Nyla glanced at Damon, her eyes blazing with anger. "Damon, you're such a jerk!""Fifty seconds left," Damon replied, his tone flat His expression was cold, and the icy glint in his eyes sent chills through her."Fine, I agree," Nyla finally conceded.She was resolute—she couldn't bear the thought of losing Mason again.Damon didn't seem surprised by her surrender. He answered coldly, "He's in Room 302."Without looking back, Nyla hurried down the hall.When she reached the door, she stopped abruptly, taking a deep breath. Her hand trembled as she grasped the doorknob, slowly pushing the door open.Even though she had tried to prepare herself, the sight of Mason hit her harder than expected. Her eyes immediately filled with tears.In just a few days, he had lost weight, his face pale and gaunt. He looked utterly defeated."Buddy…" Nyla's voice broke, tears spilling over.Mason turned his head, disbelief flickering across his face. As soon as he saw her, the dullness in his
Although a bit reluctant, Mason nodded. "Okay."As Nyla sipped her soup, she received a call from Oliver."Nyla, how's the progress in Saintornia? Have you found Buddy?" Oliver asked.Nyla lowered her gaze and moved to the window, responding quietly with a soft hum.Upon sensing something was wrong, Oliver's voice grew concerned. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"After a moment of hesitation, Nyla opened up slowly. "Damon won't give Buddy back to me. He says I can't protect him. I can stay with Buddy, but I have to move to his villa."A heavy silence hung on the other end of the line.Nyla bit her lip. "I agreed to his terms. Oliver, maybe we should just—"Before she could say "forget it", Oliver interrupted, "Nyla, I know you're in a tough spot. Once I take care of things in Capitarnia, I'll head to Saintornia, and we can figure out what to do next, alright?""Oliver, you're such a good person. I don't want to drag you down anymore," Nyla reasoned."You've never been a b
The room fell into silence.Damon paused, a complex emotion welling up inside him.He had been raised with an elite education, where practicality and benefit always came before freedom and happiness. Every decision he made was driven by gain.Emotions had never held much weight for him. He had never considered whether he was happy.When Nyla told him that the most important thing was for Mason to grow up freely and happily, something in his heart stirred.Amid the silence, Damon's phone suddenly rang.Seeing that it was Erin, he subtly furrowed his brow and stood to leave the room.As he walked out, the oppressive atmosphere in the room lifted.When he returned after the call, Mason had finished his soup, and Nyla was tidying up.Watching her graceful profile, Damon pressed his lips together and said in a low voice, "I have a meeting at the company later. I'll come back to see Buddy tomorrow."Nyla hummed.Her indifferent attitude didn't bother Damon. He turned and left quic
Nyla pursed her lips and nodded. "Alright."She and Damon returned to the hospital room, where Mason was already awake.Upon seeing Damon follow Nyla in, Mason's eyes brightened momentarily before he turned his head away, acting indifferent.Damon approached the bedside and sat down, his expression serious. "How are you feeling today? Does your arm still hurt?"Mason huffed. "It's none of your business!"Accustomed to Mason's attitude, Damon remained calm. Instead of getting upset, he reached out and ruffled Mason's hair."Hey, don't touch me!" Mason dodged his hand, looking annoyed.Watching Mason reveal this childish side to Damon made Nyla feel bittersweet.Perhaps because Mason had never had a father figure in his life, he always acted so mature around her, never letting himself behave like this.Damon raised an eyebrow and tried to pat Mason's head again. "If you don't want me to, I will."Mason scowled. "Are you really that bored? Why are you picking on a kid? You don't
Nyla didn't think much of Clark's sudden appearance. After all, they had cut all ties the moment they divorced, and there would be no relationship between them moving forward.The car sped into a villa neighborhood, where rows of birch trees lined the streets, creating a vibrant green landscape.Ten minutes later, they stopped in front of a villa.The driver got out and opened the door for Nyla. "Ms. Kinsey, this way."As Nyla and Mason stepped out, she noticed the look of resistance on Mason's face as he stared at the villa. He had a good memory and clearly recalled being locked up here by Damon.Just as Nyla was about to walk inside, she felt Mason gently tug at her hand. Looking down, she saw the panic in his big eyes, and her heart sank."Buddy, what's wrong?" she asked."Mommy, you said you would take me home! Why are we here? Are you really going to leave me?" Mason asked, tears welling up in his eyes as he looked at her with a hurt expression.Nyla's heart softened, and
The window stood open, and the light blue curtains swayed gently in the breeze.By the window, a round table was covered with a beige tablecloth, and a vase held several gardenias. The flowers were clearly fresh-cut, with water droplets clinging to the petals and filling the air with their sweet fragrance."I really like this room, Lydia. Thank you!" Nyla said.Seeing Nyla's sincere smile, Lydia felt relieved. "I'm glad you like it, Ms. Kinsey. Mr. Mason's room is right next door, in the third room. If you don't need anything else, I'll go prepare lunch now. Just call me or Maddie if you need something."Nyla nodded. "Okay."After Lydia left with Maddie, Nyla turned to Mason. "Buddy, do you want to take a nap?"After learning that he could be discharged that morning, Mason had been so excited the night before that he had only gotten a few hours of sleep.Now, his eyelids drooped, clearly revealing his sleep deprivation.Mason held Nyla's hand and looked up at her. "Mommy, can I
Damon paused in his tracks. "No, set another place for me."Lydia nodded. "Got it! I'll go call Ms. Kinsey and Mr. Mason down for lunch.""Alright," Damon replied.As Nyla and Mason came downstairs, she was surprised to see Damon sitting at the head of the table. "Good afternoon, Mr. Sumner."Since they had agreed to stop clashing, the atmosphere between them had softened significantly."Good afternoon," Damon replied.After placing Mason in a chair, Nyla planned to feed him first before eating herself.Noticing this, Lydia stepped forward and said, "Ms. Kinsey, let me feed Mr. Mason. You go ahead and eat."Seeing Nyla hesitate, Lydia added with a smile, "I've trained to take care of children, so I won't make any mistakes."Nyla didn't mean to imply that she didn't trust Lydia—she just felt a bit embarrassed about having someone else care for her child.Just then, Damon's deep voice broke in. "Let Lydia feed him.""Okay, Lydia, I'll leave it to you," Nyla said."No trouble
Erin paused for a moment, instinctively asking, "It was you who sent me that message?!"Nyla was done with the conversation.She stood up and said, "Since you're already Damon's fiancee, you should make the most of it. Sometimes, it's more effective to go to him directly than to come here and make threats at me."With that, she left the living room and headed upstairs.Erin's anger lingered while watching her leave, but a hint of contemplation crossed her eyes. Moments later, she grabbed her bag and hurried out of the villa.Lydia, who had been waiting in the kitchen, finally breathed a sigh of relief when Erin left. She had been worried about what would happen if the two women started fighting and had planned to inform Damon if necessary.It seemed that wouldn't be needed now.Just as Erin was about to get into her car, she was suddenly stopped by someone."Ms. Hulle, I'm a maid here. My name is Maddie Lamb," the young woman introduced herself.Erin frowned and asked coldly,