A few colleagues walked by, and Cindy quickly pushed Zephyr away. Zephyr gave a light cough, hooked his finger with hers, and led her into a nearby, empty conference room. "You went to see your brother?" he asked gently. The two had recently discussed that since they were officially married, they might as well try living together. So, they'd both taken leave and moved into the house Zephyr's family had prepared for him years ago as a future marital home. It had been renovated long ago but remained empty, though thankfully kept clean by a service. They'd just needed to buy some furniture and personal items before moving in. And so, they'd quite naturally spent the last several days in a blissful, newlywed bubble.The overall experience had been overwhelmingly positive. So positive, in fact, that they'd been completely oblivious to the scandal about Jethro's alleged love child until now. This morning, their leave over, Cindy had driven to the office first, while Zephyr stayed behind to tidy up. When he finally arrived at his desk, he hadn't seen Cindy anywhere. Cindy huffed, "I'm so mad at my brother!" She then recounted her entire, infuriating conversation with Jethro to Zephyr. "Is he a total jerk or what?" she concluded, her voice thick with frustration. "All this time I've been singing his praises to Darcy, and now I feel like the biggest fool! I'm so upset and embarrassed. I can't even face Darcy right now." Zephyr pressed his lips together, thought for a beat, and said, "This whole thing smells fishy." With nearly three decades of friendship, he knew Jethro well enough to know the man would never just sit back and let a rumor rage out of control. "Then it's not a rumor! He's guilty, that's why!" Cindy clenched her fists, her expression aggrieved. Zephyr offered a patient smile. "You really don't have much faith in your brother, do you? Even if the childwere his, he wouldn't just let the story keep spreading. That's completely out of character." Cindy took a breath, forcing herself to calm down. She thought it over. Hmm. He has a point. Itis a bit odd. No, more than odd. It's the complete opposite of how my brother operates. She'd been so worried about Darcy getting hurt that she'd seen the online frenzy and immediately lost her cool, speeding to the office for a confrontation. Now, with Zephyr's steadying presence, she began to see things more clearly. Cindy narrowed her eyes. "You think... he's planning something big?" "No idea. But I trust Jethro. He knows what he's doing. If he's not handling it the way we expect, he must have a reason." He reached out and ruffled her hair. "Instead of worrying about that, why don't you think about what you want for dinner tonight? Text me, and I'll pick up groceries after work." During those few days of living together, aside from the first two meals they ordered in, Zephyr handled every meal. Cindy felt a pang of guilt. "Let me cook tonight. You're so busy with work." His team was deep in the AI model experiments and the upcoming FinTech Innovation Challenge. As the lead, Zephyr was under immense pressure, and she didn't want to add household chores to his load. Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "Can you cook? I still remember that barbecue at Christmas." Flushing at the reminder of her culinary disaster, Cindy insisted, "I can learn!" Before she could say more, Zephyr leaned in and kissed her forehead. "It's okay. I married a wife, not a free maid." Besides, cooking for someone he loved was a pleasure, not a chore. At lunch, Cindy finally got a chance to talk to Darcy. "Mmm. How did you find this amazing little spot? The food here is out of this world," Darcy praised between bites. Cindy felt a vein throb at her temple. How can she be thinking about food at a time like this?! Darcy said seriously, "No matter what's happening, eating well is the top priority." "...So," Cindy ventured cautiously, "you've seen the news online?" Darcy nodded. "Yes. Saw the photos. Read the comments." Cindy's eyes widened. "And... what are you going to do?" She hesitated. "You're not thinking of breaking up with my brother, are you? I admit, the way he's handling this is terrible. But he must have his reasons. Please don't give up on him yet?" Darcy set down her fork, her expression thoughtful. "I've been through this kind of thing before. So, when it comes to relationships, I don't force an outcome." "What does that mean?" Cindy asked, confused. Darcy smiled, "It means I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. We'll keep seeing each other as long as it works. If it doesn't, we go back to being just boss and subordinate. That was the whole point of the 'trial period' we agreed on." Cindy's heart sank. Great. They're both totally chill about this! I'm the only one here losing my mind! Ugh, the ones who matter don't care—and I'm over here stressing like it's my problem! After that day, Cindy stopped trying to play mediator. She decided to simply observe.But the more she watched, the colder her heart grew. For an entire week, she didn't see a single sign of Darcy and her brother going on a date. Not even a phone call. One night, as Zephyr held her while they were drifting off to sleep, Cindy suddenly bolted upright. "Do you think my brother is actually planning to acknowledge that child and break up with Darcy?"