I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 656

With Hayden gone, Zoe had two glorious days of peace.

Whether she was at the Fort Hamilton Command Center or the Kendall Estate, she laughed and chatted freely with everyone.

Without Hayden's suffocating presence, the atmosphere wherever she went was incredibly warm and harmonious.

By the following evening, the sunset cast a sheer, tangerine glow over the Kendall Estate, spilling beautifully over the courtyard gardens.

Hayden suddenly appeared in the grand hall. Zoe was just walking in with a spring in her step, having brought Lily back from the amusement park with Garrett. Lily was carrying a little toy she had won from a claw machine, giggling uncontrollably.

Behind the mother and daughter, Yara Quinn was carrying little Ian. Garrett hovered nervously over the two of them, terrified that Yara didn't know how to hold a baby properly.

To an outsider, it looked exactly like little Ian was their son.

The scene was picture-perfect, and everyone's face was lit up with genuine joy.

When Garrett reached out to pinch little Ian's chubby cheek, Yara unceremoniously slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch him. This is my first time holding a baby, don't startle me."

Garrett froze, not daring to move a muscle.

Yara's perpetually icy face suddenly broke into a brilliant, surprised smile when little Ian giggled at her. "Mr. Kendall, he smiled at me!"

Yara smiled back, trying to coax another laugh out of the baby, completely mesmerizing Garrett in the process.

"You actually look beautiful when you smile. You should smile more often."

Yara's smile instantly vanished.

Had she smiled?

The warmth vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

The rapid change caught Garrett completely off guard.

Then, Hayden walked in.

Yara's expression grew even more rigid.

He ignored her little interaction with Garrett and locked his eyes on his son in her arms.

"Give him to me."

Yara hesitated, holding the baby slightly tighter, and glanced at Garrett.

Hayden shot them a freezing look. Garrett didn't want to make things unnecessarily difficult, so he gave Yara a subtle nod.

Yara placed the baby in Hayden's arms.

A sarcastic smirk touched Hayden's lips. "Officer Quinn and Mr. Kendall seem to be getting along quite well."

"Commander Thorne, please stay away from my child. Didn't you leave because you had an emergency? I thought you weren't coming back."

She had genuinely assumed he'd be gone for at least a week or two playing knight in shining armor for Sienna. It hadn't even been three days. Did Sienna drop dead or something?

"How could I? Nothing in the world is more important than my wife and children."

If he didn't come back, how was he supposed to fend off the army of wolves circling his wife?

Zoe held little Ian tightly, grabbed Lily's hand, and completely ignored him.

Lily, clutching her new plush toy from the amusement park, cast a look of pure pity at Hayden before happily skipping off after Zoe.

Seeing Zoe carrying the baby, Garrett and Yara hurried after her, worried she would tire herself out.

Yara quickly took the baby back, with Garrett trailing right behind her.

Watching them look like a perfect, happy family, Hayden's face darkened.

His sense of impending doom wasn't limited to the Kendall family anymore. It seemed his position as a father was under siege as well.

He quickened his pace, sliding into the seat right next to Zoe the second she sat down.

"???"

Before Zoe could snap at him, Hayden spoke up. "I need to talk to you about the classified briefing from Command HQ regarding the internal mole in our ranks."