"Logically, being in the same City C and the child’s godmother, Beauty Grant couldn’t have driven early in the morning just to deliver the child’s gift to the hospital!"

"She—cried?" Dawn Sutherland picked up Nico Haynes’ cigarette from the coffee table, lit it, and took a deep drag, feeling a pain in his chest as if he was unraveling thread by thread.

Little by little, the pain seeped into his bones, increasingly severe...

"Beauty Grant has always called you Second Brother. What did you do to make her so upset? Second, are you out of your mind?!" Nico Haynes also lit a cigarette, placing his feet on the coffee table casually and looking at Dawn Sutherland with disdain.

The swirling smoke enhanced the depth of Dawn Sutherland’s eyes, highlighting his perfect features, dreamlike.

Dawn Sutherland took a deep drag of the cigarette, his eyes somewhat profound, his voice hoarse: "She wants to divorce me."

"...That man came back for her?" Nico Haynes paused and asked.

Dawn Sutherland nodded, a bitter smile on his lips: "Do you know how a certain kind of pain can seep into your bones? My dream for so many years was just to marry her. I finally fulfilled that dream. I kept desperately trying to get close to her, showing her with my actions that from now on, she would be my wife and family. I would never leave her alone. But the moment that man came back into her life, she didn’t hesitate to turn around and leave, not wanting me."

Nico Haynes remained silent for a moment, "So what are you going to do now? Are you planning to sign the divorce papers?"

Dawn Sutherland gave a bitter smile, his eyes filled with pain, "You know, when I saw those divorce papers, a fire of uncontrollable anger ignited inside me, growing fiercer and fiercer. I crumpled the divorce papers into a ball, coldly told her to leave, and walked out of the Grant Family without looking back. Do you know how much effort it took for me not to turn around and look at her? I’m afraid that if I did, I would never sign that divorce paper. I can’t bring myself to push her to another man!"

"Second, it’s not that I’m blaming you! You chose to be a stepdad from the start, you chose to play dad, who can you blame! You should have expected this day would eventually come. Beauty Grant wouldn’t have silently endured all the rumors and insults if she didn’t deeply love that man. To be honest, in my heart, Beauty Grant has always felt like the gentle type. After everything—the death of the Grant parents, the crises, and the rumors—I’m forced to admire Beauty Grant’s strength. Any one of those things would cause most women to collapse, but Beauty Grant endured them all alone. She’s truly strong!"

Dawn Sutherland took a drag on his cigarette, exhaled a swirl of smoke, his voice low and husky, his gaze desolate and lonely: "Actually, I don’t want her to be so strong, because if she’s strong, she won’t rely on me, and I just want her to feel safe relying on me."

"Come on, you’re not that man, not the child’s real dad, otherwise you could stand up and take the rumors on yourself! You don’t have the right to do that! If I knew who the kid’s dad was, I’d go up and give him a beating. What a scumbag! Never showed his face, never stepped up to protect Beauty Grant! He’s simply not a man!!" Nico Haynes spat in contempt.

The two fell silent for a while, quickly smoking half a pack, leaving only a pile of cigarette butts in the ashtray.

Nico Haynes looked at the empty cigarette box, kicked Dawn Sutherland, and cursed: "Alright, you’ve been angry all night but still need to solve the problem. Beauty Grant cried, which means she cares about you as Second Brother. She’s been close to you since childhood. Even if you see her as a sister, you should still care for her! You made her cry. Second, did you really tell her to get lost?"