Logan had no other choice; Grace’s husband filed for a divorce when he learned how Archie was conceived, and Grace didn’t want Archie because, in her mind, he was the reason why her marriage ca to an end.
She couldn’t bear to see him.
Therefore, Logan had no other choice but to take him ho and explain the situation to his father and brother about the origin of his son.
However, their reaction was stronger than he expected.
"Do you want to say that you are being molested? A man—molested by a woman?" Greyson narrowed his eyes in disgust, while Dylan gave him a disapproving look as if he was extrely disappointed.
"I was a boy, not a man," Logan said through his gritted teeth, holding back his embarrassnt. It was not easy to talk about this matter, even more so when they gave this reaction.
"There is no difference!" Greyson slamd his fist against the table. "You should’ve known better and spoken up when it happened. The fact that you kept it a secret ant you enjoyed it!"
Logan looked hurt when he heard that.
He didn’t know how to explain it because there was a mont when his twelve-year-old self thought what he did with Grace was... exciting.
A woman who was older than him gave him the attention that he had been craving. They shared a secret that only the two of them knew. It was... exhilarating, and his younger self did enjoy it.
His rebellious side didn’t help Logan see there was sothing wrong with that. It was sothing new, and he savored the attention that Grace gave to him.
Therefore, when Greyson accused him of enjoying it, Logan couldn’t say otherwise. He felt guilty and ashad of himself.
As a result, Logan couldn’t defend his claim that he was being molested. He started to question himself.
On the other hand, when Greyson saw Logan look guilty, he believed that he had made the right statent.
"When will you stop disappointing ?" Greyson stood up. He walked toward Logan and slapped his face so hard, the sound of it echoed in the study. "You only bring embarrassnt to the family. He is not my grandson, and you are not my son. Get out of this house."
Greyson didn’t raise his voice, but the way he spoke was the sa as if he had scread in Logan’s face. The intensity of the hatred in Greyson’s voice was enough to make Logan hate himself.
And after saying that, Greyson left the room.
anwhile, Dylan stayed for a little bit longer, but none of them talked, nor did they move from their position until Dylan decided to leave, too.
He patted Logan on the shoulder and spoke with a groan. "I will talk to Dad." He made it sound as if talking to Greyson was a labor that he didn’t want to do.
And with that, Logan was left alone in the room. He needed to take Archie out of this house.
***
When Ranon returned after he talked to Cam, Laurel imdiately dragged him to the balcony. Her expression looked very serious.
Ranon let her drag him since he knew what she wanted to talk about. If he refused, Laurel would continue to talk a lot longer. He learned her habit without even trying.
"That woman carried a gun around!" Laurel said in her dramatic voice as she handed over River’s gun. It was the sa gun that Hazel purchased from Rize. "How could you let a woman like that near Ashlyn?" Laurel hissed.
Ranon took the gun. He was more curious about why River gave the gun to Laurel. "You carry a gun around, too."
"Don’t talk back to !" Laurel acted as an older sister for Ranon now. She scolded him for being so reckless. "Don’t you think about Ashlyn’s safety? After what happened, you should be very careful! I don’t care if you want to sleep around out there, but don’t bring any of your won ho! You have a daughter."
After what happened, Laurel carried a gun with her, though she did not always have it, since she had Alen with her.
"She will not hurt Ashlyn."
"How do you know? You don’t know her."
"You always question my decision, but your worry has never been proven," Ranon countered with a fact. "If you could get along with Hazel, you would be able to get along with River, too."
Laurel noticed how easy it was for Ranon to ntion Hazel’s na again when, in the past, it had always triggered unpleasant reactions from her stepbrother.
However, for Ranon, it didn’t matter whether they called her Hazel or River; she was still the woman that he wanted.
It was this woman that he wanted, no one else, regardless of what she looked like or what they called her.
"I didn’t get along with Hazel," Laurel muttered.
"Give her a chance." Ranon patted Laurel’s shoulder. "Thank you for worrying about Ashlyn, but I have chosen her."
And at that point, Laurel knew there was nothing she could do to make Ranon change his mind. Once he decided on sothing, he would stay true to his words.
"Ashlyn doesn’t even like her," Laurel grumbled. She then followed Ranon, who was going into Ashlyn’s bedroom.
However, to their surprise, they found River and Ashlyn sleeping. The little girl curled her body next to River, clutching River’s front shirt.
"No way..." Laurel gasped in surprise. "Impossible. What kind of spell did she use to persuade her?" She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Ashlyn didn’t like strangers, especially after what happened, and that was for sure; yet, here she was, sleeping peacefully next to a woman whom she had only t a handful of tis.
"Is she a witch?" Laurel glanced back and forth between Ranon and Ashlyn in confusion. This woman must have bewitched both of them, father and daughter.
"Probably," Ranon said. He then approached the two of them, and Laurel saw how his gaze softened to see them.
Laurel had mixed feelings about all of this. She knew that Ranon deserved to be happy again after she lost Hazel. But it had not been even a year since Hazel’s death. He had already been fond of soone new.
If River was really a good woman as Ranon claid she was, then Laurel would be happy for her stepbrother. But she also had a deep sadness for Hazel, because Ranon moved on too fast, in her opinion.
He fell for soone new only after a few days of eting her. That part still didn’t make sense for her.
However, she couldn’t do anything as she watched Ranon carry Ashlyn in his arms and take her to the master bedroom before he returned and carried River, too.
"Ranon..." Laurel called his na with worry, but she had said everything that she wanted to say.
"Don’t question in this, Laurel, and there is no need for you to be worried." And with that, Ranon closed the door to his bedroom.
He laid River down on the bed next to Ashlyn, and the little girl subconsciously moved closer to her. She buried her face against River’s bosom.
For a long mont, Ranon simply stayed there, watching the two of them. This was the sight that he always held so dear. This sight was even better than anything else that he had ever seen.
If he could only engrave one mory in his mind, then this would be it.
After a long mont, Ranon finally joined them, and it was the best sleep he had ever had after such a long ti.
When Ranon lay down beside Ashlyn, as he hugged the two of them, he felt very exhausted. He kissed both of them and let the comfort of having them in his arms drift him to sleep.
It was not certain how long Ranon had been sleeping. But when he woke up, he couldn’t find River or Ashlyn. The side of his bed was empty, and for a brief mont, a dreadful thought that everything was only a dream hit him.
He would wake up to an empty bedroom, and his dull life returned. It was too good to be true...
But then, when Ranon got out of bed and walked out of his bedroom, he heard Laurel and River’s voices as the two of them argued about sothing.
"Oh, please. Why does Ranon have a strange taste in a woman?" Laurel said in frustration as she stared at the juice that River was drinking in disgust.
It was the cucumber juice.
Laurel thought Hazel was the only person who knew about the drink and actually drank it. But as it turned out, River had the sa preference, too.
"Stop drinking that disgusting juice." Laurel scrunched her nose.
However, River drank it dramatically. The more upset Laurel was, the happier River beca while Renna watched the interaction between the two of them silently.
"Co with , Ash." Laurel stretched out her arms toward Ashlyn, who was sitting on River’s lap. But the little girl refused to co to her. She pressed her tiny face against River’s chest. "Oh, you little traitor..." Laurel was in a bad mood when Ashlyn chose this stranger over herself.
And it was the situation that Ranon saw when he ca to the living room. He didn’t like the noise, but on the other hand, he didn’t mind this one at all.
River smiled smugly because Ashlyn was being clingy to her, while Laurel was frustrated.
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