The person who just arrived was in a military uniform, accompanied by a sharply dressed woman.

It was Mark and Nina.

Ethel didn’t even bat an eye when Mark and Nina walked in. She knew Mark’s identity but wondered why someone like him kept showing up at the orphanage, especially since all his inquiries were about Aubree. Ethel remained cautious with Mark, offering only vague answers to his questions. She had no idea how much he already knew, or if he had connected the “dels” to Aubree.

When Aubree ran into Mark today, Ethel involuntarily furrowed her brow.

Bowen, however, was waiting for Mark. Nina had tipped him off that Mark would visit the orphanage today.

He wondered why Mark had been so interested in the orphanage lately, and what he meant by those words he'd said to him last time.

“Why did he tell me to stay away from Bree?” Bowen wondered.

Mark’s gaze shifted and landed on Aubree. He frowned. “Her again?”

Bowen stared at him. “That’s my line. What are you doing here? Since I had Nina follow you, you must’ve known I’d come looking for you eventually.”

Speaking of which, Mark rolled his eyes and scoffed, “You call this following me?”

It’s more like blatant surveillance, Mark thought.

“Only a scheming bastard like you would think to send Nina to tail me,” Mark said. “If it were anyone else,” he thought, “I would’ve packed them up and shipped them back to the sly old fox Bowen by now!”

“But Nina…” Mark rubbed his temples, feeling a wave of guilt. He owed her too much. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it.

“Looks like you have something to discuss, so I’ll leave you to it,” Ethel said with a chuckle, giving them their space. Before leaving, she gave Aubree a knowing wink. “Aubree, could you run a quick errand for me?”

Aubree thinks Grandma Ethel is deliberately sending me away, she wondered.

“Sure,” Aubree replied.

Nina had never met Aubree in person, but from what she’d heard from Ethan and the others, she knew Aubree was very likely to become the future Mrs. Turner. Nina watched as Aubree walked away, noticing nothing out of the ordinary.

“Mr. Turner, I’ll wait over there,” Nina said.

Soon, the space was cleared, leaving just Mark and Bowen.

Bowen cut straight to the chase. “Come on, spit it out. Why have you been haunting this place lately? Don’t tell me your dad’s marriage pressure has you so desperate you’re thinking of just adopting someone from here.”

Mark rolled his eyes. Sometimes this guy can piss me off so much, he thought.

He quipped, “If you won’t hand her over, how am I supposed to answer my dad?”

Bowen threw up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t pin that on me. Nina’s not into you. I already sent her your way, so if you two happen, you’d better step up your game!”

After trading a few jabs, Bowen’s expression turned serious. “Enough small talk. Get to the point.”

Mark sighed inwardly. Guess there’s no dodging this after all.

He sprawled in his seat across from Bowen. “That girl’s name is Aubree. You’re into her.” As longtime friends, Mark could instantly read the changes in Bowen.

“Yeah, I am,” Bowen said.

“If you trust me, you’d best steer clear,” Mark said.

Bowen’s gaze froze. “Mark, I thought you knew me better than that. What I’ve set my heart on, I won’t let go of unless it’s impossible.” Then, he thought to himself, Even if there’s not a sliver of hope, I’ll still fight for her.

Mark let out a sigh. He knew all too well how stubborn Bowen could be. That was why, back at Nightworld, he’d tried to nip things in the bud before Bowen even realized how he truly felt.

That kid Ollie doesn’t know anything, Mark thought, He just loves to stick his nose in.

Mark stopped hiding it. He said, “You know, Alvin has had me investigating what happened to his parents all these years. It all happened so suddenly, and with no surveillance footage from that long ago, I’ve just been hitting dead ends.”