Chapter 154 Smith Family

Chapter 154 Smith Family
Violet,

It was subtle at first when I started noticing it. Small pauses where there shouldn’t have been any. The way his smile arrived a second too late, or the way his eyes would drift past me instead of settling on my face. While I thought maybe he was falling in love with me as a new person, learning me all over again, he was only trying to look convincing in his acting. Trying to fit into the shape I expected of him.

I couldn’t blame him either. My existence, my sudden return into his life, had shifted everything he had built for himself. His routines, his freedom, his chaos. I was painfully aware of it. Sometimes, when he looked at me with irritation flickering just beneath the surface, I wondered if he resented me for forcing stability into a life that thrived on instability. After all, he had grown accustomed to his current lifestyle. It was familiar to him. Comfortable in its own destructive way.

Did I make a mistake?

The question sat heavy in my chest, repeating itself with every quiet moment. Maybe I should have asked him directly instead of assuming.

Maybe I should have listened more instead of hoping. I felt like I had manipulated him, like I had taken advantage of his vulnerability to pull him back into a life he hadn’t chosen this time. What if he had never been happy from the beginning and I had just refused to see it?

Last night, he stayed in my room.

The memory made my throat tighten. I didn’t know why he returned, and that uncertainty hurt more than his absence ever did. Maybe he came back for Cyrus. Maybe the pull of being a father was stronger than whatever confusion he felt toward me. Or maybe he simply didn’t know where else to go.

I tried to push those thoughts away, but they clung stubbornly to my mind. Every attempt to breathe past them failed. How could I let him go? The idea alone made my chest ache, a deep, hollow pain spreading slowly. It hurt more than I ever thought it should, like losing him all over again while he was still standing right in front of me.

Leaning back into my chair, staring at the city skyline stretching endlessly beyond the glass, my office felt like the only escape route left. The height, the distance, the quiet hum of the city below gave the illusion of control. The unfinished work scattered across my desk became a shield, something solid to focus on when everything else felt like it was slipping through my fingers.

I had money, I had power, I had everything yet the happiness felt a distant memory, where I was gasping air to reach.

“Miss Violet!”

I flinched slightly at the sudden voice, pulled out of my thoughts. Turning toward the doorway, I found Mark walking in, his expression unreadable.

“Mark?” My voice came out sharper than intended, surprised and uneasy. I stood up instinctively, narrowing my eyes. He hadn’t informed me he was coming.

“Hey,” he said casually, lifting a burrito in his hand. “Have you had lunch?”

“Not yet.” I took it from him slowly, confusion tightening my features.

Mark dragged a chair and sat across from my desk like this was any other ordinary day.

“Is everything alright?” I asked, my fingers curling around the wrapper without appetite. “Where is Knox?”

“I don’t know,” he replied simply, taking a bite of his burrito.

The casualness of his answer sent a chill down my spine. My shoulders stiffened.

“You don’t know?” I repeated quietly. “Mark, you can’t let him walk around alone. We still haven’t found the Smith family. They’ll do anything to control the situation.” My words were laced with panic and concerns.

“Well…” He swallowed before continuing. “About that. Yesterday, Knox met Sarah.”

My breath caught. “Sarah?” I asked slowly. “Sarah Smith?”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “She said Cyrus is her son. And that you stole him from her.”

My fingers tightened around the burrito until the paper crinkled. How dare she appeared and tried to manipulate things! “What about Knox?” I asked, my voice barely steady. " Did he believe that bullshit?"

“He didn’t look like he doubted her,” Mark said. “He looked restless.”

My jaw clenched painfully. I nodded once. “I see.” Since he watched his entire identity being shattered by his parents' lies, he could doubt everything and everyone. Right now, he was under pressure to believe everyone or not.

“Violet,” Mark hesitated. “I think you’ve noticed it too. But… Knox has changed. His personality has changed entirely.”

“I know,” I replied softly. My voice felt distant even to my own ears. “He has changed. It’s normal.” I took a slow breath. “And if he wants to leave, I’ll let him go.” The words hurt to say, my chest tightening as I forced them out. “But right now, the Smiths come first. If Sarah is here and she’s found him, it means they’ve been watching us. Please don’t leave his side.”

“I’m not planning to,” Mark said, his eyes on his burrito. “But we can’t force him either. He wants something very different from us. He’s his own person now. All we can do is wait.”

I nodded, biting into the burrito despite the knot in my stomach. It tasted like nothing. The peace I once felt after finding him, after bringing him back here, vanished completely. All that remained was uncertainty and the shadow of the past looming between us.

Knox wasn’t the man I fell in love with. But I was in love with this new version of him anyway. No matter how much he changed, I would never stop loving him.

No matter how much it hurt, I could never hate him either. I never would. He was mine, and even if he walked away, he would always be mine to love.

“Mirah,” I said, pressing the intercom button. “Come to my room.”

Mark glanced through the glass wall as she approached.

She walked in quickly, files tucked against her chest. She shot Mark a glare, which he returned with a smirk. Those two were like Tom and Jerry. Constantly clashing, yet inseparable. Just like we were. Loving unconditionally.

“Yes, Boss?” She asked professionally.

“Mark has found Sarah Smith,” I said, straightening. “You two work on it and locate her. It’s time to put a final end to this.”

Mirah's eyes narrowed. We had been trying to locate them since we got to know that they returned home.

“You found Sarah Smith?” Mirah turned sharply toward Mark. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Now you know,” he grinned, with a playful shrug.

Mirah gave him another glare. Of course, the Mirah I knew, she hated when someone else informed any important information to me.

“Okay, Boss,” she said, already shifting into focus. “Everything will be done soon.” She turned towards him, " Let's go! Dumbass!"

" Sure, Honey ~!"

I watched them, my heart heavy, my thoughts drifting back to the man I felt slipping through my fingers once again. I felt a bit jealous now. If those things didn't have happened, maybe... I would have been having that moments when Knox didn't force himself to be with me. He would have loved me.