Ivy lifted her chin onto his shoulder, her arms slipping under his and wrapping around his lean, freshly showered body. “Stop messing around,” she murmured, “my period isn’t over yet.”

Jamison glanced up at her, handsome features tinged with surprise. “Still not done?”

She nodded. “Maybe it’s the new meds I’m on. I mean, it doesn’t hurt as much as before, but it’s lasting longer.”

“Could be. I’ll ask Professor Penn about it tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Even if they couldn’t be properly intimate, there was no escaping the kisses and embraces that followed.

Jamison pulled her closer, kissing her deeply. He guided her hand downward, and Ivy instantly flushed, whispering, “Wait… turn off the lights.”

He freed a hand to flick the switch, plunging the spacious bedroom into darkness, letting the cover of night soften her embarrassment.

But just as things were heating up, a sudden pounding rattled the bedroom door.

“Uncle Jamie, open up! Aunt Ivy, are you guys asleep?”

“Uncle Jamie, why’d you lock the door? You promised you wouldn’t-!”

The two of them, lost in the rare comfort of each other’s arms, were jolted back to reality. They both looked toward the door, startled.

Jamison ground his teeth in frustration. “Halley, if you don’t quiet down, I’m sending you home with the driver!”

“You’re so mean, Uncle Jamie! You promised I could sleep with you guys tonight!”

Before Halley could start banging again, a housekeeper hurried over, soothing him in a gentle voice. “Come on, Master Hal, let’s go back to your room. Your uncle and aunt’s bed isn’t big enough for three.”

“But I can sleep on the couch! I’m little, the couch is fine for me!” Halley shot back, ready to pound on the door again, but the housekeeper scooped him up and carried him away.

Peace finally returned to the hallway, but Ivy’s romantic mood had vanished.

Jamison, too, lost his momentum. He flopped down beside Ivy and muttered by her ear, grumbling, “Honestly, not having kids sounds pretty nice right about now.”

Ivy stifled a laugh, knowing exactly what he meant.

The next morning, Halley woke up sulking, refusing even to touch his breakfast.

Danny arranged for the driver to take him to preschool, but the little guy wouldn’t budge, lips still stubbornly pursed.

Then Jamison came downstairs.

“Come on, eat your breakfast. Aunt Ivy and I will drive you to preschool today.”

Halley shot him a suspicious look. “You’re lying, Uncle Jamie. I don’t believe you.”

“Promise. Cross my heart, hope to die.” Jamison, usually so reserved, resorted to childish pledges to coax his nephew.

Ivy followed behind, a little embarrassed but unable to hide her smile.

But Halley was a sucker for his uncle’s promises; he jumped off the couch and dashed to the dining room to eat.

Ivy didn’t need to rush back to campus – she had to stop by Golden Maple Estate first to deal with the Windsors.

Jamison decided to go with her.

So, they took a slight detour and dropped Halley off at preschool together.

At the entrance, Halley had already forgotten his earlier grudge. As he walked through the gate, he turned to the security guard and proudly introduced, “Sir, this is my uncle and aunt. They’re taking me to school today!”

He spotted his teacher and couldn’t help but show off again: “Miss, these are my uncle and aunt. They love me the most!”

Not missing a beat, when he ran into a classmate, he grabbed the kid’s hand and bragged, “Evan, this is my uncle and aunt. Aren’t they just the coolest?”

Ivy considered herself pretty outgoing, but at this moment, Halley’s fearless social energy made her want to hide behind her purse.

Finally, with the little whirlwind safely dropped off, she all but fled back to the car, letting out a long breath of relief.

Jamison watched her and chuckled. “Regretting letting him stay over last night?”

Ivy shook her head with a wry smile, fastening her seatbelt. “Who does he take after, anyway?”

“No idea. Maybe some kind of genetic anomaly,” he replied.

Ivy scrunched her nose and shook her head again. “Didn’t your brother say he was just like you as a kid? What if we ever have kids – do you think we’d end up with one like that?”

She couldn’t help imagining: “If it’s a boy, I guess we’d just have a headache. But if it’s a girl with that kind of personality…”

She didn’t finish, but the implication was clear – a daughter like that might be more than they could handle.

Jamison followed her train of thought, grinning. “If we had a girl like that, I’d be glad – she wouldn’t let anyone push her around.”

“You want a daughter?” Ivy turned to look at him.

He almost said, As long as it’s yours, I’ll love them no matter what – but changed tack at the last second.

“I don’t want kids. Too much trouble, too hard to raise.”

Ivy gazed out the window, then murmured, “I think it’d be kind of fun, actually. Having a kid to play with.”

Jamison laughed. “Play with? You think kids are toys?”

“Pretty much,” she teased.

Dr. Ludwig, who had overheard their banter, couldn’t help chiming in. “If you’re bored, we have two cats at home you can play with as much as you like.”

“It’s not the same,” Ivy replied. “Cats just depend on people. They’re simple, straightforward. Kids, though – they can connect with you, really connect. There’s joy and sadness, anger and laughter. It’s life colliding with life, and maybe that’s how we become better versions of ourselves…”

As she spoke, Ivy’s voice grew softer, thoughtful, as if she were half comforting herself.

For a long time, she’d been convinced she wouldn’t make a good mother – afraid she’d inherited the Windsor family’s flaws, and with her health, figured it was better not to have children at all.

But the more time she spent with Halley, the more she found herself drawn to this bright, lively little soul. She discovered a new side of herself and came to appreciate the warmth of family in a way she hadn’t before.

Her old beliefs were starting to shift.

Maybe, someday, she’d want to bring a child into the world – one that was hers, and his.

She just wondered if, when that day came, fate would allow it.

Jamison glanced at her. She had fallen silent again, staring out the window as the morning sun poured through the glass, illuminating her face – chasing away, for the moment, the shadows in her heart.