Suppressing a weary sigh, Ivy turned to the maid and told her to bring Noreen a shawl.

"It's chilly," she said in a calm, detached tone. "Wrap yourself up. What if you catch a cold?"

Noreen offered a faint smile. "I'll be alright. This outfit's already warm enough."

In all the years she could recall, Ivy had never shown her this kind of concern. The sudden warmth felt less like comfort and more like an omen creeping in through the cracks.

Silence pooled between them.

Ivy didn't press on, and Noreen didn't probe.

Eventually, Ivy exhaled slowly, her gaze clouded with something old and heavy. "Cheryl's been gone for two years now. In all that time, you and Caiden have hardly spent a day together. If there'd been a child between you, maybe things wouldn't have unraveled like this."

Noreen kept her head slightly lowered, listening but refusing to give her thoughts away.

"I've truly been fond of you," Ivy went on softly. "I never had a daughter of my own—only Caiden. But watching him live like this… a mother can't help but ache for her son."

Her voice dipped into a low murmur. "If Cheryl hadn't interfered back then, Caiden and Jessica would've married long ago. Their child would already be calling me Grandma by now."

"Just get to the point," Noreen responded, her tone flat. She could already guess where this was heading.

Another sigh escaped Ivy. She reached out, her palm warm and deliberate as it wrapped around Noreen's hand. "You grew up in this house. Affection grows naturally when people live together. Even if I've been hard on you, it's only because I care. No matter what happens, if you choose to, you can still think of me as a mother."

Noreen quietly pulled her hand back, slipping free of Ivy's grasp. "Sorry, but I'd rather not."

From the moment Cheryl had taken her in, Ivy had never truly accepted her.

When Cheryl's health began to decline and she spent most of the year in the hospital, Noreen had been left alone in the house with Ivy.

On those nights, dinner was often a luxury. Ivy's kindness only surfaced when Cheryl was watching.

Once she turned away, Noreen might as well have been a stray tucked in the corner.

The faint softness in Ivy's expression vanished in an instant.

She pulled out a lace-edged handkerchief and scrubbed her palms, turning them over as though Noreen's touch had left something contaminating on her skin. "You've been married for three years and still haven't had a child," she said, her tone sharpening. "Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to face that question at every social gathering?"

Her gaze slid to Noreen's abdomen, a flash of contempt passing through her eyes. "If I'd known you couldn't give me grandchildren, I wouldn't have agreed to this marriage—no matter how much Cheryl insisted."

A bitter laugh escaped Noreen's throat.

During their first year together, Caiden had insisted they enjoy their time alone, and contraception had been their silent agreement.

But after Cheryl's death, something between them shifted without warning. The distance grew so wide that they hadn't even shared a bed since. Under those conditions, how could a child possibly exist?

Yet, none of that mattered to Ivy. "If you can't have children, then we'll find someone who can," she muttered coolly, her lips curving in a faint, dismissive smile. "You and Caiden never had any real feelings to begin with. The person he loves has always been Jessica. I truly like that girl—she's gentle, thoughtful, from a respectable family. She knows how to make us proud."

Her tone turned even colder. "Pick a time to divorce Caiden. I'll make sure you walk away with a decent sum. But if you insist on being stubborn, don't blame me for doing things the hard way. We've known each other for years, and I'd rather not let this get ugly. We need a daughter-in-law who can actually shine in society."

Ivy's blunt words struck Noreen like a blade, leaving a sharp, breathless ache lodged beneath her ribs.

Her fingers curled into her palms, nails biting into flesh until the sting anchored her trembling composure.

She forced her voice steady. "Don't worry. I'll find the time..."

"Mom!" Caiden's voice cut through the air like a whip. Noreen's head snapped up, and she caught sight of him framed in the doorway, his expression carved from ice.

He closed the distance in a few swift strides, the crisp black suit on his tall frame accentuating the hard lines of his face. His gaze flicked across her pale features, cool and unreadable.

"Whose marriage is this—yours or mine?" His voice was low, edged with restrained fury.

"You..." Ivy faltered, the sudden pushback knocking the wind out of her.

A flash of anger twisted her lips as she let out a sharp, humorless sneer. "I'm doing this for your own good. Why can't you recognize what's best for you? Jessica's back now. Do you really expect her to linger around without a proper title?"

