His skin glistened, his sexy abs sculpted down to his waistline and dipping into his suit pants. The crisscrossing scars on his back didn't ruin the beautiful view; instead, they gave him a sexy, ragged aura that tempted her to explore.

Maeve covered her flustered face; her ears turned red as well. "Yikes, it's too early in the morning to be this excited," she pondered. Byron sensed her gaze, turned, and looked directly into her eyes.

"I haven't seen you for a few days. Don't you recognize me?" he teased.

"N-no? Why do you ask?" she stuttered.

"Why are you blushing?" Byron asked.

As soon as he said that, Maeve shyly hid under the blanket. "You're changing your clothes in front of me. What's wrong with me blushing to show my admiration?"

Byron smiled knowingly. "Does that mean you're satisfied with what you see?"

Every time he teased her, she blushed, her heart beating faster. This time, Maeve was unyielding. She straightened her neck and admitted, "It's alright. I can tell you didn't neglect your workouts during your business trip. Keep it up."

Byron was surprised. "The innocent, timid woman who is always kind and sweet and never indecent knows how to tease me?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise. He stopped buttoning his shirt, walked toward her with it open, leaned over, and looked at her with a sinister smile.

"Then, do you want to touch?" he asked seriously.

"Touch... touch what?" Maeve was confused.

Maeve's brain short-circuited for two seconds. When she came back to her senses, her hands were already touching Byron's well-defined abs. His skin was soft, but his abs were rock-solid. She loved how they felt and didn't want to stop. She couldn't help but squeeze them a few times.

Byron hissed and grabbed her hand. He said in a hoarse voice, "That's enough."

"What?" Maeve looked at him with a dissatisfied expression. "You wanted me to touch them but can't handle it? You're such a killjoy."

Byron laughed softly, his chest trembling under her fingers. She was turned on.

"I'm afraid that if you keep touching me, something will happen to you," he said.

Maeve wondered why something would happen to her when she was the one touching him. Just as this thought crossed her mind, she recalled their crazed frenzy the night before he left the country. Her face flushed, and she hurriedly got out of bed. "The Arts and Theatrical festival is about to begin. I'll go wash up now!" she quickly explained.

Byron grabbed her arm. "You forgot something."

She stuttered, "Wh-what?"

"This." Byron took out an exquisite gift box with golden edges and placed it in Maeve's hand. "This is your gift."

Maeve was a little surprised. "You're such a busy man, yet you still found time to get me a gift?"

Byron remarked, "I bought it at a store on my way here."

Maeve thought to herself, 'Do you think I'm stupid? Which random store would use such beautiful packaging with gold trimmings?' She didn't expose his lie. When she opened the gift box, she saw a Tanzanite necklace and bracelet. They were simple but elegant and rare, beautiful pieces.

Maeve had received jewelry from many other men in Erancia. However, she wasn't enthusiastic about such gifts and rarely wore them. She was never as happy as she was at this moment. "Help me put it on," Maeve said, grabbing her long hair and brushing it aside.

Byron lowered his eyes and put the necklace on her, then the bracelet. The Tanzanite cast a faint halo on her glowing skin.

"Perfect. It's as gorgeous as I assumed." A hint of satisfaction appeared in Byron's eyes.

Maeve smiled until her eyes narrowed. She looked in the mirror, beaming with joy. "Of course, I look good," she said, then quickly corrected herself, "I mean the necklace looks good."

Byron remained silent.

When they arrived at Islaton Private International Kindergarten, the Arts and Theatrical festival had just begun. Pre-K class was the second performance of the day. Theo and Will were preparing backstage. They had only seen the costumes Maeve had made for them right before the show. Will had long been mentally preparing for the day and kept an open mind about wearing a dress. Theo, on the other hand, was extremely delighted. He remembered the famous quote, "If I don't enter hell, who will?" He had to step out of his comfort zone to learn and grow.

The play hadn't yet begun, but Theo was reciting his lines, so focused his head spun. Fortunately, Maeve and Byron arrived just in time. Only then did Maeve realize that Theo had slightly changed his appearance for school. It was even more impossible to tell that Will was his twin with those round-framed glasses.

Maeve quietly asked some people around her about the glasses. She found out that her sons would take turns wearing glasses every day to prevent the audience from knowing they were twins. Maeve's heart ached when she heard this. She reckoned this wouldn't have happened if she hadn't tried to hide them.

Maeve planned to confront Byron after the Arts and Theatrical festival ended. She didn't care about the consequences.

Chapter 343

"Kid, when did you become short-sighted?" Byron spotted Theo's extra-large glasses. He raised his hand to fix them on Theo's face properly, teasing, "Which prince wears glasses?" Theo pushed Byron's hand away and sighed in frustration. "I'm the prince who pioneered history. Is that not okay?"

"Why do you look so pale? What did you do with your face?" Byron asked.

"I'm wearing makeup. Is that a problem?" Theo retorted.

"Not at all, but you look so cute like this," Byron sweetly stated.

Theo was speechless.

Will noticed his father and brother were about to argue again, so he quickly came over to prevent a fight and pulled Theo away. "Dad, we're going to change. See you later," Will said.

Byron nodded slightly and watched them enter the changing room. Byron and Maeve left the backstage area and walked toward their seats. A moment later, he received a call and excused himself.

Not long after Maeve sat down, Jaylen arrived. He wasn't in a wheelchair today and didn't look too bad. He was holding a bouquet of white roses.

"Is this for Theo? He's backstage," Maeve reminded him.

Jaylen handed the flowers to her. "No, they're for you."

Maeve was stunned for a moment. After hesitating for a few seconds, she accepted them openly. "Thank you," she said.

Jaylen sat down and asked her, "How's Theo? Is he nervous about his first performance?"

Maeve thought of Theo's confident expression and shook her head with a smile. "Theo? Nervous? He won't be nervous. I think he's feeling a little too arrogant."

"That's Theo's personality." Jaylen thought of something, and his expression became gentle. "I still remember when he was just born. He was so small. I always panicked when I hugged him. I didn't expect him to become so big in the blink of an eye."

"I still remember that when he first learned to speak. He called me 'Dad.' Unfortunately, it was only that one time. After that, he never called me that again." At that time, Jaylen thought it was unfortunate that he wasn't Theo's dad.

Maeve laughed. "You still remember that."

Theo was small but smart. Once, he mistook Jaylen for his father. Jaylen didn't respond, and Theo immediately realized he wasn't his father. He didn't call him "Dad" after that.

Jaylen seemed to be a little nostalgic. "If possible, I want to hear Theo call me 'Dad' again. But with his stubborn personality, he probably won't be willing to do it."

Maeve didn't make a sound, nor did she notice that Byron had returned from his call and was watching them from not far behind.