Freya hesitated a little but then spoke honestly.
"Earlier, I thought Alia would take you to the audition. But due to so issue on her end, she won’t be able to reach you in ti."
She paused, then added more seriously, "And you can’t afford to be late."
With her past record, even a hint of insincerity would be questioned again
Although the investors had agreed to give her the chance, their reluctance was obvious. If given the opportunity, they wouldn’t hesitate to use even a genuine reason as an excuse to dismiss her.
Freya didn’t want that.
Not when the opportunity had been so hard-earned.
Adelyn understood her concern —but she didn’t grow anxious.
Instead, with a calm smile, she said, "Sister Freya, you don’t have to worry over such a small matter —I’ll be there on ti. As for Alia ..." she paused briefly before adding, "she doesn’t have to go out of her way to pick up."
"Ask her to head straight to the venue. I’ll et her there."
Freya heard her, but wasn’t completely reassured.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "Because of the storm last night, several roads are blocked. It’ll take ti for things to return to normal, and the opened routes will be packed."
Adelyn thought for a mont and humd in understanding. "I’ll figure sothing out."
Freya didn’t press further. She might not know Adelyn well, but one thing she believed was that Adelyn never spoke lightly.
"Alright. Leave early, then. And inform once you arrive."
Adelyn humd again before hanging up.
As she placed her phone down, she noticed both Dylan and Eira were looking at her.
"What is it?" she asked, a hint of awkwardness slipping into her tone.
Eira blinked and spoke first. "Aunt Ade-lyn ... will you be going out later?"
Adelyn nodded.
The girl’s eyes dimd almost instantly.
If Adelyn was leaving ... then it ant they would have to leave too.
She could no longer stay with her mama.
After a mont of hesitation, Eira gathered her courage and asked softly, "Can you take Eira with you?"
Adelyn paused, slightly taken aback.
Seeing her expression like that, Eira’s expression dulled further. She already understood the answer. Lowering her gaze, she quietly returned to her breakfast.
Adelyn’s eyes instinctively shifted to Dylan, silently asking for help.
But he remained completely indifferent, sitting there with effortless composure.
For a mont, Adelyn was speechless.
Was he really not going to say anything?
Perhaps Dylan noticed the concern in her eyes.
"... She’ll understand your reason. Give her the ti," he said casually, as if it were nothing.
Adelyn pressed her lips together.
Really?
She might not know much about raising children —but she knew this much:
You don’t leave a child alone with their thoughts ... not when they are so quick to believe they’re being pushed away.
She might not know Eira well yet, but she knew the girl feared being abandoned.
And so, she didn’t agree with Dylan’s approach.
But she didn’t argue either.
Instead, she turned back to Eira.
"I would’ve loved to take you with ..." she began softly.
Eira looked up imdiately, hope flickering back into her eyes.
"But I can’t take you there."
The light dimd again —though this ti, she tried to hide it.
Adelyn felt sothing tug at her chest.
Setting down her fork, she leaned a little closer to her, her voice gentler now.
"Do you know where I’m going?"
Eira shook her head.
She just knew mama was going sowhere, as to where —she didn’t know. Nor did she care. As long as she gets to stay with her Mama, she will go anywhere.
"I’m going to work," Adelyn explained patiently. "There will be a lot of people there. Many strangers. It’ll be noisy ... and I might not even get the ti to stay with you."
Eira listened quietly.
Adelyn continued. "If I take you with , I won’t be able to take care of you properly. And what if you get bored? Or uncomfortable?"
Little Eira’s fingers tightened around her spoon. "... Eira won’t mind," she whispered.
Hearing that, Adelyn’s heart softened ... once again.
She reached out before gently brushing the girl’s hair back.
"I know you won’t, baby," she said, her voice soft. "But I would."
Eira stilled.
Adelyn smiled faintly, her touch lingering. "I won’t be able to focus if I keep worrying about you."
Taking a small, subtle pause, she asked lightly, "Do you want to worry about you instead of focusing on my work?"
Eira shook her head quickly. She didn’t want that.
She just wanted to stay with her mama ... a little longer.
"Then, be good and get back ho," Adelyn said, gently cupping her face. Seeing the girl understood —but that her eyes were still dim —she added softly, "Once I’m done with work ... we’ll et again."
At that, Eira’s eyes brightened instantly.
"We’ll et again?" she asked quietly, but her voice was barely able to hide the excitent.
Adelyn felt it too.
She didn’t know why the girl was so attached to her —but she couldn’t help finding it endearing.
Nodding, she said, "We will. Definitely."
The sadness of seperation in Eira’s eyes slowly faded getting replaced with anticipation for another ti. A small, fragile smile appeared on her lips.
"... Then Eira will wait."
Adelyn smiled.
She had expected the child to be stubborn —but not this easy to comfort.
Tapping her nose lightly, she gestured towards the plate. "Now don’t keep breakfast waiting. Finish it up."
Eira nodded obediently, and resud eating.
From across the table, Dylan watched the exchange silently.
His gaze lingered on Adelyn for a brief mont —
Unreadable.
When Adelyn looked up at her and t his eyes, they paused.
Before she could look away, he asked, "How are you getting there?
Adelyn blinked slightly. She hadn’t thought about it yet.
"I haven’t figured that out."
Dylan already knew —and that was exactly why he asked.
Without giving her ti to think, he said, "Let drive you there."
Adelyn blinked again, clearly not expecting that. "You will drive there?"
Before Dylan could confirm her, she decided to refuse.
Shaking her head, she was about to speak but just then—
Dylan spoke up, guessing her thoughts, "Did I upset you by any chance, Ms. Grace?"
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