She didn’t need to. There would be no dramatic confrontation. No desperate struggle. No moment Lara could fight and win.

This was something far more dangerous.

Moira was patient. Deliberate. She would step in little by little.

Reappear in Shay’s life not as a threat but as something familiar. Something rightful.

She would speak softly. Act gently. Be present. Be Consistent. Be reliable.

Everything she hadn’t been before she would become now.

And Shay...

Shay would respond. Of course she would. She was just a child.

A child who had grown up with an absence she didn’t fully understand—only felt.

A quiet hunger. A missing piece she couldn’t name.

Children reached for warmth. For belonging. For the word mother— no matter how long it had been absent. No matter how unfamiliar it felt at first.

Even if she resisted. Even if she pulled away. That wouldn’t last.

Because something deeper would answer eventually.

It always did.

Lara exhaled softly.

I know that... better than anyone.

She had been a mother once.

She had seen it—

in small hands reaching without hesitation, in quiet dependence, in the way a child’s world could be built around a single presence.

A mother wasn’t just someone who stayed.

She was someone a child instinctively returned to.

Again. And again. And again.

If Moira truly meant to come back— to stay this time, then Lara should be relieved.

Shay would have her mother, her father—Asher.

A complete family. Whole. The way it was supposed to be.

The way Lara once had—

with Alaric...

and their children.

The memory brushed past her, brief but sharp.

Warm—and beautiful. Subconsciously, a smile blossomed on her face.

Then, she frowned.

So why...why did something feel wrong?

Lara’s fingers tightened slightly at her side.

Why did it feel less like something being restored and more like something being... taken?

Her gaze lowered, unfocused.

No...

That wasn’t fair.

Was it?

Moira was Shay’s mother.

She had every right. Every claim. Every place in Shay’s life.

So why did her chest feel tight, not with acceptance but with unease?

A quiet, persistent doubt settled in.

Cold and unshakable.

If this is truly what’s best for Shay...

Her breath stilled.

Then why does it feel like Shay is danger?

...

Lara didn’t move.

Not even after Moira’s footsteps faded into the distance.

The garden seemed quieter now—too quiet. Like the air itself was waiting for something to break.

"She won’t stop, you know."

The voice came from behind her.

Low. Familiar.

Lara’s spine stiffened before she turned.

Ares stood a few paces away, one hand tucked casually into his pocket, the other holding a bottle of water. His expression was unreadable—but his eyes...

They had seen enough.

How long had he been there?

"How much did you hear?" Lara asked.

Ares didn’t answer immediately. He took a step forward, gaze shifting briefly toward the path Moira had taken.

"Enough."

Not everything but enough.

Lara let out a quiet breath.

"Then you already know what she’s trying to do."

Ares looked back at her.

"...Yes."

There was no denial, no hesitation, just quiet acknowledgment.

And somehow that made it worse.

Because it meant he had seen it too and understood it.

And still—

"Then you’re fine with it?" Lara pressed.

Her voice remained controlled—but thinner now.

Like something pulled too tight, one more word away from snapping.

Ares didn’t answer immediately. His jaw tightened, just slightly.

"She’s still Shay’s mother."

There it was. The line he wouldn’t cross. The truth he wouldn’t challenge.

The justification that made everything else... permissible.

Lara felt it land—heavy, suffocating.

Of course.

That one fact outweighed everything.

Her presence. Her place in Shay’s life. All of it was secondary and temporary.

"You stay," he continued, "and you continue your role as Shay’s governess."

The word settled between them.

Governess.

Clean. Defined. Limited.

Lara let out a short, humorless breath.

"Right," she said quietly. "A role."

Her gaze lifted to meet his.

"Do you really think it’s that simple?"

Ares said nothing.

So she continued.

"Moira won’t allow that," Lara said. "Not if she’s serious."

Her voice was still controlled—

but now there was something underneath it.

Something sharper. More honest.

"She won’t let me stay close to Shay while she rebuilds her place. She’ll make it uncomfortable. Subtle at first."

A beat.

"Then unavoidable."

Ares’s expression hardened slightly.

But he didn’t interrupt.

"She’ll push," Lara went on. "Not directly. Not openly."

Her eyes held his.

"She won’t need to."

A pause.

Then, quieter—

"She’ll make Shay choose."

The words lingered.

"And when that happens..." Lara’s voice dipped, just slightly. "Do you really think it will not be difficult for Shay?"

Her breath caught—barely.

"...the victim here would be Shay."

A thick and pressing silence hung in the air.

"And it won’t stop there," Lara added.

Now her voice was steadier again—

but colder.

"Once that line is drawn, it won’t just be Shay."

Ares’s gaze sharpened.

"She’ll make you choose too."

A beat.

"And Asher."

The air between them shifted.

Their eyes locked. For a moment, neither moved. Neither looked away.

Then, Ares stepped closer. Not abruptly but with quiet intent.

His voice lowered when he spoke—

controlled,

but carrying something heavier now.

"You’re assuming the outcome."

A pause.

His gaze didn’t waver.

"And underestimating Shay."

"This isn’t about choosing who matters more."

"Then what is it about?" Lara demanded.

"Reality."

The word hit harder than anything else he’d said.

"Shay has parents, Lara," Ares continued. "A complete family. Whether we like the timing or not—that’s the truth."

Lara’s chest tightened.

"And what am I, then?" she asked quietly. "If Moira wants me out, what would my role be?"

Her voice was not angry, not sharp. Just... honest.

The question caught him.

For a moment—

Ares didn’t have an answer.

And that silence said more than anything else.

Lara nodded faintly, as if confirming something to herself.

"I see."

She moved to step past him—but Ares reached out, instinctively catching her wrist.

The contact was brief.

But grounding.

"Lara, I’ll marry you. You can be Shay’s legal mother."