Twice adopted, twice returned. She met Vincent and thought sheâd finally found salvationâonly to be abandoned all over again.
And Tyrone? Someday, heâd leave her too. It was only a matter of time.
âTyrone!â
Alicia jolted awake, breathless, her heart pounding from the nightmare. She reached for the space beside her, but Tyrone wasnât there.
Panic fluttered in her chest. âTyrone...â
She hurried out of the bedroom, barefoot on the cool floor, searching frantically for any sign of him. In that hazy moment between dream and wakefulness, Alicia always felt the most lost, not yet fully awake but already gripped by fear.
âAlicia?â Tyroneâs voice called from the hallway as he bounded up the stairs, scooping her into his arms. âWhatâs wrong? Bad dream?â
Only now did the fog of sleep lift, and with it came a wave of fear. She realizedâperhaps too lateâhow much sheâd come to rely on him, how terrified she was of losing him.
With Vincent, sheâd always kept her guard up, reminding herself that heâd never truly be hers, that the end was inevitable.
But now...even though she knew this marriage to Tyrone was built on a contract and would end sooner or later, she couldnât help but let her heart get involved.
What would she do when the day finally came for them to part?
âIâm fine...it was just a nightmare,â she whispered.
Tyrone carried her back to the bedroom, cradling her effortlessly. âCome on, letâs get some more sleep. Iâm right here.â
Hiding beneath the covers, Alicia watched as Tyrone settled beside her, laptop in hand, working quietly at the edge of the bed. Her nose tingled, and she fought the urge to cry.
She told herself she was being dramatic, but she couldnât help scooting closer, curling up by his side. Only then did she feel safe enough to sleep.
When Tyrone finally finished his work, he glanced at Alicia, curled up close. He smiled, ruffled her hair, then switched off the lamp and drew her gently into his arms.
âGoodnight, Alicia.â
...
Riverside Mansion.
Yvonne moved in after the apartment was cleaned from top to bottom. Sheâd be living in Seaview City for the foreseeable futureâat least until she found her niece.
Nicole was the only tie she had left in the world.
After her sisterâs death, Yvonne had poured all her longing for family into the search for the child whoâd gone missing at birth. Nicole had become her last, desperate connection to blood and kin.
Sometimes, Yvonne wondered what she was really chasing. Was this stubborn love a blessingâor a curse for Nicole? Maybe the girl didnât want to be found.
If she did find her, how could she ever make up for all the lost years? How could she show Nicole the love sheâd been denied for so long?
Was she even happy now?
Click. The apartment code hadnât changedâonly Yvonne and Sean Quinn knew it.
Sean walked in, a manila envelope in hand. âThe DNA results are back.â
âShould I brace myself for disappointment?â Yvonne, fresh from the shower with damp hair and wearing nothing but a bathrobe, lounged on the sofa.
She smoked with one hand and swirled a glass of whiskey with the other.
âI havenât looked. Itâs for you.â Sean set the envelope beside her.
âMy nephew Chesterâs on duty at the station. I asked him to keep an eye on your sisterâs caseâyou know, the murder years ago. He said they just caught a suspect, someone who tried to sneak into the hospital to kill an orphan. Apparently, he was muttering that the orphan shouldâve died years ago.â Sean paused, unsure if this was a coincidence or something more.
Yvonne shot to her feet, eyes wide. âWhereâs that suspect now?â
âChester said the guyâs crazyâfailed his psychiatric eval, so they transferred him to the mental hospital.â Sean sighed and pulled Yvonne into his arms.
Rich Radiant and Over Him (Alicia and Vincent)
ï¤Chapter 200 Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse ï¤Chapter 760 - 756: Encountering a Man with Evil Intentions