August 26th. It was a good day, and a special day. Today, at some unknown location, Adrian Desmond’s son would enter this world. Unfortunately, he, the father, wouldn’t be able to see him. Adrian had locked himself in the nursery and hadn’t come out the entire day. Housekeeper Mr. Lucas was frantic, knocking several times on the door, but there was no sound from within. "Sixth Master, are you in there? Dinner is ready. Would you like to come out and have some? You haven’t eaten anything all day," Mr. Lucas said, leaning against the door panel, carefully listening for any stirring inside. No one answered him. "Mr. Lucas, how’s Sixth Brother?" Melanie Carpenter asked. She had just arrived. After the incident, Melanie had been sent to live in Calmstream Garden. Melanie and Bella Ford lived there, but Adrian hadn’t visited them once. "Miss Carpenter, what brings you here?" Mr. Lucas asked respectfully. "I heard Sixth Brother locked himself in his room all day, so I was worried and came to check on him." A thought struck Mr. Lucas. Who on earth could have informed Melanie? All the servants in the Desmond Family must be loyal to Adrian first, not this nominal "Mrs. Desmond." It seems I need to sort out the servants and teach them to watch their mouths. "Yes, I don’t know what’s wrong with Sixth Master. He wasn’t himself when he got up this morning. He went into the nursery and hasn’t come out since." It suddenly dawned on Mr. Lucas what day it was. Today is the Young Master’s due date! No wonder Sixth Master has locked himself in the nursery and refuses to come out. Any father would be heartbroken in this situation, not even knowing where his child is. "Since Miss Carpenter is here, could you please try to persuade Sixth Master? It won’t do for him to lock himself in , without eating or drinking." Although Melanie had come uninvited, Mr. Lucas genuinely hoped at this moment that someone could talk some sense into Adrian. Melanie walked to the door and knocked gently. "Sixth Brother, it’s me, Melanie. I came to see you. Can you open the door, please?" After waiting for a while, there was still no movement from inside. Melanie knocked again. "Sixth Brother, what on earth is wrong with you? No matter what happened, you can’t neglect your body. If your health breaks down, how will you find... Mai..." she trailed off, finally uttering the name that was so jarring to say. The nursery was designed entirely in a boyish, Mediterranean style, with large swathes of blue. The clock on the wall was shaped like a ship’s helm, and the crib resembled a small boat. He had poured a great deal of thought into preparing this for his son. He clutched a pair of soft-soled baby shoes in his hand. They were goose-yellow, with a ring of fluffy yellow fuzz around the ankles, resembling a little duck with its neck tucked in. Sienna Johnson had personally chosen them. At the time, he had complained they were too girly. —Adrian, how can you be sure it’s a boy? What if it’s a girl? —It’s definitely a son! —A daughter! I feel it’s a daughter. "Mai, did you give birth to a son or a daughter?" he murmured to the goose-yellow baby shoes. Today was August 26th, the baby’s due date. Today, his son would be born. What would I be doing if Sienna hadn’t left? I’d be like a fool, anxiously pacing outside the delivery room, eagerly awaiting the birth of the child I’ve longed for. But now... "If it’s a daughter, I’ll love her just as much. It’s fine if she looks like you. But if her personality is like yours, whoever marries her will end up with quite a few gray hairs..." The thought of my daughter tormenting some poor man to utter distraction actually makes me want to laugh. "Mai, please come back, won’t you? I miss you so much. I miss the child too..." After so many years of drifting, he had finally found a home, with a wife and child. But now, because of one wrong decision of his, he had lost everything. "Did you see the notices I placed in the newspapers? You must have seen them. If you saw them, why haven’t you come back?" Adrian squeezed the pair of goose-yellow shoes tightly in his palm. The intensity of his desire to hold onto his wife and child was matched only by the pain he felt now. He felt he couldn’t bear it any longer. Mai had been gone for six months. As time passed, his confidence in finding her dwindled. He didn’t even dare face this growing self-doubt. If he lost hope, if he gave up searching for her... "Sixth Brother, if you don’t open the door, I’m coming in," Melanie said. "All of you, get the hell out!" Adrian roared. He didn’t want to deal with anyone right now, but the people outside wouldn’t leave him in peace, constantly disturbing him. "Sixth Brother? You..." Melanie choked back a sob, tears instantly welling in her eyes at Adrian’s shout. Mr. Lucas hadn’t expected Adrian to yell at Melanie either. Although Adrian didn’t love her, he had always treated Melanie gently. "Miss Carpenter, please don’t be upset. Sixth Master isn’t in a good mood today..." Mr. Lucas began to console her, but before he could finish, Melanie covered her mouth, turned, and ran off, heartbroken. "Miss Carpenter..." Mr. Lucas didn’t manage to call her back. He had no time for her; Adrian, who had been holed up in his room all day without coming out, was his primary concern. "Sixth Master, Miss Carpenter just ran off crying..." There was no reply from inside. Mr. Lucas sighed and left. Adrian’s phone rang. He didn’t want to answer it, but the caller was tactlessly persistent. This update is available on novel·fiɾe·net Adrian snatched up the phone and roared, "I’m in a foul mood today, so don’t any of you damn well bother me!" Just as he was about to hang up, he heard Owen Hunter say, "...I’m in a great mood today, Adrian. I’m a father! My wife just gave me a son!" Today was the due date for Adrian’s son, and he didn’t even know which hospital his child was being born in. He was already in a terrible mood, and now someone had to call and "show off" their son. "Is that so? Then congratulations," Adrian replied icily. "Adrian, you don’t sound very sincere with that," Owen’s voice was brimming with joy, which made Adrian feel even worse. They were both men; why was there such a vast difference between them? Adrian felt a keen sense of injustice. Why should I be here, dejected and miserable, while that man is so jubilant and full of life? "Today is also my son’s due date," Adrian said. Probably only she and I still remember this day. "I’m sorry, I didn’t know," Owen said, his voice catching for a moment before he quickly apologized. It was such an unfortunate coincidence. If he had known beforehand, he wouldn’t have told Adrian about his own son’s birth and upset him. "I really didn’t mean it. It’s just, my son was born, and I’m so happy, I wanted to tell everyone I’m going to be a father!" "Adrian, don’t be sad. You’ll find your woman and your son..."