Chapter 4
Unable to find the words to stop Gabriella, Alex sat on the bed and watched helplessly as she left the room. A rare flicker of frustration crossed his usually composed face.
Neither of them backed down in the days that followed, and their relationship remained at a stalemate.
Then came Lucas’ birthday. Alex threw him a lavish party, inviting a large crowd.
Among the crowd was Melody.
Seated in a quiet corner, Gabriella watched as Alex and Lucas hovered around Melody and tended to her every need with warmth and attentiveness.
The three of them were perfectly in sync, looking more like a family than she ever had with them.
“Mr. Palmer, Mrs. Palmer, Mr. Lucas.”
Several guests approached with glasses in hand, greeting them very naturally before striking up a conversation.
Alex paused for a moment at the address.
That was the 56th time that night someone had mistaken Melody for his wife.
Instinctively, he glanced toward Gabriella, only to see her lower her head slightly, hiding any trace of emotion.
Something in him softened. For the first time, he took the initiative to clarify.
“Mel isn’t my wife. She’s my… sister.”
The guests quickly caught on and apologized.
Once they walked away and were out of earshot, murmurs began.
“I assumed that woman named Mel was Mrs. Palmer since Mr. Palmer barely left her side. If she’s not, then where’s his actual wife?”
A more informed guest gestured toward Gabriella. “Over there.”
“That’s brutal. It’s her son’s birthday, and both her husband and kid are doting on another woman…”
Gabriella pretended not to hear, keeping her expression neutral.
It wasn’t until the gift-giving segment that she rose from her seat and walked up to Lucas. She handed him a key and said, “I kept your present in the safe. Open it, and you’ll find it inside.”
Inside that safe were birthday gifts she had carefully prepared for Lucas for the decades to come. Because once she and Alex finalized their divorce, she wouldn’t be around to give them in person.
However, Lucas barely looked at the key before tossing it aside.
“Like I have time for that,” he said with a disdainful scoff.
“Don’t talk to your mother like that,” Alex scolded him with a small frown. Then, he turned to Gabriella and said, “He’s just a kid. Don’t take it to heart.”
Gabriella forced a smile.
Yes, he was a child. But that didn’t excuse the way he treated his mother.
How little did Alex think of her to always brush it off with that excuse?
Before she could say more, Lucas had already run over to Melody, his eyes shining with anticipation.
“Aunt Mel, what did you get me?”
Melody pulled out a simple storybook. It was unwrapped and clearly bought last minute.
Yet Lucas beamed, clutching it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. He exclaimed gleefully, “Thank you, Aunt Mel! I love it! I’ll take really good care of it!”
After that, it was time for him to make his birthday wish.
Standing before the extravagant cake, Lucas closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. Then, he spoke loudly in his bright voice, “I wish Aunt Mel could be my mom and stay with Dad forever!”
The room fell into a stunned silence before hushed whispers erupted.
Even Alex stiffened, his brows furrowing.
“Lucas, don’t say things like that.”
But Lucas wasn’t deterred. He simply blinked up at Alex and pouted.
“Why not? Don’t you want to be with Aunt Mel? I saw everything! Your study drawer is full of love letters to her. You kept all her pictures. And those books on your shelf? Every page is covered with her name! Gabriella’s just a nanny. Why can’t you be with Aunt Mel instead?”
As the words landed, Melody’s head snapped toward Alex. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears and became red-rimmed.
“Alex… So, all these years, you never forgot me?”
He averted his gaze uneasily and said nothing.
However, Melody wasn’t letting it go. She pressed on, “I just need an answer, Alex…”
As her tears fell, something in Alex finally cracked. His feelings, long-buried and suppressed, spilled over, and at last, the words he had kept locked away broke free.
“Yes. I never forgot about you, not for a single moment.”
