Chapter 48
Chapter 17. Face Time
Warmth
Thai
was the first thing I felt as I slowly drifted back to consciousness. I squinted when the sunlight streamed through the car windows, casting a golden glow across my face.
At first, I was disoriented, wondering where I was, until I realized I had fallen asleep while Liam continued to drive.
Then I heard it.
Deep Calm
Far from the sharp tone he had earlier. It was gentle, soft–even warm. I would have assumed he was the nicest guy out there if I didn’t know him.
My eyebrows furrowed when I heard my daughter’s voice. That’s when I realized Liam Anderson was FaceTiming with my children and using my phone.
1
He was leaning back against the driver’s seat, holding my phone with ease, his expression softer than I had ever seen
“Uncle Liam, did you see my drawing? Mommy put it on the fridge! It’s a big, big unicorn!”
Luam chuckled, so focused on talking to Rylie that he didn’t seem to notice I was awake and staring at him. “I dad, Rylie. It looks better than the ones in storybooks. You must be the best artist in your class”
What are you doing. Ma? Why are
e you just sitting here? Go get your phone!
But then I heard Rylie’s excited voice, bubbling with happiness. It stopped me from reaching my phone,
“I know, right? I am the best! Rylie giggled, her laughter filling the car. “Ryker says it’s because I practice all the time, but he’s just jealous ‘cause his dinosaurs don’t have the right legs!”
“They do have the right legs Ryker, usually the quieter one, jumped in. “Dinosaurs had thick legs to hold their weight! That’s just how they look!”
Liam hummed in amusement. “I think Ryker has a point, Kylie. Dinosaurs were built strong. But unicorns! They’re built for magic.”
Ryle gasped. “That’s exactly what I told Ryker!”
My son groaned. “Oh, Uncle Liam, stop making things up for Kylie. There’s no such thing as magic. It’s all about science and technology.
“No, magic exists!”
“Magic isn’t real, Kylie. It’s just something people make up for fun.
Rylie gasped dramatically Even without seeing her, I could imagine her lips protruding and her eyebrows furrowing. “Ryker’s being boring again, Uncle Liam!
“Science is not boring
“It is?” Kylie insisted, seemingly forgetting the day she had listened attentively to Liam reading a science book and explaining things to them.
“Oh, don’t say that, cupcake, Hyker is also right—it’s not boring. Science is actually pretty amazing, too. It explains how the world works”
“But it’s not!
not fun like magic and ant
“That’s not true. Science is fun. It helps us discover new things–like how rainbows are made or why stars twinkle at night”
Liam caugh. Hyker’s attention, I’m sure of that. “Yeah! Did you even know that dinosaurs had feathers! Not all of them, but some did. People used to think they were just big, scaly lizards, but now we know they were more like giant binds
“Ew, no way. You’re telling me a T–Rex was
A smile broke across my lips.
as just a big chicken”
Liam laughed. “Well, maybe not exactly a chicken, but some dinosaurs were related to binds. Science proves that,”
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Chapter 15
Ryde graned. “Ligh, Science ruins everything”
“Not true.” Liam said, his tone patient, amused. “Science also helps explain how unicorns could exist if they were real. What if they were just a rare horse species with a special hom‘ Scientists discover new species all the time.
Since when had Liam Anderson been a fan of science!
“See, Ryker! Unde Liam believes in unicorns!”
Hyker groaned. “He’s just humoring you”
“Ton’t know, buddy” Liam mused. “You’d be surprised how much we don’t know about the world yet.”
Kylar squealed. “That means unicoms could be real!”
Byker muttered something under his breath, clearly giving up on reasoning with his sister.
Liam smiled. “Sounds like we have a little scientist and a dreamer here. And you know what? That’s a good thing. The world needs both”
I watched them, my heart tightening unexpectedly.
1 fek warm–something I shouldn’t feel, but I couldn’t help it
It wasn’t just how Liagn talked to them, giving his full attention to the twins. It was how natural he was, how patient he was with them.
I had seen plenty of people humor my children, but this was different. He wasn’t just entertaining them. He was engaging them, encouraging their personalities, and validating what they wanted and believed in, without shutting either of them down.
Now I realized why I hadn’t reached for my phone, even though he had no right to take it and FaceTime my kids without permission.
I stayed silent
I just watched them
Because I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen my children genuinely enjoying a conversation with someone other than me and Gavin.
And I didn’t have the heart to interrupt that.
Unuil Liam spoke again, catching me off guard.
“An artist and a scientist–how do you like that, Mar
My breath hatched
I snapped my gaze to him, my heart stumbling in my chest.
His eyes flicked to me–just for a second, barely noticeable–but I caught the amusement hidden in them.
