Adelyn blinked, completely caught off guard by Karl’s line of logic.

Almost instinctively, her eyes shifted toward Dylan —only to find him already looking at her.

Cold.

Silent.

Waiting.

Karl, meanwhile, turned to glance at his brother ... as if trying to process the conclusion he himself had drawn.

Dylan sat on the sofa, watching them. Or rather —waiting.

His gaze was fixed on Adelyn, steady and unreadable, as though he was waiting for her to respond.

Karl turned back to her and asked again, "Sister-in-law ... do you really not see my brother as your man?"

Adelyn frowned.

"But you already slept with him," Karl added, utterly baffled. "How can you still not see him as your man?"

It was as if he genuinely couldn’t comprehend what had gone wrong.

And then suddenly—

Another thought struck him.

He glanced back at Dylan, then leaned closer to Adelyn, lowering his voice as if about to reveal some profound secret.

His tone turned softer ... slightly awkward.

"Wait ..."

Adelyn already sensed trouble.

She knew he was about to say something absurd again—

But even then, she wasn’t prepared for what came next.

"Although there had been the rumor before. Is that really true?" He stared at her as if waiting for her to confirm.

Adelyn didn’t understand what he was talking about. So, her brows only tugged into confusion.

Seeing her like that, Karl had no choice but to ask directly.

"Is it because ... he wasn’t able to perform well that night?"

Her eyes widened instantly.

This time, she didn’t hold back her glare at all.

Forget smacking him —she wanted to knock him unconscious.

"Even if he didn’t perform well, you can’t abandon him," Karl continued earnestly, completely unaware of the danger he was walking into. "My brother is quite reputable in the country and even abroad. One small flaw can’t possibly outweigh all his other merits."

He turned to look at Dylan, his gaze now filled with misplaced sympathy.

"Don’t abandon him, sister-in-law. He might—"

Before he could finish—

Adelyn stomped on his foot.

Hard —stopping him from continuing any further.

"Sister-in-law—!" he yelped.

"Shut up!" she snapped sharply, glaring at him. "What bad performance are you even talking about??"

Karl blinked, confused—

But before he could process her words ...

Adelyn suddenly moved.

In one swift motion, she sprinted toward Dylan.

And ... the very next second, she threw herself straight into his arms.

"Your brother’s performance is un-matched," she declared without any hesitation. "Even if I ever abandoned him," she paused just to add the very next second, "it definitely wouldn’t be for that."

A man’s ability was tied to his reputation.

And yet—

This brat dared to tarnish it so openly.

He clearly had a death wish.

But why drag her into it along the way?

She leaned closer into Dylan, her arms still wrapped around him, and glanced up at his face.

Though he looked calm now—

She would swear that just seconds ago, she had seen something dark flicker in his eyes.

Something dangerous enough to swallow everything whole.

Smiling, she added sweetly, "Mr. Warren, don’t listen to his nonsense. You’re clearly the best. No one could possibly match you."

Dylan turned his head slightly and looked down at her.

"Really?" he asked, one brow lifting faintly.

Adelyn nodded immediately.

"Of course," she said without hesitation. "You don’t believe me?"

He held her gaze for a moment —then the corner of his lips curved into a faint smirk.

"I believe you."

Adelyn let out a quiet breath of relief, internally patting herself for managing the situation.

"Good," she said, almost too quickly. "When it comes to this, you should only trust me. After all ... only someone who has experienced it would know."

Dylan gave a small nod, as if acknowledging her words.

Meanwhile—

Karl stood frozen at the front, completely dumbfounded.

His gaze shifted between the two of them, his mind clearly struggling to keep up.

Then, remembering the unresolved issue, he spoke again.

"Then, sister-in-law," he said, his voice filled with confusion, "if my brother clearly has all the merits to be the most eligible boyfriend ... why don’t you accept him as your man?"

Adelyn truly wanted to walk over and beat him senseless.

Was he deliberately trying to push her into disaster?

Exactly how had she offended him?

Slowly, she turned her head toward him, trying her best to restrain the storm inside her.

But before she could respond—

A voice from beside her froze her in place.

"Am I not yours?"

She turned back immediately.

And met Dylan’s eyes.

Her breath hitched.

She instinctively shook her head—

And in that very moment, she noticed the subtle shift in his gaze.

The color darkened —dangerously.

Realizing her mistake, she quickly spoke, "Who said that?" She cupped his face in her hands gently.

Leaning forward, she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, reinforcing her words.

"You are mine. All mine."

"But you seemed hesitant just now," Dylan pointed out calmly.

Adelyn swallowed.

Was she?

Maybe.

Even though she had accepted the façade of their relationship, it hadn’t fully settled into her instincts yet.

Her hesitation hadn’t been intentional—

But it had been real.

"Ah—that ..." she forced a soft laugh, her cheeks flushing lightly. "I wasn’t hesitant. I was just ... shy to admit it."

She lowered her gaze slightly, playing along.

"After all, I’m still a girl."

"Is that so?"

Adelyn nodded quickly.

"Yes," she said, then added with forced confidence, "but don’t worry. Now that I’ve admitted it, I won’t be shy anymore."

Then she turned to Karl and declared boldly,

"Your brother is the only man for me in this world. Don’t question it again."

Karl’s face lit up instantly!

"If that’s the case, then everything is solved between us!"

Adelyn frowned, not understanding what he meant this time.

But Karl, on the other hand, looked completely certain.

He stepped forward eagerly and said, "Since my brother is your man, that makes me your youngest brother-in-law. And that means —you can see me as your son. You will protect me as your son. Won’t you?"

Adelyn went completely silent.

Speechless ... even.

Did this man just push her to the brink of death—

Just to secure a position as her son?

Was he even serious?

If he was so eager to die—

He could have just said so.

She would have gladly taken matters into her own hands and granted him his wish.