Chapter 4Never to Return

Daniel stepped forward to join the two ahead, but as he passed Quinn, his eyes caught the unhealed scar on her face. The memory of her selflessly pushing Levi out of harm's way during the car accident flashed in his mind. His expression softened as he instructed her.

"You were just discharged from the hospital, so how about you wait for us in the lounge? It'll be enough to have Charlotte and me accompanying Levi."

Quinn tugged her lips into a mocking smile. "I understand. I won't intrude upon your 'family of three.'"

Daniel had not expected such a response. He looked down at her, discovering that the eyes once filled with endless tenderness now held nothing but utter emptiness.

Inevitably, his heart trembled. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he only gave her a deep, complex look.

"Certain things... are not as you see them."

Hearing those words, Quinn could barely hold back a laugh.

He was the one who had permitted Levi's proposal and allowed Charlotte to replace her position as the birth mother and legal wife, yet who was he putting on this reluctantly forced act for now?

"Daniel, weren't you the one who allowed all of this?"

Daniel's pupils contracted, and a flash of panic, one that even he himself failed to notice, passed through his eyes.

Why did Quinn say that? Could she have recovered her memory?

Just as he was about to press her further, Quinn turned and walked toward the lounge as if nothing had happened. He was close to following her, but Levi's call rang out from ahead.

Looking at the woman's calm back, his racing heartbeat gradually slowed to a normal pace.

Quinn loved him and Levi so deeply. If she had recovered her memory and seen Levi calling another woman "Mom", how could she possibly remain so calm? Perhaps he had simply misheard her just now.

With that, he hesitated no longer and quickened his pace to catch up with the two in front.

Through the lounge window, Quinn watched the distant figures of the three walking side by side.

Levi held Charlotte's and Daniel's hands, bouncing happily between them. Charlotte leaned down to carefully wipe sweat from his forehead with a tissue while Daniel watched them with tenderness.

What a happy family.

She lowered her eyes, which subconsciously squinted as a sudden flash of light stung them.

It was the wedding ring she had always worn.

From the very moment she put on this ring, she had embarked on this marriage she had looked so forward to. Yet today, seven years later, this marriage had clearly turned into a complete joke.

She pulled off the ring. With a crisp clang, she threw it into the trash can.