Celine was the type of person who, once she made a promise, would follow through and do her best to see it done.

She arrived at the venue an hour early and had even dressed up for the occasion. But as it turned out, there was absolutely no need for her to be there.

Zane stayed glued to Quinn's side the entire time. As the birthday boy, guests naturally congratulated him first, but all the small talk that followed was directed at Quinn.

When the servers had questions or needed clarification on arrangements, they asked Quinn. Celine stood in the banquet hall feeling more out of place than the actual guests.

Fortunately, she'd already made peace with it all. With a calm mindset, she found a quiet corner and sampled the drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Rather than dwelling on the sadness of being excluded by her own son, Celine found herself looking forward to her new life.

At 6:00 pm sharp, a massive seven-tier cake was wheeled in. Candles were lit, the lights dimmed, and the birthday song began to play.

Zane stood in front of the enormous cake with his hands clasped together politely, making a wish with utmost seriousness. Quinn stood right behind him.

Steven had walked in just one minute before the lights went out. He glanced at his son, who was surrounded by well-wishers, then made his way toward Celine in the corner.

The moment the lights went out, Celine heard him ask, "Why aren't you over there?"

She didn't bother answering. After the birthday song finished, the lights came back on. Next came the cake-cutting ceremony.

Zane eagerly grabbed the knife and fork and was about to hand them to Quinn when Evelyn stopped him.

"Zane, sweetheart, today is your birthday. Five years ago today, you met your mom for the first time. Shouldn't she be the one to cut the cake?"

Evelyn bent down and spoke to him gently, taking the utensils from his hands. She waved at Celine through the crowd.

"Celine, come cut the cake."

The guests seemed to suddenly remember that Celine was the biological mother. All at once, curious eyes turned toward Quinn with unspoken questions.

Quinn struggled to keep the smile on her face. She instinctively looked at Steven.

"Mom's asking you to cut the cake." Steven was currently looking down at Celine, repeating the instruction. Celine's temper had really gotten out of hand lately.

Celine took a deep breath, stood up, and walked over. Steven followed her movements. The crowd parted to let her through.

Hatred flashed through Quinn's eyes, but it was gone in an instant. The moment Evelyn handed the knife and fork to Celine, Quinn let go of Zane's hand.

Zane turned to look at her. Seeing her hurt and upset expression, he immediately started making a fuss.

"I don't want her to cut it! I want Quinn to cut it for me!" He lunged forward, trying to snatch the utensils back.

Evelyn blocked him, her tone growing stern. "If you want, we can bring out a new cake in a bit and let Quinn cut that one."

Zane refused, "I want this one!"

"Zane Kirk!" Steven used his full name, and Zane stopped his tantrum, looking at Steven with a trace of fear.

"Let Mom cut the cake." Steven's tone left no room for argument.

"But I already promised Quinn she could cut it!" Zane's voice turned whiny with grievance.

He turned on Celine, venting all his frustration at her. "Who told you to come? I never asked you to be here! You're so annoying! All you do is ruin everything for me! Go away! Just go away!"

Zane broke free from Evelyn's grasp and shoved Celine.

Kids never knew their own strength. Celine's injuries had only just healed. As he pushed her backward, he forgot that behind her was an elaborate display of wine glasses arranged in neat rows.

The whole thing came crashing down.

"Celine!" Steven had been standing right behind her and immediately reached out to catch her.

Celine had been standing too close. Even though Steven managed to keep her from falling into the pile of broken glass, shards still scattered across the floor and cut her. Pain shot through her legs.

Evelyn quickly called the servers over to clean up the mess. Guests scattered as the scene erupted into chaos.

"Zane, are you okay?" Quinn rushed over to check on him.

Zane looked shaken. He was scared.

Quinn watched Celine intently as Steven helped her up. She looked down at Zane. "Don't be scared. Let me take you outside."

She bent down to pick Zane up. As she stood, her body swayed, and she collapsed.

"Quinn! Dad! Dad, Quinn's hurt!" Zane immediately spotted the blood and cried out for Steven in panic.

Steven's attention snapped toward them instantly, and he let go of Celine. He didn't notice Celine sway the moment he let go.

"Quinn, are you alright?" Steven rushed over to help her up.

"I'm fine. Is Zane hurt? As long as he's okay, that's all that matters." Quinn's voice trembled with pain.

"You can't just worry about him when you're this badly injured! I'm taking you to the hospital!" Without waiting for a response, Steven scooped Quinn up in his arms and left.

Zane broke into a small jog to keep up, never once looking back.

Celine watched the scene unfold with a strange sense of loss. She couldn't quite tell if what she felt was sadness or relief, but one thing was certain—there wasn't an ounce of reluctance left in her.

She'd wanted to give Zane one last proper birthday.

"Let me take you to the hospital to get that bandaged up." Evelyn walked over, clearly unsure what else to say.

She'd seen everything clearly. When Steven let go of Celine, he hadn't even checked to see if she could stand on her own. The broken glass scattered around Celine's feet was far worse than what Quinn had stepped on.

If Celine hadn't reacted quickly enough to steady herself, she'd be the one lying in a pool of blood right now.

Celine snapped out of her thoughts and glanced down at her ankles. Blood had soaked through the hem of her dress. A smile of relief spread across her face.

"I can go by myself. Are you planning to keep me here until midnight?"

Seeing that her mind was made up, Evelyn said nothing more. She handed Celine an envelope. "Your ticket and documents are inside."

Celine took it, nodded, and turned to leave without looking back. Steven had carried Quinn to the banquet hall entrance when his steps suddenly faltered. For reasons he couldn't explain, he turned to look back.

He caught sight of Celine heading toward another exit. An uncomfortable feeling twisted in his chest, like something precious was slipping through his fingers.

"Zane, go…"

Steven looked down, intending to tell Zane to go apologize to Celine. Zane had been way out of line tonight.

But before he could finish the sentence, Quinn's head lolled to the side in his arms. She'd passed out.

Steven didn't dare waste another second. He bolted toward the parking lot.

Celine stopped by a pharmacy to treat the cuts on her feet. The clerk watched her and finally spoke up, "Miss, it looks like there might be glass fragments still stuck in those wounds. You should really go to the hospital and have them cleaned out properly."

"It's fine."

Celine didn't want to spend another moment in this city. She disinfected the cuts haphazardly, slapped on some bandages, and caught a cab straight to the airport.

Sitting in the back seat, she watched the scenery rush past the window. The towering skyscrapers and bright lights gradually disappeared from view.

Once they got onto the elevated highway, Celine rolled down the window, pulled the ring off her finger, and tossed it out without hesitation.