His Knees, His Pleas, But Our Son's in Peace

Of course. He had never believed me. If he had come home even once

this year, he would have seen the medications and machines filling

Oliver's room. But this was his first time back.

I thought of Oliver's last wish-to go camping as a family. To make it happen, I had begged Nathan, even kneeling before him, promising I

would never ask for anything again. He had stood tall, looking down

at me, and finally asked, "Are you serious?"

I nodded, tears streaming down my face.

Nathan had entered my life when I was eight years old. I had begged my parents to adopt him from the orphanage. He became my brother, living with us.

But when I was fifteen, my parents divorced, and my father took

Sienna while my mother kept Nathan and me. Nathan resented me for years, blaming me for separating him from Sienna. When my dying

mother entrusted me to him, he reluctantly married me but never

gave me a wedding.

"Don't expect me to love you," he had told me coldly after my mother's death. "Sienna is coming back. The wedding belongs to her."

Yet, he refused to grant Oliver's dying wish.

I looked at him-this man who once seemed so handsome but now

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The Keens, His Pleas, BigDur Sun's in Peace

appeared as nothing more than a cruel predator. Just as Nathan began

to speak, Sienna cried out, "Nathan, my face hurts. Is it swollen? I have an ad shoot tomorrow!"

Nathan immediately turned his attention to her. Sienna collapsed into

his arms, her face indeed swollen from my slap.

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she leaned against him, while

Nathan carefully wiped them away with concern.

When we were children, Nathan had been kind to me, too. I remembered losing my favorite toy, crying for days, and how he had comforted me, even saving up his money to buy me a replacement. But after we turned fifteen, I couldn't remember a single act of kindness from him.

Sensing my presence, Nathan looked at me coldly. "Apologize to

Sienna."

I straightened my back, swallowing my sadness. "No."

Nathan blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected defiance.

When he first began resenting me, I had just entered adolescence. I followed him around, trying to please him, afraid to upset him. But no

matter what I did, I could never compare to Sienna.

Nathan didn't rush to confront me. He tenderly placed Sienna back on

the sofa before turning back to me. "Doris, don't test my patience."

His bodyguards blocked my exit, dragging me back to stand before

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His Knees, His Pleas, But Our Son's in Peace

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him. Nathan lit a cigar, his cold gaze piercing through the haze of smoke. The weight of his presence made it hard to breathe. "Apologize to Sienna."