Chapter 37

ADRIAN was seated in his study, the soft glow from his laptop screen reflecting against his glasses as he scrolled through emails and documents, occasionally pausing to type a response. The room was quiet, filled only with the faint hum of the air conditioner and the ticking wall clock. Across the wide wooden table sat Hazel, her legs crossed neatly beneath the chair. She alternated between scrolling on her phone and jotting things down in a notepad spread open in front of her, her pen moving with purpose as if she were organizing thoughts only she understood.

The calm was shattered when the door burst open.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Gabriel’s voice rang out as he sprinted into the room, breathless and excited. In his hands was a small pink Barbie doll and a matching pink comb, both clutched tightly as though they were treasures he had just discovered.

Adrian looked up sharply.

His eyes dropped to the items in the boy’s hands, and for a brief second, his fingers fr