Esme and Aaron were immediately snapped out from their wild fantasies. He had to take out his hand reluctantly from the hem of her nightgown. Esme who happened to come back in reality was astounded on herself. She couldn't believe that she was actually acting so intimate with him inside a washroom in broad daylight.

How could she forget about everything so easily? Damn it!

She cursed internally and didn't dare to meet his eyes which was stuck on her blushed cheeks. Both of them panted heavily to catch their steady breathing and heard the little one shouting again,

" Mommy... Daddy..."

Esme jolted lightly, tidied her clothes hastily and went down for the doorway before shouting back loudly,

" I am here, baby."

She didn't want to scare her daughter who was left alone by them. Even Aaron tidied himself quickly and went after Esme who was pushing open the door.

As the door was opened with a creak sound, both of them were stunned looking up at the person standing beside Ayra. It was Ron who looked astounded. His eyes couldn't help but getting colder after noticing the two of them coming out together from washroom. Even Aaron who got his temper back smiled at his frozen face meekly. The day they accidentally met in Dalastia, Aaron had already predicted that his dear friend had feelings for his wife. No matter what was laid between them, he wasn't going to give up this time. She was his and will be for eternity.

Aaron closely noticed that Esme didn't hold a pleasent expression after watching Ron inside which subconsciously made him very happy. Little did, he hoped that she would drive him away.

Esme suppressed her dissatisfaction towards him and greeted with a faint smile,

" Ron, you are here early in the morning."

Ron hummed in response and suddenly his attention fell on her lips which were looking sullen. Immediately he sensed a knot tightening inside his heart. The little one jumped towards Aaron who was eyeing Ron coldly. Noticing her running figure, Aaron gingerly picked up the running beauty and gave her a light kiss,

" You got up, princess."

Ayra yawned, played with his collarbone clumsily and spoke in her baby voice,

" Daddy, why don't you take me for a hunt today? Aunty Siemus said that you can hunt better than anyone."

Ron's face sank further away. He pursued his lips together to say something but nothing came out because of the shock and pain that he felt just now. Ayra was actually calling Aaron 'Daddy'. Did they reconcile so fast?

As he watched their warm interaction absentmindedly, Esme spoke snatching back his attention again,

" Ron, you have any business here?"

Ron hid the pain on his expression and replied with a faint smile,

" Yes..Can I speak to you alone?"

He asked and immediately looked beside Aaron who eyes were cold. Esme hesitated for a while since her last encounter with Ron alone was horrible. But considering twice, she gave Aaron a pleading glare and asked sweetly,

" Can please take Ayra to sister Athena? She hasn't seen her for a night."

Aaron definitely wanted to refuse but the little one suddenly leant and whispered in his ears,

" Daddy, be a good husband and listen to your wife always or else she will run away."

Aaron was immediately comforted by his daughter's words. He glanced up at her urging face blankly and suddenly felt that a daughter was truly adorable. Unfortunately he wasn't going to have one since Dorgan confirmed that Esme was pregnant with twin boys. Lucky he still had Ayra with them.

Aaron obeyed silently. After giving Ron a cold glare, he headed off to Athena's room which was at the end of the corridor.

Ron sighed softly and looked up at Esme who was waiting for him to talk. After a moment, Ron whispered softly lowering his eyes down,

" Serena..I..I am leaving.."

Esme didn't feel shocked instead hummed affirmatively. Forming her lips into a sweet smile, she genuinely wished,

" I wish that you find your happiness Ron. I will be forever grateful to you. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need my help."

Ron hummed absentmindedly. The only thing that he wanted was her which was impossible now. He didn't want to be an eyesore for her anymore. He smiled back faintly and intended to leave but then something cropped in his mind. He turned around again and suddenly asked with a complex feeling,

" Do...do you know that where has Anna gone exactly?"

