn’t need to buy so much. She’s not seriously ill, Lila. Don’t spoil her like that.”

Lila waved this off with an air of defiance. “Nonsense. She’s just a kid, and kids should be pampered. Right, Iris?”

Iris’s sparkling eyes crinkled with happiness. “Godmother, I love you! Mwah!” she declared, blowing Lila an exaggerated kiss.

“Love you more!” Lila responded, playfully aiming a finger-heart at her goddaughter before sending it flying like an arrow.

As Iris busied herself with changing a Barbie doll’s outfit, Lila nudged Yvonne and led her out of the room.

“Jasper said you saw Samuel at the nightclub last night,” Lila began without preamble the moment they reached the hallway.

Yvonne blinked, startled. “How do you know about that?”

“He told me everything. Said Samuel forced you to drink—even though you’re allergic—and you had a reaction. Honestly, this Samuel guy! He knows about your allergy, and yet—”

“I’m fine, really,” Yvonne interrupted, trying to calm her down. “I already took medicine. Besides, that bottle of wine earned me thirty-five thousand. I don’t feel like I lost out.”

Lila’s eyebrows shot up in outrage. “Listen to yourself! Do you hear how ridiculous you sound? Alcohol allergies can kill you, Yvonne! If I’d known this was the cost of the side gig I suggested, I’d never have let you take it. If you weren’t working a second job at that nightclub, you’d never have run into him again!”

Yvonne sighed, her expression clouded with weariness. “What’s meant to happen will happen. If it didn’t happen this time, it would’ve happened some other way, wouldn’t it?”

Lila softened, concern flooding her features. “So what now? What are you going to do? For six years, you and Samuel stayed out of each other’s way, but let’s not forget—he destroyed your career back then. He blacklisted you across the industry. And now, after just one encounter, he nearly cost you your life. If you run into him again…”

“I don’t know,” Yvonne said, shaking her head, resignation etched across her face. “Whatever comes, I’ll deal with it when it comes.”

“And Iris?” Lila’s voice dropped. “Are you planning to keep Iris a secret from Samuel forever?”

A bitter smile tugged at Yvonne’s lips. “What other choice do I have? Drag Iris to him and introduce them? He’d probably think I’m using her to manipulate him into forgiving me. Samuel and I ended six years ago—there’s nothing left between us. I know him better than anyone. He could tolerate betrayal from anyone, but not from me. That I’m still alive is mercy enough.”

A shiver ran down Lila’s spine. “That man… he sounds terrifying.”

“He’s always been like that.” Yvonne’s tone was matter-of-fact, even carrying a hint of melancholy as she spoke. “When he loves, he loves to the bone. When he hates, there’s no limit to how far his hatred goes.”

Six years ago, Yvonne had been working a summer job at a bar when a drunken patron touched her hand. The next thing she knew, Samuel had dragged the man into a back alley and broken his hand without a second thought.

She’d clung to Samuel’s waist, crying and begging him to stop, terrified the man would seek revenge and hurt Samuel later. If she hadn’t intervened, Samuel might’ve beaten the man to death. She had no doubt about that.

Afterward, Samuel forbade her from taking any more part-time jobs. He’d scrubbed the hand that had been touched under the faucet, rinsing it over and over until the skin went raw.

Only then had he finally stopped, pressing that reddened hand to his lips with all the tenderness of someone handling a fragile treasure.

Later that night, his possessiveness had reached new heights. He’d pinned her to the bed, kissing her everywhere, as if needing to mark her as his completely.

“Yvonne,” he’d said hoarsely, his voice a mix of desperation and command. “Don’t ever let anyone but me touch you again. I can’t take it.”

He’d always been that way—possessive to the point of obsession, extreme in his every emotion. To love him was to be swallowed whole. To cross him was to face unrelenting ruin.

“Lila, I’m terrified he’s going to take Iris away from me—use her to exact revenge on me.”

Lila’s expression shifted instantly, a flicker of alarm lighting up her face. “You think he’s that twisted? No—actually, he might be capable of something that sick.”

Before Yvonne could respond, Lila’s phone buzzed sharply in her pocket. She fished it out and glanced at the screen. It was a call from her office.

