Seren looked at her son.

Then at Adrian.

For one terrible second, nobody moved.

Kai waited.

Adrian did too.

Seren forced air into her lungs.

"Because people can look alike."

Kai frowned.

"But we have the same eyes."

Adrian's gaze sharpened.

Seren crouched in front of Kai.

"Sweetheart, go find Poppy."

"But I asked—"

"I know."

She touched his cheek.

"We'll talk later."

Kai looked unconvinced, but eventually wandered away.

The moment he disappeared, Adrian stepped closer.

"That was impressive."

"What?"

"You didn't even blink."

Seren stood.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't."

His voice was low now.

Controlled.

Too controlled.

"Who is his father?"

Seren folded her arms.

"Drop it."

"No."

"Adrian."

"You keep refusing to answer one very simple question."

"Because it's none of your business."

He laughed once.

There was no humor in it.

"That's becoming harder to believe."

Seren's heartbeat quickened.

He had the dates.

The resemblance.

The eyes.

The left-handedness.

If she hesitated now, even once, he would know.

So she did the only thing she could think of.

She lied.

"His father is dead."

Silence.

Adrian stopped moving.

For the first time since she'd returned, she managed to shock him.

"What?"

Seren made herself hold his gaze.

"Kai's father died."

The words tasted awful.

Adrian's expression changed.

Suspicion remained.

But something else moved beneath it.

Guilt.

Seren almost hated herself for that.

"How?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters if I've been accusing you of—"

"Of what?"

She cut him off before he could say it.

"Lying? Hiding something? Trying to trap you?"

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

He looked away.

For one moment, he seemed almost ashamed.

"Does Kai remember him?"

Seren's chest ached.

"No."

That part, at least, was true.

"He was too young."

Adrian nodded slowly.

The suspicion in his face didn't disappear.

But it retreated.

For now.

"I'm sorry."

Seren nearly laughed.

The irony was unbearable.

He was apologizing for the death of a man who was standing right in front of her.

Alive.

Rich.

Annoyingly handsome.

Completely unaware.

"Thank you."

She walked past him before her face could betray her.

That night, the temperature dropped.

By ten, rain hammered against the windows.

By eleven, Kai was burning with fever.

Seren woke to the sound of him whimpering.

She crossed the room in seconds.

"Kai?"

His skin was hot.

Too hot.

She grabbed the thermometer.

One hundred four.

Her stomach dropped.

"Oh, baby."

Kai barely opened his eyes.

"My head hurts."

"I know."

She reached for her phone.

No signal.

Of course.

The storm had knocked out half the estate's service.

Seren wrapped Kai in a blanket and rushed into the hallway.

"Evelyn!"

A door opened downstairs.

But the person who appeared wasn't Evelyn.

It was Adrian.

He was barefoot, wearing dark pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"What's wrong?"

"Kai has a fever."

Adrian was beside her immediately.

"How high?"

"One-oh-four."

His expression changed.

"Get his shoes."

"What?"

"We're going to the ER."

"I can call a car."

"In this weather?"

"I'm not asking you to—"

"I'm not asking either."

He took Kai from her arms.

Just like that.

Seren froze.

Kai stirred against him.

Adrian held him instinctively, one arm under his knees, the other around his back.

Like he'd done it a hundred times.

"Adrian—"

"Shoes, Seren."

She moved.

Ten minutes later, they were speeding through rain-slick Manhattan streets.

Adrian drove himself.

No driver.

No security.

No assistant.

One hand on the wheel.

The other kept reaching toward the back seat whenever Kai coughed.

Seren noticed every time.

She wished she didn't.

At the emergency entrance, Adrian was out of the car before she could unbuckle.

He opened the back door and lifted Kai again.

"I've got him."

Seren followed.

The pediatric ER was bright, cold, and crowded.

A nurse hurried them into triage.

"Parents?"

Seren opened her mouth.

Adrian answered first.

"Yes."

She looked at him.

He didn't correct himself.

Maybe he didn't realize.

Maybe he did.

The nurse looked between them.

"How long has he had the fever?"

"About an hour," Seren said.

"Any seizures?"

"No."

"Vomiting?"

"Once."

