Present

VIVIENNE

Seeing the pain in Ezekiel’s green eyes hurt me more than I expected. He tried to hide it, but I knew him too well.

Although he was acting calm and collected, his words were filled with sadness, and it broke my heart to see him like that. I knew he wanted to be close to Vince, but hearing our son say he didn’t want to stay in his house must have been a heavy blow.

“It’s just the first day, Ezekiel,” I said, trying to reassure him. “Vince just needs time to adjust. He’ll come around.”

Ezekiel shook his head slightly and his lips formed a slight sad smile.

“I don’t think so, Vienne. But really. It’s fine. I’ll be busy with work anyway. I wouldn’t be able to take care of the kids properly. It’s better if they stay with you.”

I frowned, knowing he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

Ezekiel had the kind of job where he could easily adjust his schedule if he wanted to. He was the CEO of Harrington Luxe, after all.

He could delegate tasks, rearrange meetings, or even take some time