[Present Ti]
When Zoren sat down in his office, a faint smile tugged at his lips as he recalled the end of his first life. He had often wondered how he died — or if he even died at all in that tiline. But after the hypnosis, he finally found out the truth: he didn’t have to carry that question with him forever.
Haines might’ve ended him, but in truth, he saved Zoren.
He spared him from enduring an even longer, more hellish life... or from a slow, painful decline. For others, it might’ve looked like cruelty. But for Zoren, it had been an act of rcy—from a man who had lived long enough to fulfill one final duty before passing himself.
"I wonder..." he whispered, eyes drifting to his phone as Penny’s na lit up on the screen. He smiled as he picked it up. "...if it’s okay not to tell her this."
Sohow, Zoren wanted to keep this part of his past to himself.
Not dwelling on it any further, he smiled again as the call connected.
"Penny."
---
Hours later...
Grace dragged herself into her apartnt after a long day at the office with Cassandra and Kiara. The whole day had been oddly quiet — those two barely said a word to each other. When Grace confronted Cassandra, the latter told her that she had finally told Kiara what she had done.
And on top of that, there was the mini heart attack over the Pri Group announcent, only for Penny to later reveal it was all her doing. That crazy woman.
"I’m ho..." she called out lazily, tossing her blazer onto the couch and setting her bag down beside it. "My dear?"
Grace paused, scanning the living room. She sniffed the air—no scent of food. Her brows furrowed.
"Hasn’t he co ho yet?" she muttered to herself. She rembered Haines saying he had an ergency to attend to at Miller’s Company that morning.
"Well..." She frowned slightly, then shrugged and made her way to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Today had drained her. While she cleaned up and went through her nightly routine, she figured Haines would be back soon. He hadn’t ntioned staying out late.
But even after she finished, he still hadn’t shown up.
A towel was still wrapped around her head as she stood in front of her vanity, phone in hand.
"I wonder what’s going on?" she murmured, tilting her head. "He didn’t even ssage ."
It wasn’t that late, but surely office hours were over. Grace scrolled through her ssage log with Haines before deciding to call him.
Ring...
Her brow lifted when she heard ringing from sowhere inside the house.
"Did he already get ho?" she wondered, phone pressed to her ear as she stepped out of the bedroom.
Just as she looked down the living area, the call ended.
"Huh?" She glanced at the phone, then toward the direction the ringing ca from.
The living room was still empty. No sign of Haines. But when she crossed it and reached the entryway, she finally noticed his shoes on the rack. She hadn’t noticed them earlier, but now she was certain—he was ho.
"Haines?" she called, heading toward the kitchen—the only other place he could be. "Darling?"
Sure enough, as she neared the kitchen and dining area, she saw him. Haines was already seated at the dining table, dressed in his usual indoor clothes. Her face brightened for a mont until she noticed sothing else.
Her steps froze.
Her smile faded, and her eyes widened as she spotted the other person seated at the end of the table.
Both Haines and the guest turned to her. Haines offered her an awkward smile.
The other woman frowned.
"Mom!" Grace blurted, blinking rapidly. "What are you—what are you doing here?"
Her mother sighed. "Gracie, when were you planning to tell you’ve been living with him?"
She then glanced at Haines and exhaled again.
He had aged like fine wine, but anyone could see he was older than Grace. Maybe even older than her. Any mother would be alard. At this point, Haines might as well call Grace’s mother his sister.
"Co join us, Gracie," her mother said, gesturing toward the seat next to Haines.
Grace reluctantly made her way over and sat beside him, casting him a sheepish smile. Haines returned it with an understanding nod.
"Sorry," she whispered, leaning in toward him. "I might’ve hinted that I was dating, but that was back when we weren’t official yet."
What she ant was that she’d vaguely ntioned a relationship to her mother, back when things were still uncertain.
"I ca to check on you after seeing your face in the news," her mother explained. "You didn’t even tell you were taking on such a high-profile case. And seeing how much backlash there is... I got worried."
"Ah..." Grace scratched the back of her neck. "Right..."
"But when I arrived, he was already here," her mother added, casting another look at the both of them with a sigh.
Oh dear.
They might have looked like a couple, but the age gap was impossible to miss. Especially for soone who knew Haines. He looked much the sa as he had ten years ago—still charming, with just hints of age. Still, this wasn’t what Grace’s mother expected tonight.
Seeing her mother’s conflicted expression, Grace leaned forward to say sothing. But before she could, Haines gently took her hand and spoke first.
"As I said before, my feelings for Grace are sincere," Haines said, eting her mother’s gaze. "I know there’s an age gap between us. But I’ll take care of her."
Grace’s mother raised her brows, holding his gaze with surprise.
anwhile, Grace kept her eyes on Haines’s side profile, surprise evident on her face while her cheeks were slightly pink.
"I won’t hurt her—not intentionally, not even accidentally," Haines added. His voice was steady. "It may be a sin to love soone half my age, but even so, I have no problem being tried for it. As long as she still wants in her life... I’ll stay. And I’ll hold her hand for as long as I can."
He paused, keeping his eyes on his future mother-in-law. "Please. Let love her."
Reviews
All reviews (0)