The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 560

By the time Franco returned to Misty Vale, Manley was sound asleep in the nursery.

He couldn't remember when exactly the boy had stopped needing one of his dress shirts to feel secure. It hadn't been a terrible habit, but Franco was deeply satisfied with his current independence.

As for leaving Galen behind, it wasn't that he trusted the man not to do something stupid. Rather, he had simply knocked Galen out cold, dragged him inside, and tossed him onto the couch.

He wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

Before leaving, Franco had texted Jay to send a few guys to keep an eye on him.

Livia getting married was a temporary blow for Galen; the shock of the news was just too much for him to process right now.

Because, knowing Galen, whether she was married or even had a child, he would inevitably hunt her down and steal her back.

He wasn't actually suicidal. Knocking him out was purely to force his exhausted body to get some desperately needed rest. They could deal with the fallout once he sobered up.

But his old methods of dealing with Livia would never work again.

Franco himself was living proof of that disastrous strategy.

After showering and changing into pajamas, Franco went back to the nursery. Manley was sprawled out like a starfish. As the boy rolled over, his shirt rode up, exposing a chubby little stomach.

Franco walked over, tucked the hem of the shirt back into the pajama pants, kicked off his slippers, and lay down beside him.

The nursery bed was only a standard length, and at well over six feet tall, laying with his head on the pillow meant Franco's feet dangled off the edge.

But since the boy was already in a deep sleep, Franco didn't want to risk waking him by moving him to the master bedroom.

Even though Manley was a solid sleeper now that his health had improved—sleeping peacefully, just like Petty used to back when she was healthy and happy.

Franco pulled the small blanket over the boy, crossed his arms behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. His mind was blank, yet unbidden, an image of Petty as a young girl surfaced in his thoughts.

He had always been a walking contradiction. As a teenager, he had effectively driven Gavin and Sophia to their deaths, yet he had arranged for the matriarch to adopt Petty.

It was probably because when he left the gun behind, the tiny girl who used to call him her big brother had clung to her father's leg, staring at him intently.

That look haunted him every single day after returning to the White family.

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