"Who’s the father of the child?" Adrian Desmond asked. "The child is Sixth Brother’s," Melanie Carpenter insisted. Adrian scoffed, "Do you think you’re the Virgin Mary? I’ve never even touched you, and you’re claiming to be pregnant with my child!" "Anyway, our marriage is in name only. You don’t need to feel guilty towards me. Just tell me the truth. I won’t hold anything against the other man. Since you’re pregnant with his child, I’m willing to let you go so the three of you can be a family." Adrian thought this would be the best solution for everyone, but a certain woman didn’t appreciate his kindness. Melanie looked up at Adrian, her gaze cold. "Sixth Brother, I told you, the child is yours!" "That’s not my child! Don’t you dare try to slander me!" Adrian refused to acknowledge this child! He was unwilling to play the role of a convenient father. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novèlfire.net He still wanted to live a good life with Mai. If she found out he’d gotten Melanie pregnant and they had a child, would Mai ever come back to him? Tears welled in Melanie’s eyes. She didn’t speak, nor did she yield. Adrian’s head was throbbing. "Melanie," he asked, "can you please just let me go?" "I genuinely wish you happiness. Since you’re already carrying another man’s child, wouldn’t it be better to be with him? Why do you keep clinging to me? I’ve told you, I don’t love you." "Is he poor? Don’t worry, I’ll give you a large sum of money. I won’t let you live a hard life... If you have any other requests, as long as I can fulfill them, I will." Adrian was trying to consider things from her perspective, but Melanie wouldn’t listen to anything. To her, Adrian’s words sounded like he was sparing no effort to dump her, eager to be with that vixen. They had ruined her life. Her only solace now was to drag them to hell with her; only that could quench the fury in her heart. "Sixth Brother, are you happy that I’m pregnant?" Melanie suddenly asked. "Melanie, I wish you happiness!" Melanie laughed coldly, the curve of her lips tinged with sarcasm as she tore off her ugly mask. "...No! You don’t wish me happiness! In your heart, you must be thinking you can finally get rid of me, this annoying woman. Once I’m gone, that woman can come back to your side..." "I never thought that!" Adrian explained. "Adrian, we’re destined to be entangled for the rest of our lives, until one of us is dead." A shiver went down Adrian’s spine. The way he looked at Melanie changed. Although his feelings for Melanie weren’t romantic, there was still an emotional connection. Yet, she was repeatedly squandering what little of it remained. "Fine! Since you won’t listen to anything, I’m done wasting my breath! That child isn’t mine, so don’t even think about making me a father to that bastard! I’ve said what I needed to say. Do whatever you damn well please!" Adrian snapped, his voice filled with impatience. "I really nursery." Melanie walked up to Adrian, her soft hand stroking the smooth wood of the crib. "When the baby is born, he can live here," she stated, her tone remarkably self-assured. Adrian’s face darkened. "This is my son’s room," he refused heartlessly. "Not just any stray cat or dog can live here!" Melanie’s face instantly turned deathly pale. "Melanie, don’t push me too far!" Adrian stood up. He gave Melanie a warning look, then turned and left without a shred of hesitation. In Soilliers, spring was a time of melting ice and snow, when all of nature reawakened. Spring here was brief, but it painted the landscape in vibrant greens, teeming with life. Its beauty lay in its brevity. "Curly, my sweet treasure, Mommy is going to buy you pretty clothes and toys. You be a good girl and wait for Mommy to come back, okay?" Because her daughter had beautiful curly hair, Sienna Johnson nicknamed her "Curly." Sometimes she also called her "Curly Baby"—a very cute name. Sienna handed her chubby daughter to Kiki. "You go on, I’ll take good care of her." Kiki adored Curly, and Curly was very attached to Kiki. Sienna pouted. "I’m leaving, and she’s not even crying?" "If she cried, you’d be the one feeling distressed." Kiki glanced at Sienna, genuinely puzzled as to why she would want Curly to cry. "You little heartless thing! I nearly died giving birth to you, and you’re not even close to me." Sienna had been very weak after childbirth and couldn’t even breastfeed. So, Kiki had taken care of Curly most of the time, which was why Curly was closer to Kiki. "She’s still little." "You just spoil her." "Well, what can I say? I’m Curly Baby’s godmother." Sienna couldn’t win an argument against Kiki. "I’m going now. Call me if anything happens." Sienna gazed at her lovely daughter, reluctant to leave. The girl looked so much like Adrian, especially her eyes. Whenever her daughter looked at her with those eyes, Sienna felt as if Adrian himself were looking at her, which made her feel extremely awkward. It took Sienna a long time to get used to it before she could finally meet her daughter’s gaze. Sienna had lain in bed for the entire winter after giving birth, feeling as if her bones had turned to jelly. So, when Dr. Robertson said she could start moving around, Sienna left her daughter "Curly" with Kiki and hitched a ride into the city on Uncle Holmsky’s family cargo truck to do some shopping. "A little path, winding, thin and long, Leads ever onward to the misty far. I want to follow this slender little path, To join my beloved, where he’s gone to war. The falling snow has covered all his tracks, No footprints seen, no sound of song I hear. Upon that wide and silvered field of white, Only the lonely little path lies here. He’s braving dangers, ’midst a hail of fire, My heart is truly filled with anxious care. I wish I were a nimble little bird, To fly straight to my beloved, to be there..." Uncle Holmsky sang the Bonracan folk song ’Little Path.’ He had a rich tenor voice, and he sang beautifully. "Sienna, did I sing well?" After finishing, the heavily bearded uncle asked, trying to be cute. Sienna gave him a thumbs-up and praised, "Bravo! That was even better than Pavarotti!" The uncle laughed heartily and said, not modestly at all, "When I was young, my dream was to be a tenor. If I had actually gone into singing, I might have become a famous vocalist!" He really wasn’t being modest at all! "Sing me another one." Clearly enjoying the rare praise for his singing, Uncle Holmsky’s spirits lifted. He cleared his throat and began to sing one song after another.