The fluorescent lights in the car rental yard were buzzing, and when Eva took the car keys, Baker's whistle was like a thorn piercing her eardrum. The bald man always glanced at her collar with greasy eyes, and today he deliberately raised his voice:
 "Miss Allen has an order from Marriott International today, maybe you can catch a rich husband."
 She pretended not to hear, but when she started the car, she remembered Rosie's dream last night when she leaned on the car window:
 "If we can't find Dad, we can find that handsome uncle, okay?"
 The world of children was so simple that it made people sad.
 Eva could only smile and ruffle her daughter's curly hair.
 "Save money to buy a car of our own first, so that Daddy can find us more easily."
 At the entrance of Marriott International, Kellan walked out of the revolving door in a white suit. The wind lifted a corner of his shirt, revealing the cufflinks of his custom-made shirt.
 This time it was a diamond-studded Suzaku, exactly the same as the one in the presidential suite five years ago.
 Eva's breath missed a beat until Rosie suddenly screamed,
 "Daddy, you're so handsome!"
 The carriage froze instantly.
 Kellan raised his eyebrows and looked at the passenger seat. The little girl was clinging to the seat, her eyes shining like stars.
 "You look like the prince in my painting!"
 She had just drawn an "ideal daddy" in kindergarten yesterday. In the crooked lines, there was a tall man wearing a neat suit, his cuffs gleaming.
 Eva's face flushed red, and she hurriedly explained,
 "The child is just talking nonsense..."
 But when she looked up, she met Kellan's eyes.
 He was staring at Rosie, and his dark eyes were filled with tenderness that he himself didn't even notice.
 This man who made the whole business world tremble had, at this moment, raised the corner of his lips toward the child. Although it was only a very shallow arc, it quietly warmed the temperature inside the car.
 When the car arrived at the destination, Kellan suddenly said before getting out,
 "Your daughter is very cute."
 Eva was stunned, watching him walk toward the brightly lit building, his back overlapping with the blurry figure from the rainy night five years ago.
 It was not until Rosie tugged at the corner of her clothes that Eva realized her nails had dug deeply into her palms.
 When he was talking just now, the Suzaku cufflinks on his sleeves had caught the sunlight, and the refracted spots of light fell on Rosie's hair, just like the ripples on the surface of the glass of ice water on the bedside table back then.
 ---
 Eva was rarely disturbed by a man, yet her thoughts were in complete chaos.
 Perhaps this man's aura was simply too strong.
 Kellan looked at the call log and dialed his secretary.
 "Onyx, the number is 181*****. Eva Allen. Check this woman immediately."
 ---
 "Fate brought us together in troubled times..."
 Eva's phone rang while she was busy working.
 She worked at a mansion coffee shop, and her colleague, Aunt Fisher, had taken the day off, leaving Eva to handle all the cleaning tasks upstairs and downstairs by herself.
 As she worked, she picked up her old Nokia phone and answered the call.
 "Hello, this is Eva from the mansion coffee shop. Who is this?"
 "Eva, it's your uncle," came the familiar yet distant voice of a middle-aged man from the other end.
 Uncle Grady.
 She froze halfway through mopping the floor.
 She hadn't expected him to call. They hadn't been in touch for a very long time.
 Was something wrong?
 The memories buried deep in her heart slowly resurfaced.
 Years ago.
 Eva's father had been a stepfather, and she took her mother's surname. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and she grew up with her grandfather.
 When her grandfather passed away, Eva was only eight years old. He entrusted her to Uncle Grady, who treated her like his own daughter. Eva also regarded him as her father.
 But after that incident, a knot formed in her heart forever.
 Years ago, Grady's daughter Nora deceived her, causing Eva to lose her virginity, become pregnant, and suffer endless scorn.
 When Grady found out about her unwed pregnancy, he didn't even know who the father was. He was ashamed and furious.
 "How can you be so shameless? I raised you, and you've brought shame upon me!"
 Grady slapped Eva hard across the face.
 Caught off guard, Eva fell to the ground. Her cheek swelled instantly, and her ears buzzed painfully.
 After a long while, she finally regained her senses. Sitting on the floor, she curled into herself and sobbed quietly.
 She didn't know why she had been foolish enough to trust Nora and go to the bar with her.
 Nora always teased her. Why had she believed her this time?
 She simply never imagined Nora could be so malicious.
 How could she explain it?
 Could she say that Nora tricked her into drinking, got her intoxicated, and sent her to a hotel room upstairs?
 Would her uncle believe her?
 And even if he did, what then?
 She was already pregnant. Her reputation was already ruined.
 Eva couldn't find a way out of her despair.
 Her nails dug deeply into her palms, but she couldn't even feel the pain anymore. The cruel voices around her were sharper than knives stabbing into her chest.
 "Just like your mother. Cheap and shameless. You've embarrassed this family completely. How are we supposed to face anyone in the future?"
 Queenie, Eva's aunt, sneered coldly as she glared down at her.
 At that moment, Queenie wished she could throw Eva out of the house immediately.
 Eva asked herself why her heart hurt so much.
 She thought she had already built armor strong enough to withstand cold words and humiliation. As long as her uncle still cared for her, she thought it would be enough.
 Nora stood hidden behind the door, silently watching the scene unfold.
 Back when their grandfather was alive, he always protected Eva, giving her the best of everything. Nora only ever received what Eva didn't want.
 Later, after Eva moved into the house, even her father loved Eva deeply.
 The love Nora thought belonged to her had been stolen away, and resentment quietly grew inside her heart. Over the years, she mocked and bullied Eva both openly and secretly.
 But this was the first time her father had ever hit Eva.
 And it hurt far more than she expected.
 Grady was an extremely proud man, and Eva had always been obedient and filial. Now that such a scandal had happened, how could he not feel devastated?
 Yet when he saw Eva curled up on the floor crying helplessly, his heart still ached.
 "Go get rid of that wild child in a couple of days."
 Grady shook his head heavily, sighed, and walked away.