Chapter 76
Chapter 76:
Several steady breaths later, she forced herself to calm down, splashed water on her face, and walked out as though nothing unusual had happened.
She had assumed that clearing the misunderstanding would ease her mind. Instead, when night came, sleep refused to arrive no matter how tightly she shut her eyes.
Morning found her with heavy shadows beneath her eyes. Kyson noticed the moment he saw her.
“Rough night?” he asked, his voice laced with quiet concern.
“Yeah,” she murmured, exhaustion dulling her tone. She lowered herself onto the couch. “If you’ve got work, just go. I’m skipping breakfast—I’m going back to sleep p>
“I’ll cook something and leave it in the microwave. Warm it up when you get up. Starting the day without eating isn’t good for you p>
Fatigue weighed on Kailey’s lashes, and she offered a faint, compliant “Okay p>
𝗟a𝗍es𝘵 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝘱𝘁e𝘳𝘴 𝗈n
About twenty minutes later, Kyson stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room to find Kailey already curled on the couch, her head pillowed on her forearm, one soft cheek squished into a rounded puff.
A gentle smile tugged at his lips. He retrieved a thick blanket, draped it carefully over her shoulders, and then shrugged into his coat and headed to the office.
Late morning sunlight was already creeping across the room when Kailey finally stirred around eleven, her body noticeably lighter and her mind clearer. She padded into the kitchen, opened the microwave, and found a neatly stacked sandwich waiting beside a small carton of milk.
After warming it for two minutes, she wandered to the dining table and scrolled through her unread messages between bites.
She paused in mild surprise when a fresh voice note from Aleena appeared near the top of her chat list. “Kailey, sweetheart, when are you planning to start your internship p>
“Most likely in a few days,” Kailey typed back as she chewed. “What’s wrong, Mom p>
“Well, there’s something I should tell you. You have an uncle who settled in Fustrewana years ago. He reached out to your father recently, saying your mother left an inheritance for you and that he wanted to come back to meet you. I wanted to hear your thoughts first p>
An uncle.
Fragments of a distant childhood stirred in Kailey’s memory—vague images of a smiling man and a cheerful woman visiting their home before everything had fallen apart. In those days, before the family’s collapse, her uncle and aunt had come often, bringing small gifts and easy laughter. But after they emigrated, the connection had quietly withered, and time had blurred even the details of his face.
When disaster struck her family, they had never returned. So why, after all these years, did he suddenly want to see her now?
A faint ripple of emotion moved through her—light and restrained. After a brief, thoughtful pause, she answered, “If he truly wants to see me, he can come directly to Aslesall p>
Aleena blinked in surprise. “You’re heading to Aslesall for your internship p>
“That’s right p>
“Does Ryan know about this p>