Chapter 256


    ra felt a searing heat on her back. Ian''s hot and moist lips kissed her skin, each touch igniting a


    small me. She closed her eyes in a bitter wistfulness, then pushed Ian away. "Ian, for heaven''s


    sake, it''s broad daylight. What''s gotten into you?"


    Ian looked at her with a pained expression. "You adore kids so much, and due to my carelessness,


    we lost ours. I just want to make up for that loss."


    ra felt a twinge in her throat and managed a strained smile. "Ian, what if I..." she began, but her


    words trailed off as her phone rang at the most inopportune moment.


    Seeing it was Anders'' number, she quickly answered. Orin''s young voice came through. "Aunt


    ra, I miss you so much."


    ra immediately put aside all her emotions and responded with a smile, "I miss you too, Orin.


    Who are you with?"


    "With mom and dad. Dad''s making us breakfast."


    Hearing this, ra''s lips curved into a relieved smile. It seemed Anders had moved on, fully


    dedicating himself to his family. Just as she was about to speak again, a woman''s voice came from


    the phone.


    "Ms. ra, this is Elle. We should meet."


    Half an hourter, ra found herself in the hospital''s café, face to face with Elle.


    When Elle''s face came into clear view, ra was taken aback by the resemnce between them,


    especially their side profiles.


    Noticing ra''s shock, Elle gave a faint smile. "Ms. ra, you must now understand why Anders


    was with me back then. He saw me as your stand-in."


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    ra regarded her calmly. "But I was unaware of these matters. If you''re looking to settle scores,


    I''m afraid you''ve got the wrong person."


    Elle sipped her coffee, her smile faint. "Everyone speaks of your sharp tongue, and it seems the


    reputation is well earned. I''m not here to rehash the past. I just want to tell you that I never intended


    to wreck your rtionship with Anders. Orin needed a father, but it was never my n to trap him


    that way. I had already decided on IVF to have Orin and only needed Anders'' contribution without


    any emotional entanglement.”


    “But then Ian came to me, saying he couldn''t bear to see you hurt. He knew of your deep


    commitment and kindness in matters of the heart. If you and Anders continued, and you discovered


    Orin''s existence, you''d leave without a second thought. He''d rather be hated by you than let you fall


    for Anders and then be crushed by the truth.


    “I was initially against coborating with him, but he flew to France to convince me and even waited


    outside my apartment all night to show his sincerity. That night, it snowed heavily. When I finally


    went out and saw him, he was frozen stiff.


    “Rather than reconciling with Anders, I realized I wanted to give you and Ian a chance. I''ve never


    seen a man go to such lengths for a woman. The high and mighty scion of the Hayes family was


    standing in a snowstorm, waiting for my answer. Ms. ra, he truly loves you. You should cherish


    that."


    ra''s eyes were already brimming with tears. She had naively thought Ian wanted to sabotage her


    rtionship with Anders by bringing Orin into the picture. She never knew that to persuade Elle to


    join his cause, he had stood in the snow all night long.