"Wayne!!!" A blood-curdling scream tore through the air, jolting Wayne from his thoughts. With a furrowed brow, Wayne waved his hand dismissively and muttered, "God, that's deafening." The voice seemed to fade into the distance, becoming a faint echo.

"I can't wait to see the day you drive Rosalynn to her grave, just you wait!" the voice was filled with the vitriol of impending doom.

"She will leave you. She's been seething with resentment and hatred for you to her very core. If it weren't for Noah, she would never have married you!"

Wayne let out a derisive snort. "Guess you haven't heard the voicemail my wife sent me after I went missing, huh?"

All that answered him was a distant scream growing ever fainter.d2

"She loves me, and so do the kids. They won't abandon me. I'm going to recover soon, go home, and reunite with them. And you..." Wayne's face twisted into a mocking sneer, "a figment that exists only because of my fear, now that I'm not afraid anymore, you'll disappear forever."

"No... NO!!!"

In the next instant, the world went silent.

Wayne lay back down, exhaling deeply.

It seemed he didn't need Penn's assessment after all; he could go home.

That's what Wayne thought.

No more separations from his wife and kids.

Since the day he made the dumb decision to enter a marriage alliance, He and she seemed to be on a path of constant separation.

Parting was too bitter. He had a sweet tooth and swore off bitterness for the rest of his life.

Another school year drew to a close, and the students bustled around the bulletin board.

Ivy, who had grown quite a bit taller and more graceful over the semester, stood before the board.

She had devoted more time to painting this term, so her grades... Molly found Ivy's name next to the 9th rank in the entire grade.

"Wow, am I not a genius or what? Slacked off a whole semester and still made top nine in the grade!" Ivy didn't wait for Molly to speak; she patted her chest in self-praise, laughing heartily. She had slept in the studio the night before.

She struggled to get up but was still late, so she hadn't even bothered to change her clothes and went to school in her studio's overalls.

Her hands, face, and overalls were smeared with paint.

The other students thought it was some sort of eccentric fashion statement and surrounded her with curiosity and compliments for a good while.

"That's actually quite impressive," Molly conceded with ease.

Then Ivy found Molly's name, "Still top of the class, huh? Come on, let's go celebrate with something yummy!"

Before leaving the bulletin board area, Ivy glanced unintentionally at the grade group Liam used to be in. The top spot had a new name, and last year's valedictorian had slipped to third place. Standing in front of the board, that person was sobbing behind their hands.

Ivy withdrew her gaze, looping her arm through Molly's, leaning into her friend. She thought to herself, "What's there to cry about over a first-place rank? It's not like you can eat it." Just then, Ivy spotted a familiar little figure.

"Trista, baby!" She let go of Molly and ran over, beaming with joy.

Then, she took Trista from Jaime's arms, holding her like a precious treasure, cheek to cheek.

"Why do you look like a calico cat?" Jaime asked in shock, even Ivy's hair was a complete mess. Imagine saying she's the daughter of a billionaire - who would believe it?

"Couldn't get up this morning," Ivy admitted, unfazed by her little sister's drool-covered giggles.

"All you see is Trista. What about your godmother, godfather, and uncle right here? Don't we get a glance?" Paige stood with her arms crossed, feigning indignation.

"I do, I see you!" Ivy hurried over to give Paige a hug and then asked Baillie, "Godfather, how's the research and development going?"

"Smooth as can be," Baillie replied with a smile.

"Awesome!"

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