Adelyn didn’t remember switching her phone off last night.

She had simply placed it on the table next to the bed before going to sleep.

Then ... how did it end up turned off?

"Did it run out of battery?" she muttered under her breath, pressing the power button to check.

To her confusion, the screen lit up almost immediately —powering on without delay.

... Which clearly meant it hadn’t run out of battery.

It had been deliberately switched off.

Before she could dwell on that thought any further, a voice interrupted her.

"I turned it off last night."

Adelyn immediately looked up toward the door —only to see Dylan standing there.

"Mr. Warren, you turned it off?"

Her frown deepened slightly.

Dylan walked in calmly.

"Yes. Your phone rang quite a few times last night," he said. "I turned it off before it could disturb your sleep."

Adelyn blinked, trying to process his words.

Before she could respond, her phone suddenly began buzzing —insistently.

She glanced down, only to see multiple missed calls —all from the same unfamiliar number.

Her brows furrowed further in confusion.

She was about to return the call when a message from that same number caught her attention.

She tapped it open.

[Adelyn, just how much have you degraded yourself in all these years? I can no longer recognize you.]

There was nothing else.

No name.

No identifier.

And yet—

Adelyn knew exactly who it was.

A cold glint flashed in her eyes, sharp and unmistakable.

The thought of returning the call disappeared instantly —without a trace.

"Was it from someone important?" Dylan asked.

His voice pulled her attention back to him.

She looked at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"Nope. No one important."

Dylan didn’t question her further.

But Adelyn did.

Glancing back at her call history, she asked,

"You took the call last night?"

Dylan didn’t deny it.

"Yes," he admitted calmly. "I answered it just to check whether it was from someone important before turning it off."

Adelyn hesitated for a moment before asking,

"What did you say?"

Dylan looked at her for a brief second —as if studying her reaction —before replying,

"I didn’t say much. I just told him that you were ... asleep. So he shouldn’t disturb you."

Adelyn was caught slightly off guard.

What he said wasn’t technically wrong. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

But without context...

It could easily be misunderstood.

She didn’t mind Xavier misunderstanding.

But if this ever happened again —with someone else—

It could become troublesome.

How would she even explain it then?

"What’s wrong?" Dylan asked, noticing the shift in her expression. "Did I do something I shouldn’t have?"

Adelyn almost nodded.

But instead, she shook her head.

"No, you didn’t, Mr. Warren," she said. "You were being considerate from your side. It’s just ..."

She trailed off.

Dylan’s gaze deepened slightly.

"It’s just ...?" he prompted.

"It’s just that if something like this happens next time," she said carefully, "could you please not answer my phone?"

Dylan raised a brow at her.

She quickly added, "I mean, we wouldn’t know who’s on the other side. What if it’s my manager? It would become difficult for me to explain things. So ..."

Dylan nodded.

"I understand," he said. "I will stay more careful of my words the next time."

Adelyn smiled faintly and nodded, finally feeling a little at ease.

But then—

Something about his words didn’t sit right with her.

Careful about his words ... next time?

Did that mean he was aware of how his words might have sounded yesterday?

And yet ...

He had still chosen to say them?

Why?

Her brows furrowed as she looked at him, confusion flickering in her eyes.

But before she could question him further—

He spoke.

"Breakfast is ready. You both can freshen up and come down."

"Oh ..." Adelyn nodded. "We’ll be down in a while."

Dylan gave a small nod.

Then, without lingering any further, he turned and left the room.

Adelyn watched him leave, suddenly realizing what she had almost asked.

But it was too late.

He was already gone.

And even if he hadn’t been ...

There was no way she could have asked him directly—

Why did he intentionally say that to Xavier last night?

Was it deliberate?

"Mama?"

Eira’s soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Adelyn turned to look at her —only to find the little girl already holding her phone expectantly.

She immediately understood.

Smiling, she added Eira’s number to her contacts and sent her the very first message.

[My baby is the sweetest. Mama loves her the most.]

Eira read it —and her face lit up instantly.

Her eyes sparkled with joy as she quickly typed a reply.

[Eira also loves Mama the most.]

Adelyn read it and smiled warmly.

Then, looking at her, she said gently,

"Now that we’ve added each other, don’t hesitate to text me whenever you miss me. And I’ll make sure to reply as quickly as I can ..."

Eira nodded earnestly.

Adelyn then glanced at the time.

"It’s actually quite late. Let’s get freshen up quickly so we can head down for breakfast."

With that, she got off the bed and opened her arms toward the little girl.

"Come here," she said softly. "I’ll carry you to the bathroom."

Eira didn’t refuse.

She climbed into Adelyn’s arms without hesitation.

Although Adelyn had no real experience with children, everything felt surprisingly natural with Eira.

She found herself doing things she had never done for anyone before—

Like placing her carefully on the stool and handing her a toothbrush with toothpaste already applied.

"Here," she said gently, "... brush your teeth properly."

Eira nodded obediently before taking the brush from her.

Adelyn stood beside her, brushing her own teeth while keeping an eye on the little girl.

Once they were done, they stepped out of the bathroom —fresh and ready.

Leaving the room, they walked out together.

But just as they descended the stairs—

A loud cry suddenly echoed through the space.

"Sister-in-law —you’re here ...!"

Adelyn frowned, startled.

Before she could even process what was happening—

Two arms suddenly wrapped tightly around her legs, leaving her completely stunned.

"Save me, sister-in-law!" Karl wailed dramatically. "Big Brother is sending me away from you!"