A tall figure strode into the room.


    "Did you get wet?" Larkin''s eyes scanned Erica from head to toe.


    With a gentle smile, Erica shook her head and then reached up to brush the droplets of rain from Larkin''s hair.


    Only then did Lenora notice, Erica was wearing an oversized coat... and Larkin didn''t have one.


    Just then, Erica seemed to catch Lenora''s gaze and looked her way.


    Lenora felt as if she''d been stripped bare, paraded under the harsh scrutiny of broad daylight. She felt shocked and embarrassed. The gossip of thedies buzzed annoyingly in her ears.d2 Erica didn''t ignore her, and she nodded politely.


    Lenora quickly returned the gesture with a slight nod of her head.


    Shortly after, Erica looped her arm through Larkin''s and they headed towards the hotel elevator.Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org.


    Just at that moment, a kid barreling through with a suitcase nearly collided with them. Larkin''s reflexes were sharp; he quickly steered Erica to the side, shielding her from the oing chaos.


    Lenora had always believed that Erica''s love for her son, after so many years, couldn''t just vanish in a matter of months.


    As for her marriage to Larkin, it was nothing more than a ploy to get a rise out of Jacob. But at that moment, Lenora realized how foolish her assumptions had been all along.


    She knew her son well. Jacob''s care for Erica was nothingpared to Larkin''s tender attentiveness. Having been cherished by her own husband for decades, she understood all too well the joy of being loved wholeheartedly.


    Compared to the years of hurt she''d endured, why would Erica still pine for Jacob when a knight in shining armor like Larkin had appeared?


    Lenora was filled with regret. She returned home, and her soul was in tatters.


    Her husband''s heart had been failing him, confining him to bedrest. Seeing Lenora return, he mustered the patience to ask if she had enjoyed her shopping and if she''d found anything she liked.


    Lenora''s mind reyed the words of thatdy about the wisdom of choosing a good wife.


    Her heart grew heavier.


    She copsed into her husband''s arms, crying uncontrobly, apologizing endlessly.


    Mr. Strand had no idea what was wrong. In his panic, his heart ailment red up again.


    The servants scrambled to medicate him, while Lenora stood there, crying andughing, until she began to lose her grip on reality.


    It was a weekter when Jacob was informed of the incident, and he hurried back home.


    Afternding in B City, his former assistant, who he had dismissed, was waiting with his cell phone at the airport''s arrival gate.


    Jacob looked almost unrecognizable-a few months apart and he resembled a vagabond.


    His hair was a mess, his beard scruffy, and his clothes tattered.


    Seeing him like this, the assistant almost broke down in tears right there in the airport, longing to embrace Jacob and let out a good cry.