Adelyn froze for a second.
That familiar voice tugged at her heartstrings.
She turned back to look, but apart from the passing figures of n and won entering and leaving the hotel, she saw no one.
Her eyes searched the area for quite a while. But when she found nothing, she finally looked away.
Right at that mont, her booked ride pulled up in front of her.
She slipped gracefully into the car and asked the driver to start the ride.
As the car drove away, Eira’s little figure ran after it, her tiny movents quick and desperate.
But her small legs were simply not strong enough to catch up.
"Mama!" she cried desperately, tears slipping from the corner of her eyes. "Eira is here for you. Don’t leave ... please don’t leave ... Ma—ma!"
She ran and ran ... even after the cab disappeared in the distance.
And just when it did, she stumbled over a stone.
Her balance faltered, and she braced herself for the fall.
However, before she could hit the ground, two long arms caught her and pulled her into a firm embrace.
"Eira!" Felix called out with alarm, hugging her close.
It had been a close call.
If he hadn’t caught her in ti, she would have fallen hard onto the pavent.
Just the thought of her getting hurt like that —made his heart clench painfully.
His arms tightened protectively around her, and his gaze turned cold as he glared at the driver who stood several steps behind them.
"How could you be so irresponsible around her?" he snapped, his usual calm and gentle deanor shattering as if it had never existed.
The driver flinched instantly. His gaze dropped to the ground as his body trembled.
"T-Third Master, I tried to stop the little lady, but before I could, she had already run away. I—I couldn’t really catch her in ti."
"You couldn’t catch her in ti?" Felix repeated coldly. "If you were so incapable, there was no need for you to take the job at all."
The driver didn’t dare say another word. Keeping his head low, he silently accepted the scolding, knowing it was his mistake.
"Leave!!" Felix’s voice was curt, nothing less than ice. "We don’t need you here."
The driver bowed his head slightly before turning and walking away.
Once he was gone, Felix turned his attention back to the little girl in his arms.
He could hear her quiet sobs while she stayed wrapped in his embrace.
Worried that she might have hurt herself, he gently pulled her back and checked her face.
"Eira, baby, ..." he said softly, his voice returning to its usual warmth. "Tell Second Uncle ... are you hurt anywhere?"
But the little girl didn’t respond.
Her eyes remained fixed on the direction where Adelyn’s cab had disappeared as she sobbed, letting out all the regret she felt inside.
Closing her eyes tightly, she cried harder.
Would her mama have t her if she had arrived a little earlier.
Did she not call loud enough?
Why didn’t her Mama look her way?
Did her mama really not love her?
Will she never love her?
The more those questions appeared in her mind, the more her heart broke.
Her little soul couldn’t help but bla herself for missing the chance to et her mother.
anwhile, Felix carefully checked her arms and legs, but neither seed hurt. There was not sign of injury, no scratches, nothing.
His brows furrowed.
’Maybe she just got scared,’ he thought, before looking back at her tear-streaked face.
"Sweetheart, don’t cry," he coaxed, dabbing his handkerchief against her cheeks gently to wipe her tears. "Second Uncle caught you in ti. You didn’t get hurt, and from now on. Uncle promises to keep you away from all pain."
But his words didn’t soothe her at all.
She continued sobbing quietly, her gaze still fixed in that direction.
When Felix noticed where she was looking, his brows furrowed and he turned to look as well.
But there was nothing there.
Turning back to Eira, he gently cupped her face, making her look at him.
"Eira, look at Uncle," he said softly, studying her eyes and the pain clearly visible in them. "What’s troubling you, sweetheart? Tell Uncle. Did soone bully you?"
Then he glanced again in the direction she had been staring.
Sothing about it confused him. Perhaps the longing in her gaze when she stared in that empty distance.
Turning back, he asked, "And why were you running like that? Were you following soone?"
Eira finally looked at him.
She didn’t say a word. Instead stared at him as if deciding whether she should share her secret or not.
The longer she stared, the deeper the pain in her expression grew.
Pressing her lips tightly together, she tried to resist the urge to cry.
But her little heart couldn’t hold it any longer.
When her cries finally broke free, she lunged forward and hugged Felix tightly, her arms wrapping around his neck as her head buried itself in his shoulder.
"Eira couldn’t et Mama ..." she cried, her voice breaking painfully. "Mama left without even looking at Eira. What should Eira do now?"
Felix was struck dumb.
He didn’t know how to respond.
But more than being clueless, he was confused.
Mama?
The way Eira said it didn’t sound like she was imply longing for a mother.
She sounded ... certain.
Certain that she had just missed her.
But how was that possible?
That woman ...
How could she appear here?
And how could Eira possibly know her?
His arms tightened gently around the little girl as his gaze slowly shifted toward the direction Eira had been staring earlier.
—————
anwhile, inside the cab —
Adelyn felt a strange uneasiness in her chest.
She glanced into the side mirror, looking behind the car.
But there was nothing.
No one.
"Could it be that sothing is wrong with my heart?" she murmured to herself, her brows furrowing slightly in concern.
Just then —
The phone in her hand rang.
She might have ignored it, but when she saw Freya’s na on the screen, she answered imdiately.
"Hello," she said, accepting the call —
Only to hear Alia’s anxious voice from the other end.
"Adelyn Grace, who was the man with you last night? What the hell did you actually do?"
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