Caiden flicked a lighter and brought the flame to the tip of his cigarette, letting it dangle loosely between his fingers. "If you're that attached to Jessica," he said flatly. "Then just treat her like your own daughter-or better yet, move in with the Dales and stay with her. As for Noreen, if she bothers you that much, we'll stop troubling you altogether."

Noreen went rigid, a muted heat rising through her chest even as a knot tightened beneath her ribs.

Her gaze drifted to the burning cigarette balanced between Caiden's fingers, its ember pulsing faintly as a ribbon of bluish-white smoke veiled the clean lines of his face. His words, calm and detached, rang out all the clearer through the haze.

For the first time in two years, she heard him speak up for her.

Her fingers curled against her dress, crushing the fabric into a small, trembling knot in her palm.

Caiden's sudden defense felt like sunlight spilling through a crack in winter's chill-so warm it made her heart ache, yet so brief it hardly felt real.

Ivy's eyes swept across them, sharp and cold, before a derisive laugh slipped past her lips.

As she turned to go, her indifferent gaze slid over Noreen like ice. "Think carefully about what I said. You're clever enough to make the right choice."

As she walked away, Caiden ground the half-burned cigarette into the ashtray, irritation flickering briefly across his face.

His gaze slid to the shawl resting on Noreen's shoulders. "That thing doesn't suit you. It looks awful."

"It was your mother's idea, not mine. I hate it too. Here-take it back." Noreen slipped the shawl off and draped it across his arm with careless precision.

The sharp gesture drew a quiet laugh from Caiden, a humorless curve of his lips edged with resignation.

"Wait here. I'll grab you a coat, then we'll head back," he told her firmly.

She stayed where she was, eyes tracing the line of his retreating back.

She knew him too well. If he truly didn't care, he wouldn't have said a single word.

"Thank you," she murmured, the sound barely more than a wisp of air.

She hadn't expected him to hear her, yet he suddenly turned. Though his expression stayed cool, something flickered in his eyes when he noticed the faint redness at the corners of hers.

"It's nothing. This is between us. No reason for anyone else to interfere," he stated aloofly.

That simple phrase-between us-struck Noreen like a warm current against winter skin, softening her for a heartbeat before leaving a bitter sting in its wake.

Her gaze drifted to Caiden's hand, where the wedding band caught the light and shimmered softly. He'd been wearing it all this time.

Something heavy tightened in Noreen's chest, stealing her breath for a moment.

Once, he had treated her with a kind of tenderness that made her forget how to stand on her own.

Those memories still clung to her like shadows she couldn't shake.

The thought of him defending her just moments ago twisted inside her, turning warmth into something far more painful. She couldn't help wondering where that gentle Caiden had gone-why they couldn't simply return to how they used to be.

Driven by a restless need to know, Noreen quickened her pace and slipped inside, her steps echoing with unspoken questions.

But just as she crossed the threshold, she nearly collided with Jessica.

Jessica caught her by the arm, steadying her with a faintly amused smile. "What's got you running like that? If Ivy catches sight of you in this state, she'll blow up again. Noreen, you grew up with the Evans family-didn't you learn a little of her poise?"

Rigid as a statue, Noreen couldn't tear her eyes from the glittering necklace resting against Jessica's collarbone.

The gemstone was exactly the same design as the one around Noreen's neck.

"This necklace..." Her voice wavered, barely above a whisper.

Jessica brushed a fingertip over the jewel, her lips curving into a bright, self-satisfied smile. "Caiden's the one who gave it to me. He told me it's been passed down in the Evans family."

She leaned in, lowering her voice as her finger flicked lightly toward Noreen's chest. "Oh, and your necklace..."

Noreen instinctively shifted back a step. The gemstone resting against her skin suddenly felt unbearably heavy, squeezing the breath from her chest.

Whatever warmth had flickered to life moments earlier bled away, leaving a chill burrowed deep beneath her ribs.

It hadn't been affection. Just a polite gesture dressed up as kindness.

A low, bitter laugh escaped her lips before she could stop it.

The questions she'd wanted to ask and the fragile courage she'd gathered dissolved like mist, leaving her throat dry and her voice gone.

The sound of Caiden's even footsteps reached her from the end of the corridor, but she pivoted on her heel and walked away without a backward glance.