“Hello? Chief Editor?” she answered.

“Where the hell are you? Samuel’s scandal just shot to the top of the trending searches! And guess what? Our exclusive for the month? Poached by the competition—again!”

“Samuel’s scandal?”

Lila hung up, her brow creased, and tapped open her app. Her gaze darted to the top of the trending list.

#1: “Samuel Blackwell and Aria Langford are engaged!”

Right beside it, a lurid red tag: [BREAKING].

“What the hell?!” Startled, Lila cursed out loud.

Yvonne glanced up, worried by the outburst. “What happened? Something’s wrong at your office?”

Lila shoved her phone toward Yvonne, unable to contain her agitation. “Samuel. Look at this—his big news!”

Yvonne took the phone. The name Aria Langford didn’t strike a chord.

Still…

“He’s engaged? That’s… good news. Good for him.”

Lila gawked, completely at a loss. Her eyes fixed on Yvonne’s face, scanning for any sign of cracks, any hint of sorrow. But Yvonne’s smile remained placid, her composure disturbingly intact.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Yvonne asked, arching a brow.

“Because—because this isn’t normal!” Lila blurted. “You and Samuel were crazy about each other. You defied your father for this guy—fought him tooth and nail. And now? You’re just… like this?”

Yvonne’s lips curved into a faint smile, more resigned than amused. “What reaction would count as normal? If I cried, would that bring Samuel back to me? He’s moving on—it means he’s trying to let go of the past. That’s a relief, actually. If he’s busy falling madly in love with his fiancée, maybe he’ll stop plotting how to get back at me.”

Lila blinked, and then—a reluctant smirk. “You know what? Fair point.”

Moments later, her editor unleashed a fresh barrage of texts demanding her immediate return. With a string of muttered apologies, Lila rushed off, leaving the hospital room in a flurry.

Once the door swung shut, Yvonne walked back inside.

Iris, perched upright on the bed, stared at her mother with open curiosity. “Mommy, are your eyes red?”

“Huh? Oh, must’ve been the air conditioning. This hospital’s AC is always too cold. Are you chilly, Iris?”

Distracting her daughter came almost too easily.

“Nope!” Iris chirped, her cheerfulness undiminished.

Yvonne smiled, but her thoughts wandered. Later, as she reached for the water jug to pour Iris a glass, her hands faltered, trembling slightly. The glass slipped from her grip, shattering against the tiled floor.

---

That evening, Marcus was on the night shift.

Yvonne, after ensuring he’d keep an eye on Iris, left to pick up her second job at Velvet Afterglow Nightclub.

In the quiet hospital room, Iris’s stomach growled. She rummaged through the large bag her godmother had brought, looking for snacks. Instead, she pulled out a rolled-up magazine.

Her godmother, being a journalist, probably tossed it in without thinking.

With nothing better to do, Iris opened it. At six years old, she wasn’t yet in first grade and only knew a smattering of characters. Still, Yvonne had taught her a lot of simple ones.

“Time, Weekly…” She stumbled over the last word, scrunching her little face in concentration. “…what’s this?” She scratched her head, defeated.

But her eyes lit up when she saw the man on the cover.

“Whoa! So handsome!” she gushed, her tiny fingers pointing at the image. “Even handsomer than Uncle Xie!”

Then a sly grin spread across her cherubic face as she declared, “This one’s perfect for Mommy!”

By the time nine o’clock rolled around, Iris had practically worn out the pages, flipping through them again and again. Still, her mother hadn’t come back.

Bored and restless, Iris slid out of bed, her little yellow duck slippers padding softly against the floor. She decided to go find Marcus on the second floor, as he’d said she should if anything came up.

But as she neared the nurse’s station, a figure by the nearby glass panel caught her eye.

It was a man—tall, elegantly dressed, and unmistakably handsome. He was speaking softly into his phone, his profile flawless in the dim hospital lighting.

Iris stopped in her tracks, blinking rapidly.

Wasn’t that… wasn’t that the man from the magazine cover?

Her heart skipped with excitement. She nearly squealed out loud.