Esme shook her head unknowingly and replied with a bitter smile,

" No, Ron. I would have already brought her back if I knew her location. But you don't have to worry about her anymore. You can move on with your life. Anna is a very decent lady,Ron. Now she has promised that she wouldn't disturb your life anymore which means that she wouldn't ever come back. Regarding that child, she is capable enough to raise a child on her own. She has spent so much time and effort raising up Ayra in Rivergreen Valley those days."

Ron hung his head down. There was something wrong in his heart which practically made him miserable subconsciously. The way Esme confidently said that Anna wouldn't ever come back, for some unknown reason, it made him unhappy.

Why was he feeling guilty for her sake? Did he really know Anna wrongly?

He couldn't determine at this moment. Thus he smiled and said to Esme before heading outside for his own world,

" Take care of yourself, Serena."

Esme saw him going outside blankly. Her heart was filled with complex emotions and she really sensed that Ron had something for Anna in his heart. He just didn't realize it yet. She solemnly wished that Ron would take the initiate to find Anna but he just left silently. Perhaps the day he would realise his mistake, it will be too late.

Sometimes love is destined. Perhaps his destiny was linked to Anna from the beginning and she was only a medium for them.

After saying those words to herself, Esme settled her emotions and went outside to greet others. She was excited about the wedding between Ethan and Athena. As soon as she stepped outside, she met someone unexpectedly.

It was Queen Melinda who was standing calmly. She finally mustered up the courage to meet Esme. Esme's face paled slightly and she didn't know how to greet her back. After several thoughts, she bowed lightly and greeted with respect like others,

" Greetings, Queen Mother Melinda."

Since Ethan had become the new king, her status was upgraded to Queen Mother eventually. Queen Melinda wasn't surprised over this formal greeting. She merely smiled bitterly and asked while looking here and there,

" A..Ayra...?"

Esme cut off feeling a little surprised that she had come to look for Ayra,

" She has gone to brother's room. Is there anything you want?"

Melinda sighed longingly and requested with a pleading look,

" Serena.. Can...can we talk?"

Esme didn't find any reason to refuse her request. She gulped before nodding and then both followed her inside Melinda's living room. Upon entering inside, Melinda could no longer hide her emotions. Her expression was filled with guilt and remorse as she started speaking painfully,

" I..I know that you hate me, Esme. I don't dare to ask your forgiveness. But at least don't push me away from getting closer with you. We can at least look forward to seeing a happy future together. I know that I have let you down as a mother. But trust me, it was all those royal responsibilities that made my heart cold like stone. Your father also left me alone with all this burdens. I had become so cruel on myself that I was blind to notice my child's happiness. I really don't expect anything from you. I just want to spend the rest of my life with all of you happily together."

Esme listened her quietly and was stunned upon noticing her tears falling down. It was the first time that she saw her mother's vulnerable state. Even that time, when their father left, she didn't even shed a single tear in front of them. Indeed her words were all true. Responsibilities had made her hard like stone which led her thinking that nothing else wasn't important in this world not even her children's happiness.

Esme sighed and couldn't endure her tears anymore. She walked over to her and hugged her mother tightly. Patting on her back lightly, she comforted in a low voice,

" Mother.. Please don't cry..We aren't pushing you away..We..we are just angry on you..No matter what, we still need you..You are the only guardian left for us."

Melinda brust into tears hardly and hugged her back. She sniffed and assured repeatedly,

" I will try my best to mend my mistake, Serena. I will try my best."

Esme pursued her lips to say that she had met their father. But reminding again that he didn't wish to come back, she dropped the idea. She didn't want to reopen her mother's old wound again. After a few moments of consoling each others emotions, Melinda suddenly asked lifting up her face at Esme,

" Why don't you go back with your husband? I vaguely heard that you both had a misunderstanding. Is it something terrible?"

She spoke and subconsciously pressed her palms on Esme's stomach. She was stunned before asking out shockingly,

" Serena... are..are you actually pregnant? "