Bound By A Broken Night novel Chapter 19

“Wowk, Mama? No Kai come?”

My two–and–a–half–year–old son stood near the bed, watching me fold clothes into the open suitcase. His small lips puckered into an unmistakable pout, brows knitting together in mild distress.

“Yes, my little prince,” I said softly. “Mama has to work. And Prince Kai has to stay home with Mamo for now.”

I stopped packing and knelt in front of him, bringing myself to his eye level. “Mama will be quick Just two nights, Kai. Two nights without Mama.”

“That’th wong, Mama…” His lower lip trembled. “Two nighthh Kai no hug Mama.”

My chest tightened, breath catching painfully at the sight of that familiar expression–one I would recognize anywhere. It was an expression he hadn’t inherited from me.

I swallowed and forced a smile.

“Yes, sweetheart, it’s a long time,” I admitted gently. “But Kai will wait for Mama, right?”

My heart ached. This would be the first time I would leave him behind.

It had been six months since Jefferson Holt came to Wallace Plantation asking for intervention- more truthfully, asking for mine. After endless negotiations and suffocating legalities, Holt Corporation was finally moving forward with its first overseas venture under my management.

This deal mattered.

A collaboration with a self–driving motor vehicle company. If I succeeded, Holt Corporation would become the first in the country to manufacture vehicles with that level of technology.

“Kai wait Mama,” he nodded obediently, though his pout remained. “But Kai thhad.”

“Oh, baby…”

I pulled him into my arms, and he immediately nestled against me, small fingers clutching my blouse as if afraid I might disappear right then and there.

“I’ll call you on the TV every hour,” I promised, brushing my lips against his hair. “You’ll see Mama on the screen.”

Kai turned to stare at the television across the room, eyes narrowed in deep contemplation, his perfectly shaped brows furrowing.

That expression again.

After a long moment, he nodded. “Okay, Mama,”

Then his face brightened suddenly. “Kai pway pawk too?”

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Hope sparkled in his eyes, and my heart clenched.

I exhaled slowly. “Kai can’t play at the park while Mama is away,” I said gently. “But when Mama comes back, I’ll take you. I promise.”

I raised my hand solemnly, sealing it.

His almost–sulk melted into excitement, a wide smile spreading across his face as he mirrored my gesture.

As Malakai grew, his features became more defined and more terrifying.

Anyone could tell now. He looked nothing like Zandrie. And worse… almost nothing like me.

Every day, that reality haunted me.

People would notice. They would talk. They would connect the dots. That was why I rarely took him outside.

After his birth, I acquired a penthouse and built everything a child could ever need inside it–his own playground, a small swimming pool, rooms filled with toys and light. A perfect, safe world.

Yet sometimes, he wanted more. He wanted to play outside. With other children.

It hadn’t been a problem when he was younger. But now, his face alone was enough to stop me in my tracks.

Whenever he insisted, I only took him out at night–under the excuse that Mama worked during the day.

Which was true. But I could make time, I just chose not to.

Because every time I looked at my son, I saw not just the boy I loved more than life itself–but the truth I was desperately trying to hide from the world.

“Cassie.”

Drie’s voice gently pulled me back to the present.

“Dada!”

Kai’s face lit up instantly. He broke into a run and launched himself into Drie’s waiting arms without hesitation. As if it were second nature, Drie scooped him up and spun him high into the air

-once, twice–until Kai’s delighted shrieks rang through the room.

“Yey…! Mow, Dada!”

His laughter bubbled out freely, bright and infectious, and I found myself laughing along despite everything weighing on my chest. Kai’s joy had that effect—it filled every corner it touched.

“Then… more!” Drie laughed, spinning him a few more times.

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“Alright, that’s enough, little prince,” I said, stepping forward with a chuckle. “You’ll get dizzy if you keep going.”

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