Aria exhaled sharply, rolling her eyes as she loosened her grip around Chloe.
"Yeah, I must say—I hated what you did, but not you. So stop crying."
Chloe chuckled lightly, wiping at the corners of her eyes before shaking her head.
"Come on, Aria, Mikael—let's catch up. Let's have lunch."
She turned toward Carter, fingers brushing against his hair.
"Carter, meet your aunt Aria and your uncle Mikael."
Carter blinked up at them, then—small, polite, completely unfazed.
"Hi."
Mikael smirked slightly, Aria giving a nod before throwing an arm around Chloe's shoulders.
"Lunch it is."
They made their way to Dominion Prime, a high-end restaurant nestled into the upper floors of Redgrave Dominion Holdings—a business, a legacy, a place built under the influence of their family name.
Secluded, private, meant for meetings too valuable to be overheard.
They settled into a corner suite, plush seating wrapping around a sleek, glass-topped table.
Aria barely wasted a second before shifting the conversation.
"So, what happened to you, Chloe?"
Chloe exhaled lightly, lifting her glass of water, swirling the liquid inside with absent thought.
"Oh, Aria—a long story. But yeah… I got divorced. And got a kid here."
Aria leaned back, crossing her arms.
"Divorced, huh?"
Chloe nodded, gaze flickering toward Carter.
Aria hummed softly, studying the boy.
"Carter looks a lot like you."
Before Chloe could respond, Mikael cut in smoothly.
"Yeah, because he looks like Dad."
The conversation shifted naturally—Mikael and Carter falling into easy conversation, while Aria and Chloe caught up on years lost.
Then—a pause.
A shift in tone.
Mikael tilted his head slightly.
"When did you arrive, Chloe?"
Chloe exhaled. "Yesterday afternoon. We stayed at a hotel."
Mikael frowned slightly.
"Which hotel?"
Chloe hesitated. "Imperium Grand."
The subtle tension in Mikael's jaw flickered instantly.
His grip around his knife tightened briefly.
"You stayed there?"
Chloe barely nodded before Mikael asked again—sharp, deliberate.
"Do you still remember Kian?"
Chloe stiffened.
Her fingers curled slightly around her napkin.
Of course she remembered.
Mikael knew that.
Everyone knew that.
Because Mikael and Kian weren't just friends.
They were sworn brothers, bonded by loyalty, by history, by the life their families had intertwined.
Chloe inhaled sharply.
Then—quiet, measured.
"Yeah. We coincidentally met at the airport yesterday. He drove us to the hotel. Booked our room."
She deliberately left certain details out.
Mikael studied her closely, eyes narrowing slightly.
Then—soft, hesitant, holding something unspoken.
"Well—he's back."
Chloe frowned slightly.
Mikael exhaled.
Then—without thinking, without filtering his words—he said it.
"Can he walk?"
Silence.
Chloe blinked.
Confusion pressed between her brows.
"What do you mean—can he walk?"
Mikael inhaled sharply, realizing immediately that he had just spilled something Chloe had never known.
The table settled into a heavy pause.
And Chloe?
She didn't look away.
Because this wasn't just a simple question.
This was something deeper.
Something she hadn't been told.