Dylan wasn’t surprised at all.

Eira was his daughter. Being possessive toward anyone and everyone came naturally to her —especially when it came to one particular woman.

His eyes shifted to Adelyn, and his lips slowly curled into a faint smirk.

Although Adelyn wasn’t looking his way, she still caught the subtle change from the corner of her eyes —the slight lift of his lips.

She turned to look at him, just in time to catch that smirk clearly.

Was he ... laughing at her?

She couldn’t help but frown at the thought. However, when she felt Eira’s arms tightening more firmly around her, she found herself unable to focus on him any longer.

Her attention shifted back to the girl in her arms, and she was just about to speak when—

Karl beat her to it.

"Eira, sweetie, you’re misunderstanding this," he said, glancing at Adelyn once before looking back at his niece. "Sister-in-law still loves you, but along with you, she also loves me. You can share a little with me. Just a little."

Eira heard him and frowned immediately.

She removed her arms from Adelyn and turned around, spreading them wide as if shielding her from him.

"Not even a little."

Karl’s brows furrowed.

Eira was precious to him. He had never intended to fight her over anything. After all, she was just a child, and he was much older than her. Yet—

For the sake of gaining his sister-in-law’s favor, he couldn’t help but want to compete with her ... even if just this once.

"But sister-in-law has already agreed to love me the same. I—"

Before he could finish, Eira’s expression changed abruptly.

Her lips trembled, and tears quickly gathered in her eyes, glazing her gaze.

Adelyn felt the shift instantly and reached out, pulling the girl into her arms without hesitation.

Eira was barely four —too young, too tender to understand the complexities of others’ needs.

All she knew was her own.

Her need for her mother.

She wanted to fight, to argue, to claim her —but deep down, she was afraid ... afraid that she wouldn’t be able to keep her mother all to herself.

"Mama ..." she nestled deeper into Adelyn’s arms, her voice breaking between sobs. "Do you really love Fourth Uncle the same as Eira? Is Eira no longer the most precious one to you?"

Adelyn immediately wanted to shake her head and deny it.

However —once again—

Karl spoke from the side, interrupting her.

"Eira, baby —don’t cry like this. Am I not your favorite uncle?"

Hearing him say that only made things worse.

Eira clung tighter to Adelyn, burying her face against her.

Her sobs grew heavier.

"Mama ... is Eira bad?" she cried. "She doesn’t want to share you at all. She wants to keep you all to herself ..."

Adelyn felt her heart soften at those words.

She might not have much experience with children, but she could clearly tell —this girl was speaking from the very depths of her heart.

A gentle smile touched her lips as her hand moved to softly caress Eira’s back.

From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Karl opening his mouth again—

But this time—

Before he could say anything—

Adelyn’s gaze snapped toward him.

Sharp. Cold. Warning.

"Dare to say another word ... and even your brother won’t be able to stop me from finding the worst ways to torture you."

Karl froze instantly.

The threat was so clear, so believable, that his face paled almost at once.

Still, he instinctively turned to glance at his brother—

Only to find Dylan sitting there calmly, completely unbothered ... almost as if he silently approved of whatever Adelyn was about to do.

Karl understood immediately.

He raised a finger and pressed it against his lips, then shook his head quickly at Adelyn —silently promising he wouldn’t speak again.

Adelyn didn’t withdraw her gaze right away.

She let it linger on him for a moment longer before finally turning her attention back to the girl in her arms.

Her expression softened almost instantly.

"Baby ... you are the best," she said gently, her voice soft as butter. "If you don’t want to share me with anyone, then you don’t have to."

Eira slowly pulled back to look at her.

She didn’t speak —just stared, searching her face.

Adelyn noticed that gaze and nodded reassuringly.

"Mhm ... you can keep me all to yourself, if you want. But there’s a condition."

Eira stirred slightly, shifting in her lap.

Her lashes were still damp with tears, but her eyes were clearer now —no longer clouded with emotion.

"A condition?" she asked softly.

Adelyn nodded, humming lightly. "Yes, a condition."

Eira looked at her attentively as Adelyn continued,

"If you want to keep me all to yourself ... then you must not cry like this anymore. You have to be brave."

She gently wiped away the remaining tears from her cheeks.

"Brave girls don’t cry so easily. They stay strong and trust always that what’s meant to be theirs won’t go anywhere."

Eira blinked slowly, taking her time to process those words.

Adelyn didn’t rush her.

She simply waited.

And when she saw the subtle shift in the girl’s expression, she knew —Eira had understood, at least in her own way.

"Mama is meant to be with Eira?" the little one asked, her voice carrying a hint of hope ... and something fragile. "She won’t go anywhere?"

Adelyn knew —once again —she was making a big promise.

But this time, she wasn’t hesitant.

She had thought it through.

As long as this child needed her ... she would stay.

Even without the lies ... she would stay.

Hence, she nodded gently. "Mh-hm ... if we weren’t meant for each other, how would we have met?"

Eira nodded immediately, accepting that logic with innocent certainty.

"Eira is Mama’s child —so we are always meant to be together."

She leaned in and hugged her again.

Adelyn, however, paused at those words.

Her eyes slowly lifted—

Only to meet Dylan’s gaze. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Dark. Deep.

And abyssal.