Athena tried to think of something she wanted from Zaden, but honestly, she came up empty. He'd been pretty decent lately—stood up for her at school today, gave her plenty of respect at the hospital. She really couldn't ask for much more. Zaden walked over, sat down beside her, and rested his arm on the pillow behind her as he leaned in close. "If you can't think of anything, how about we talk it over tonight?" Athena snatched up the pillow next to her and shoved it into his arms. "What are you thinking? With Teri acting like this lately, she must be scared at night. How could I let her sleep alone? I'm staying with her!" She looked so defensive it was almost funny. Zaden chuckled. "I meant we should talk about how to comfort her. What are you thinking about?" Athena's cheeks burned. The way Zaden said the word comfort sounded anything but proper. Yeah, right—like he actually wanted to just talk about comforting someone. Zaden gave her that fake-innocent look that said, See? I'm totally blameless. Athena was speechless. Just then, a soft piano melody drifted into the room from outside. Both of them went quiet. Zaden frowned, as if trying to remember something. Athena knew Zaden well enough to catch the subtle change in his expression, and a faint sense of unease stirred in her chest. This was a quiet villa neighborhood, hardly anyone lived nearby. She'd been coming and going for months and had never seen a soul next door.Zaden had told her that the villa next door was for sale. But now there was music. Someone must have moved in. Even so, Zaden's reaction seemed strange. Athena stood up, walked to the big glass window, and pulled the curtain aside. Across the way, through the shimmering tree shadows, she saw a woman in a white dress sitting at a piano, sunlight wrapping her in a soft glow. Athena's temple throbbed the moment she saw that familiar profile through the window. Unbelievable. Like a ghost that just won't leave. Who else could it be but Maya? No wonder Zaden had looked that way earlier—it turned out the piano music was coming from Maya. She was playing a song the two of them must have known well, though the tune itself sounded unfamiliar to Athena. Zaden walked up behind her. Without turning around, Athena kept her eyes on Maya and said quietly, "You told me no one lived next door. Now that Maya's here, are you going to check on her?" "She's playing a song she wrote herself," Zaden replied. "Back in school, everyone loved that kind of music, so she composed one and said she wanted it played at our wedding." Hearing that, Athena's heart sank. She could never erase the memories Zaden shared with Maya, especially with Teri—who might even be their child—caught in the middle. There was no way their bond could be completely severed. Her good mood disappeared in an instant. Maya's sudden reappearance made her feel small and out of place, like an outsider intruding on something that had already been written long ago. That was the past, and no matter what she did, she couldn't change it. "So you two broke up, and the song never got used," Athena said flatly. "Now Maya's playing it again—maybe she's trying to tell you she's still waiting to marry you?" She sighed, her voice tinged with helplessness. She had been trying to avoid the topic of Maya altogether, pretending it didn't bother her. But now Maya had gone as far as moving in right next door, forcing her to face it head-on. Zaden saw the look on Athena's face and sighed. He stepped forward, pulled her into his arms, and rested his head on her shoulder. "Not every memory is something you want to hold on to or return to," he said softly. "When Maya left, I already found a way to save myself. Hearing her play now doesn't stir anything in me." He paused, then added, "I told you this because I don't want to hide anything from you. There shouldn't be secrets between us." Athena froze for a second, startled. She hadn't expected Zaden's explanation to come from a place like that.