He knew.
He knew I had been awake this whole time
My lips parted, but Kylie’s racited voice squealed through the phone before I could say anything
“Mommy! You’re awake!”
I cleared my throat, quickly composing myself. 1–yeals, baby. I just woke up.
“Uncle Liam didn’t wake you up, right? He said you were tired, so he let you sleep!”
I shot Liam a look as he handed me my phone, his expression unreadable except for the slight tilt of his lips. He was playing innocent.
murmured, narrowing my eyes at him before focusing on the screen. “Well, that was considerate of him?
*Mominy, guess what? Kylie practically shouted, “We were talking about science!”
“Oh?” I played along, acting like I hadn’t heard their conversation. “Since when do you like science, Hyller
She scrunched her nose, pulling out her chest like she had just made an important discovery. “Since now!”
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Chapter is
Byker scoffed in the background. “No, you don’t. You just like the fun parts.
“Science is fun!” Rylie shot back.
“Oh, who was the one who said that science is boring“” Ryker muttered,
“Argh! As long as it doesn’t involve numbers, it is fun”
“Well. Hylic, science also has numbers. Lots of it.”
Liam chuckled. “Well, science isn’t just about numbers, buddy. There’s space, physics, cool experiments…”
Hylic gasped. “Speaking of space–Mommy! Uncle Liam said we could go to a science exhibit! They have this thing where you can float Like in space!”
Right. The conversation they had with Liam at the hospital.
“Mommy, can we go there for our birthday?”
I glanced at Liam. His expression sofjened as Ryker mentioned their birthday
“Yeah, yeah! Let’s go there for our birthday. Mommy!”
I smiled. “Fine, we’ll go
“Promise?” Rylie gesturing her little pinky on the screen.
“Pinky promise
Rylie squealed and suddenly gasped as if struck by a brilliant idea. “Oh! Uncle Liam, you should come with us
I blinked. No way. Absolutely not
I forced a smile. “Baby, Uncle Liam is a very busy man. He might not have time for
“Oh, I
- I think I can make time.” Liam interrupted smoothly. “After all, it’s not every day I get invited to such an important event.”
Rylie let out a delighted squeal. “Yay! That means you’re coming!”
Even Ryker, who usually didn’t get too excited, looked pleased even though he stayed silent.
1 gritted my teeth, my fingers tightening around my phone. I did not like how easily he inserted himself into the plan, as if he had a place in our
LiveL
“Well, isn’t that nice. I muttered before quickly clearing my throat. “Babies, Mommy and Uncle Liam need to work now.”
“Aww, already?” Rylie pouted.
“Yes, sweetheart. Gotta go,” I said a little too quickly.
“Okayyy. Love you, Mommy!”
“Love you too, my babies,” I said, pressing a quick kiss to the screen before ending the call
The moment the call disconnected, I exhaled sharply and glared at Liam.
“You look like you want to strangle me right now, Mia. Where did all that control your anger talk from earlier go!”
I heaved a sigh and averted my gaze before forcing a tight smile. “I just wonder if you know the word privacy, Sir. Don’t you think answering someone else’s phone is rude”
*h kept ringing, You looked like you hadn’t gotten enough sleep and were so tired you didn’t even wake up. Your kids were calling and sounded
eager to Six to you, so I answered.
“I apologize for that,”
hat, he said, though he didn’t
mid, though he didn’t sound sorry at all. “But I don’t regret talking to Rylie and Ryker. I like them.”
swallowed hard, forcing myself to smile, though something about what he said made me uneasy.
Chapter 13
They seem to like you, too,” 1 admitted, feeling a batter t
taste on my mouth. “But you shouldn’t have told them you’d come to their birthday. You shouldn i øve them false hope. I’m your executive assistant—1 know how busy you are.”
“Yeah I am” he agreed. “But I’m not giving them false hope because no matter how busy I get, I can always find time for them. Mia.
My lips trembled as I gritted my teeth. “Thank you for saying that, but you don’t have to
“And why is that?”
My brows furrowed as I looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean why? I don’t see any reason for you to make time for my kids, Sir.”
‘Do I need a reason for that?”
I stared at him, disbelief flickering across my face. “Sir, they are not… related to you.”
His gaze hardened. The Liam Anderson who had been speaking softly to my children just moments ago was gone.
He tumed his head toward the steering wheel, his expression turned blank, his jaw tightened.
“Yeah, right. His voice was quieter now, almost unreadable. Then, after a brief pause, he asked, “Can I ask you something.
I swallowed hard, a sinking feeling sealing in my stomach,
I already knew I wouldn’t like whatever he was about to say
“Where is their father?”
Mia?”
