Rayna scowled, turning to Evelyn as Ethan glared at Derek. "Really, Evie? You planned this, didn't you?" she asked.

Ethan, his tone confused and accusatory, asked Derek, "Did you ask me over on purpose?"

Evelyn looked between them. "Rayna's my best friend, Ethan. I invited her to celebrate the housewarming."

Derek interjected, "Ethan's my best friend, Rayna. I wanted him to see the house and meet Evelyn."

Ethan shook his head, glaring at Derek. "You could have done that any other day. Why today, when you knew she would be here?"

"Exactly," Rayna said sharply, crossing her arms. "Why today?"

Evelyn joked, "At least you both agree on something. That's a start." Derek chuckled, while Rayna and Ethan glared.

Before anyone could respond, Samantha bounded in, her cheerful energy breaking the tension. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, jumping into Derek's arms.

Ethan's attention shifted to her. Derek quickly introduced them: "Ethan, this is Samantha, my daughter. Baby, this is my best friend, Ethan." Ethan smiled at Samantha. "It's nice to meet you, Sam. You look so pretty." Samantha blushed.

"Thank you," she said shyly, glancing at Rayna.

Rayna greeted her, "Hello, baby!" and offered a hand, which Samantha took. "Did you bring me chocolates or cakes?" Samantha asked.

Rayna grinned. "I brought you those and more!" Samantha did a happy dance.

Ethan suggested, "You know, she's about Ella's age. Maybe I could ask Sara to bring Ella over for a playdate."

Samantha's eyes lit up. "My best friend's name is Ella!"

Evelyn looked at Ethan curiously. "You know Sara and Ella? They have the same last name as you—Fischer."

Ethan looked surprised. "Yeah, Sara's my sister-in-law. How did you know?"

Evelyn laughed. "Small world. I met Sara on Samantha's first day of school."

Derek chuckled, nudging Evelyn. "Looks like I was bound to find out about Samantha one way or another."

Rayna, still annoyed, added, "Good thing Evelyn told you. I hate dramatic reveals."

"And here's the nanny of the century," Derek announced as Maya entered. Maya giggled shyly. Derek introduced them: "Ethan, this is Maya, Sam's wonderful nanny. Maya, this is Ethan, my best friend." Maya nodded politely at Ethan before turning to Evelyn.

"Sam and I will have dinner upstairs," Maya said, and Evelyn nodded.

Samantha ran off with Maya, leaving the adults to their awkward conversation.

As they sat down to eat, Rayna ignored Ethan, turning to Evelyn. "So, I guess now that we have the mother-in-law's approval, we'll be hearing wedding bells soon, right?" she asked, looking from Evelyn to Derek.

"As long as Evelyn will have me, sure," Derek said, and Rayna grinned. "Let's hope she doesn't bail this time," she joked. Evelyn giggled. "Shut up, Ray. Let's focus on dinner," she said, serving the meal.

Evelyn and Derek tried to make small talk to encourage conversation between Ethan and Rayna, but to no avail. They refused to discuss the same topics.

After a while, Rayna said, "So, do you want to go shopping tomorrow? We need to get a few things for the reunion this weekend."

Ethan paused, his fork hovering. Reunion? he thought, anxious. It couldn't be the same reunion his "golden sun" was attending, could it?

Evelyn grinned. "We? Are you sure it's about the reunion, or is it about your date?"

Rayna giggled. "Both."

"Sandra," Derek began, but Evelyn shook her head.

"Nah. Until everything is revealed, I'd like her to keep believing she's winning. It will be more satisfying to watch her make a fool of herself," Evelyn said. Rayna giggled.

"You have a point. I can picture her bragging, feeling all important about being with Derek Stone," Rayna said. Derek chuckled.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Derek asked Ethan.

Maintaining his composure, Ethan gave Evelyn an apologetic smile. "I wish I could help, but I have a date that day."

Derek looked surprised. "You're finally meeting your golden sun?"

Ethan smiled. "Yep."

Rayna's face paled. She stared at Ethan in disbelief, her heart skipping a beat as their eyes met. No it couldn't be

Evelyn exchanged a look with Rayna, her eyes widening in realization.

"Wait, Ethan, were you the one who put out the marriage ad on Empowered Couple's page?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, that was me. How did you know?"

Rayna shot up, grabbing her handbag. "Evelyn, I'm leaving."

Derek, confused, watched as Rayna rushed to the door, followed by Evelyn. "What's wrong with her?" he asked Ethan.

Ethan remained silent, his gaze following Rayna, a look of realization dawning on his face. It wasn't a coincidence. Rayna was his golden sun.

Shit!