The next day...

In a hotel right in the heart of the city, Tommy narrowed his eyes at his wife.

Liza had been positively radiant.

In fact, ever since yesterday, her mood had been suspiciously good. Even now, while preparing breakfast in the kitchenette, the smile on her face seemed permanently glued in place.

"Son," Tommy called, earning Primo’s attention.

Primo, whose hair was still messy from sleep, turned to the old man.

Tommy narrowed his eyes.

Following the older man’s line of sight, Primo looked toward Liza.

"Tell me, son," Tommy muttered. "Is it just me, or has your grandmama been smiling nonstop since yesterday?"

Primo studied Liza before looking back at Tommy. Then he nodded.

"Hah!" Tommy rocked his head. "So it’s not just in my head. I was beginning to think my eyesight was failing."

He squinted at his wife. "I wonder why."

Just then, Liza joined them and began serving the breakfast she had requested from room service. They had decided to avoid the chaos of the hotel’s breakfast buffet.

"Sorry for making both of you wait," she said as she placed the dishes on the table.

"Dear," Tommy finally said, deciding to confront his loving wife. "Did I do something to upset you?"

Primo, who had expected a completely different question, slowly turned to him.

A giant question mark practically appeared above his head. Clearly, Liza was smiling. Why would he ask that?

Tommy sighed and gently ruffled Primo’s hair.

"You’ll understand someday, son."

Then he looked back at his wife.

Liza, who had been in an exceptionally good mood for nearly two days, furrowed her brows.

A moment later, realization dawned on her. After all, she had a habit of acting extra sweet whenever she was upset with Tommy.

Not because she was hiding her frustration. But because she knew revenge was coming.

And he would eventually end up apologizing for whatever he had done.

"Haha!" she laughed, waving dismissively. "It’s nothing like that, dear."

She sat down.

"I just think I did a really good deed."

This time, both Tommy and Primo tilted their heads. They looked at Liza, who clasped her hands together and giggled to herself.

Then the pair exchanged a glance and shrugged. They looked back at her.

"Don’t mind me," Liza said cheerfully. "Just enjoy your breakfast."

She clapped her hands together.

"Right, Primo! Do you want to go somewhere today?"

Tommy immediately frowned.

"Dear, wait."

He raised a hand before Liza and Primo could start making plans. Smiling at Primo first, he then turned back to his wife.

"Shouldn’t we ask Ashley and Lucian first?"

At the back of his mind, Tommy worried they might be getting a little too comfortable.

He appreciated how welcoming Ashley and Lucian had been. And he was grateful they trusted them enough to let Primo stay the night.

Even so, he didn’t want to overstep.

More importantly, he worried Liza might get carried away.

After all, they had missed the chance to raise their own children.

Liza had always adored children, but recently, her affection toward Primo had reached a new level.

Tommy simply didn’t want to accidentally hurt Ashley and Lucian’s little family or create a crack in their relationship.

Liza scooted her chair closer as she served Primo some food.

"Eat, darling," she cooed.

Satisfied, she watched Primo immediately pick up his utensils. Then she dragged her chair closer to Tommy.

"Dear," she whispered so Primo couldn’t hear, "it’s fine."

Tommy frowned. "Dear, I just don’t want us to look like we’re overstepping or get too carried away."

"I know," Liza smirked. "But Ashley and Lucian are probably going to be busy for half the day. Maybe the entire day."

She wiggled her brows. "If anything, Lucian will probably appreciate having some time alone with Ashley."

Then she glanced at Primo, just to make sure he wasn’t paying attention.

Tommy narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Dear."

"Hmm?"

"What exactly did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"What is this good deed you keep talking about?"

"Haha. It’s nothing." Liza shrugged innocently. "Ashley just asked me about the secret to a happy marriage."

Tommy raised a brow.

There was nothing strange about that.

"So I told her the real recipe." She winked.

Tommy didn’t understand immediately. A few seconds later, however, realization struck. The confusion, curiosity, and concern on his face vanished.

His expression went completely blank.

Then outrage exploded behind his eyes. His chest rose and fell heavily as his hand slowly curled into a fist.

"That fool..." he hissed through gritted teeth. "Doing such shameless things to that angelic girl..."

Seeing his reaction, Liza sighed.

This was precisely why she hadn’t shared details with Tommy.

For some reason, Tommy had become incredibly protective of Ashley. Liza was fond of her. Tommy, however, treated her like she was his own daughter.

He even bragged about her as though they were blood-related.

Then again, Liza couldn’t really blame him.

Ashley had always been sweet to them. Even after moving away, she stayed in touch and sent gifts despite there being no special occasion.

Liza sighed before glancing at Primo. The boy was staring at Tommy in confusion.

She smiled.

Scooting her chair away from her husband and toward Primo, she patted his head.

"Baby, don’t worry about Grandpapa, okay?"

[Is he okay?]

"Yes," Liza nodded. "He’s fine. He’s just a little emotional."

She smiled reassuringly. "He’ll recover in a few minutes."

Primo nodded and returned to his breakfast.

Meanwhile, Liza looked back at her husband.

"Talk about not wanting to overstep and not getting carried away," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head. "Tommy, don’t forget they’re a married couple."

But none of that mattered.

At that moment, Tommy’s mind had completely shut down.

All he knew was that Lucian was corrupting Ashley far too much.

And even after logic eventually returned and calmed him down, Liza already knew what would happen the next time he saw Lucian.

Before Lucian could even get a single word out, Tommy would probably grab him by the collar and demand:

"Any last words?!"