Later that night —
At the terrace, Liam had already given orders to the people to find out everything about Adelyn.
Yet, he couldn’t rest.
Leaning back slightly, he stared at the night sky, his expression filled with hesitation.
Right then, the sound of approaching footsteps from behind made him turn.
When he saw Bryer walking toward him, the air instantly grew heavier.
The easiest way to avoid the situation would have been to stand up and leave.
However, Liam didn’t move.
He remained seated, watching as Bryer walked past him, and stopped near the glass railing.
"Do you still bla ?" Liam asked.
His voice was quiet —but it carried a weight that had been building for years.
For a long mont, there was no response.
Liam was already prepared to accept Bryer’s silence as his answer.
But then —
Bryer turned to look at him.
"Do you think not blaming you is easy after what you did?"
Liam lowered his gaze.
He knew it wasn’t.
"I didn’t want it to turn out that way. I thought I —"
"You thought?" Bryer cut him off with a scoff. "Weren’t you too brave to gamble Adelyn’s life over your unrealistic thoughts? Just because you believed things would turn out the way you expected?"
"Bryer ..." he breathed the na, wanting to stop him from speaking more.
But he didn’t.
Because he knew —
He deserved every word.
"Liam, after that day, I didn’t just bla you," Bryer continued, his voice tightening. "I blad myself too —for trusting you and your so-called arrangent so blindly."
His jaw clenched.
"If I hadn’t trusted you like that, maybe we wouldn’t have lost Adelyn for seven years. Maybe I wouldn’t have lost the brother I once trusted so much."
In all these years, they hadn’t just lost Adelyn —
They had lost each other too.
Their bond had grown distant ... cold ... unfamiliar.
So much so that in the past seven years, this was the first real conversation they had.
Liam lifted his gaze and looked at him.
But he didn’t know what to say.
There were no words that could undo the past.
No apology that could heal what had been broken.
"I can’t apologise enough for the mistakes I made," he said quietly. "But I want you to know ... I regret it more than anyone."
Bryer looked at him.
For a brief mont, he could see it —
The guilt.
The sincerity.
And sowhere deep inside, it softened sothing in him.
But the mont he rembered how Adelyn was still not there between them —
His expression hardened again.
"Regret doesn’t earn you forgiveness," Bryer said coldly once ...
... then turning around, he left without another word.
Liam didn’t stop him.
He simply closed his eyes, letting the weight of guilt sink deeper into his bones.
He remained like that for a long mont —
Until he felt a warm hand rest gently on his shoulder.
His eyes opened.
"Mom," he said softly, trying to compose himself. "Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be resting?"
Charlotte’s lips curved into a faint, tired smile —
One that understood the struggle her son had always tried to hide.
"How can a mother sleep peacefully," she said gently, "when she knows her son is suffering here like this?"
Liam didn’t respond.
But even in his silence, Charlotte understood everything ...
She understood the guilt he carried silently —
A weight that had never once really let go.
"You’ve blad yourself enough, son," she said softly, her voice soothing like balm over a wound. "It’s ti to let go."
She smiled, though there was fragility behind it.
"Adelyn is fine. She won’t hold it against you for long. She won’t bla you forever. Once she forgives you ... everything will return to how it used to be."
The way she said it —
Made it sound so simple.
So certain.
But Liam didn’t believe it was that easy.
Because along with that day seven years ago—
There was sothing else he had never forgotten.
The look in Adelyn’s eyes that day —cold ... distant ... final.
He had felt it back then —
Losing her ... even before she was truly gone.
And every ti that mory surfaced —
He couldn’t help but feel that nothing could ever return to what it once was.
"What if ... no apology is enough to heal the betrayal we put her through?"
The words slipped out before he could stop himself.
Charlotte frowned slightly.
"What do you an?"
Liam looked at her.
He didn’t want to shatter the hope she was holding onto —
But he couldn’t bury his fear either.
Not when she stood right in front of him.
Turning away, he exhaled softly.
"Mom, it’s late. You should get so rest. I’ve already asked people to look into Adelyn. We’ll know more by tomorrow morning."
But Charlotte didn’t move.
Instead, she stepped closer, gently holding his arm and turning him back to face her.
"Liam ... do you think Adelyn won’t forgive us?"
Liam’s brows tightened.
He didn’t have an answer.
"Liam, tell ," she urged softly. "Don’t keep everything to yourself. Don’t make it harder for ."
All this while, she might be sounder certain —
But in truth, she was only trying to reassure herself.
After all, seven years was not a short ti.
Even if she tried to ignore it—
She couldn’t completely forget that Adelyn had never co back to find them.
Not even once.
"Mom ... I can’t help but feel that earning her forgiveness won’t be easy."
Charlotte knew that too.
Deep down, she had always known.
But she chose not to face it.
Instead, she held onto the version of reality that gave her comfort.
"It might not be ... easy," she admitted, her voice trembling slightly. "But she is still family. Wouldn’t she let go of the resentnt ... and co back to her eventually?"
She should ...
But would she?
Liam couldn’t say for sure.
Instead, he pulled her into a gentle embrace and nodded softly.
"She will, Mom," he said, his words nothing but a weak assurance that lacked certainty the most. "After all, we’re family. She might be angry with us ... but she won’t be able to stay away forever."
Charlotte nodded, a fragile hope flickering in her eyes.
"Right ... she wouldn’t be able to live without us," she said softly. "Otherwise, after seven years ... she wouldn’t have co back."
In her heart, she held onto that belief tightly.
If Adelyn had returned —
It had to an she missed them.
"We’ll go and bring her back tomorrow," she said.
Liam nodded.
And under the quiet night sky —
Both of them held onto the sa hope.
Even though, deep down neither of them was truly sure it would co true.
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