Morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a golden hue across the room.Felix slowly opened his eyes on the European-style bed, feeling disoriented. For a brief moment, he couldn’t even remember where he was. His gaze fell on a framed photo by the bedside.It had been taken at sunset by a creek in the countryside."Come on, just one smile!" Luna had begged, holding up a finger, her face full of playful innocence.Faced with such a joyful Luna, Felix’s heart had softened in an instant.The shutter clicked, freezing the moment in time.In the photo, Luna clung to his arm, grinning at the camera, while he looked down at her, his smile soft and gentle.It was the only photo they ever had together.A bitter smile tugged at Felix’s lips.They had been married for five years, but he had never even taken a proper wedding photo with her.Back then, his heart had been consumed by hatred. Every second spent with her felt like torture.Each time he saw her laug
Felix sat down on Orion’s small bed, his fingers gently tracing the angel-patterned sheets, which had been Luna’s favorite design and color.“You said I was your angel,” Luna’s voice echoed in his mind. “But I hope one day, our child will be the angel for both of us.”He lay back on the bed, trying to feel closer to her, as if lying there could somehow bridge the distance between them.Then, something caught his eye. A black edge was sticking out from beneath the pillow.It was her notebook.Almost without thinking, Felix picked it up.For a moment, he just stared at it. A voice in his head told him not to open it, but his hands moved on their own, flipping the notebook open.“Today was Orion’s first day of school. My little boy is growing up. He’s starting preschool. Time flies so fast. It’s been three years, and every day I’ve been wishing he would grow up faster. But now that he’s getting bigger, I feel strangely empty.After dropping him off, I stayed in his room, feeling p
On the 28th floor of City Center Tower, the floor-to-ceiling windows provided a panoramic view of the city. Felix stood by the window, a cigarette between his fingers, lost in thought.A man with glasses stood in front of the desk, his head slightly bowed. “Mr. Lincoln, based on the samples you provided, we’ve thoroughly tested the DNA sequences. The results show that the child’s DNA is complete and accurate. The only way there could be a mismatch is if the child was never yours or Ms. Stella’s in the first place.”Felix turned around, his expression unreadable. “How accurate are these results?”The light from the window outlined Felix’s sharp figure, casting his face in shadow. His emotions were impossible to read, making him seem even more formidable.The man had expected this question. After a brief hesitation, he placed the report on the desk. “Mr. Lincoln, with today’s medical technology, the chance of error in a DNA test is extremely low.”“I just need to know how low,” Feli
The wait felt excruciatingly slow. Felix turned toward the window, trying to occupy his mind.Outside, he heard the sound of laughter floating up from the garden below.He opened the window, and the view expanded before him, the joyful sound of laughter carried clearly by the wind.A little boy was giggling, clutching a ball as a young man chased him, both of them lost in their playful game.“Daddy, come catch me!” The boy giggled, darting behind a tree. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes wide with mischief as he scanned his surroundings.The young father pretended to be puzzled, calling softly as he walked past the tree, “Where could you be, little one? You’re hiding so well.”The boy’s face lit up with delight, barely able to contain his laughter. Just as he was about to laugh out loud, his father spun around, swooping him up in his arms, making the boy burst into even louder, contagious laughter.Snap.The window handle broke off in Felix’s grip. He looked
In a nearby city, Golden Bay Gardens, the street was deserted, not a soul in sight. Occasionally, the wind stirred, sending leaves swirling through the air. One gently landed on a young man’s head.He reached up, plucking the leaf between his pale fingers. As the sunlight filtered through the leaf, a smile, warmer than the sun itself, spread across his face.Bailey glanced at the takeout in his hand, his smile growing even softer as he walked toward his destination.He stood at the door of Apartment 301, Building 6, and pressed the doorbell. Footsteps hurried inside.“I’m coming,” a familiar, cheerful voice called. The door opened, revealing Luna’s smiling face.Bailey stepped inside, placing the takeout on the dining table, moving with a practiced ease. “Luna, how are the kids doing? Any discomfort today?” he asked softly.Luna rubbed her temples, looking exhausted but smiling gently. “No, the baby was good today. Lily, too. But seeing her take so much medicine at such a young a
Heaven sure knew how to play tricks on people. In Luna’s darkest moments, she was reminded that she had a daughter.Was this some kind of compensation?Luna gazed at Lily’s innocent little face, gently kissing her forehead and cheeks. With their foreheads pressed together, she laughed and cried at the same time. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to call me ‘Mom.’ As long as you’re by my side, that’s all I need.”Lily blinked her big eyes, staring up at Luna’s tear-filled gaze. She didn’t quite understand why Aunt Luna was acting this way or how she suddenly became Aunt Luna’s daughter.Seeing the confusion in Lily’s expressive eyes, Luna wiped her own tears and hugged her tightly again, her voice hoarse. “Lily, it’s okay if you don’t want to call me ‘Mom.’ It’s my fault for not being there for you all these years. But from now on, I’ll always be by your side.”In her heart, Lily softly whispered the word, “Mom.”Somehow, Aunt Luna becom
On the 28th floor of City Center Tower, Felix sat behind his desk, his pen moving swiftly across document after document. Each one, once signed, was shifted from his right to his left, creating a steadily growing pile of completed work.Knock, knock.The office door opened, and his assistant entered holding a package. "Mr. Lincoln, your package."Felix didn’t look up until he signed the last document. Tossing the pen onto the desk, he leaned back in his chair and gestured toward the stack of papers. "Send these to the departments immediately. By ten o'clock, I want the Quinn Corporation acquisition contract on my desk."The assistant nodded, gathered the documents, and left.Felix reached for a cigarette and was about to light it when the package caught his eye. Casually, he picked it up and opened it.One glance, and his entire body froze. The cigarette slipped from his fingers, landing silently on the carpet.Inside the package was an ultrasound report.And the name on it was
On the 28th floor of City Center Tower, sunlight streamed through the windows, stabbing into Felix's eyes like needles. His hands pressed hard against the desk, his face twisted in anger.Orion was gone. Luna had disappeared. And now, Lily was missing too. He had no idea where his other child was.Suddenly, a thought struck him. The hospital had to know where the child went.At Sunshine Hospital, Felix stood in the hospital director’s office, glaring at the sweating middle-aged man before him. His icy gaze grew colder with each passing second. “You don’t remember?”Sweat dripped into the director’s eyes, stinging. He quickly wiped it away, only to meet Felix’s sharp, hawk-like stare. The heat soaking his body turned to an icy chill, freezing him in place.Instinctively, the director stepped back, forcing a nervous smile. “Mr. Lincoln, it’s not that I don’t remember. It’s just that I’ve never dealt with this personally. I’m trying, but I can’t recall the details.”As soon as the w