Kai shifted weakly against Adrian.

His fingers curled into the front of Adrian's shirt.

Adrian looked down.

Something softened in his face.

"Hey, buddy."

Kai barely responded.

The nurse gave them a small room.

A few minutes later, a woman in navy scrubs entered.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Naomi Reed."

She smiled at Kai.

"Let's see what's going on."

After checking his ears, throat, lungs, and temperature, she nodded.

"Likely viral, but with a fever this high, I want to run a few tests."

Seren exhaled.

"Okay."

Dr. Reed glanced at the chart.

"Any family history of febrile seizures?"

"No."

"Autoimmune disorders?"

"No."

"Heart conditions?"

"No."

"Any history from his father's side?"

Seren went still.

Adrian did too.

Dr. Reed looked up.

Seren smiled too quickly.

"No."

"None?"

"Nothing relevant."

Adrian's gaze shifted to her.

Seren felt it immediately.

Dr. Reed didn't seem to notice.

"All right."

She wrote something down.

"What blood type is his father?"

Seren's mouth went dry.

"I don't know."

Adrian looked at her.

That was worse than if he'd said something.

Dr. Reed nodded.

"No problem. We can work around it."

But Adrian was still watching.

Seren stared at the floor.

The lie from earlier suddenly felt very fragile.

They waited for the test results.

At some point, Kai woke enough to complain about the IV.

"I hate this place."

Seren brushed his hair back.

"I know."

"Can we go home?"

"Soon."

Kai's eyes drifted toward Adrian.

"Are you staying?"

Adrian didn't hesitate.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard.

Adrian leaned back in the chair.

"Because you're sick."

Kai considered that.

Then he nodded.

"Okay."

Like that was enough.

Seren looked away.

Something inside her hurt.

Not because Adrian was doing anything wrong.

Because he was doing everything right.

Without knowing.

An hour later, the fever finally began to come down.

Kai fell asleep against Adrian's chest.

Seren had tried to move him twice.

Adrian refused both times.

"He'll wake up."

"Your arm is going numb."

"I'll survive."

She almost smiled.

"You're stubborn."

"So are you."

"That's different."

"Of course."

The room went quiet.

Rain tapped softly against the window.

Adrian looked down at Kai.

His expression was unlike anything Seren remembered.

No arrogance.

No suspicion.

No anger.

Just tenderness.

It scared her more than all the questions.

"You don't have to do this," she said.

He didn't look up.

"Do what?"

"Stay."

"I know."

That answer hit harder than it should have.

Seren looked at Kai.

His face was relaxed now.

Safe.

His tiny hand rested against Adrian's chest.

For the first time in five years, she let herself imagine something dangerous.

What if she'd told him?

What if she hadn't left?

What if—

No.

She shut the thought down.

Adrian glanced at her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You were looking at me."

"I wasn't."

"You were."

"Don't ruin the moment."

His mouth curved.

A real smile this time.

Small.

Unexpected.

It made him look younger.

Like the man she'd loved before everything fell apart.

Seren hated how much that affected her.

A nurse stepped inside.

"Good news. His labs look fine. Fever's responding to medication."

Seren exhaled.

"Thank God."

The nurse smiled.

"Your son should be okay."

Then she looked at Adrian.

"You're doing great, Dad."

The room went still.

Seren's breath caught.

Adrian didn't correct her.

He simply looked down at Kai.

His expression changed again.

Something almost painful moved through it.

Seren's chest tightened.

The nurse left.

Neither of them spoke.

Finally, Seren whispered, "You could've corrected her."

Adrian looked at her.

"I didn't see the point."

"Adrian—"

Kai shifted.

His fingers tightened suddenly in Adrian's shirt.

Adrian looked down.

Kai's face turned toward him.

Still asleep.

Still feverish.

His lips moved.

At first, Seren couldn't hear it.

Then he whispered one word.

"Daddy..."

Everything stopped.

Adrian froze.

Seren did too.

Kai clutched his shirt tighter.

"Daddy..."

Adrian slowly lifted his eyes to hers.

And this time, there was no suspicion in them.

Only shock.

And a question that Seren knew she would not be able to escape much longer.