"Did you go to Blacktower?" Hull asked.

Barnaby nodded. "Yeah, I went. It was intense! Susanna's mother was incredible!"

Silas hadn't seen it, but Barnaby had caught the whole show.

"With one word, a whole team of fertility and psychological experts rushed to Blacktower," Barnaby said. "She was determined to get to the bottom of it today, no matter what!"

He had seen plenty of dominant people, but a woman with that level of fierce authority was a first.

"Alright, let's go eat!" Silas said, dragging Barnaby away before he could say anything else stupid.

Barnaby was hauled off down the hall.

"My mom is at Blacktower. Will she be okay?" Susanna asked. She was genuinely worried that Derek might lose his mind from the provocation.

Hull wrapped an arm around her waist. "With Elliot Harlow there, you don't need to worry about her safety."

Before they knew Lacey was with Elliot, they had been on guard against Blacktower's retaliation. But now, things were different.

"Besides, Adelle is locked up. No one can threaten your mother now," Hull added.

As for Derek, his mind was officially mush. Right now, his top priority was figuring out the truth about his children. Until he had concrete answers, he wouldn't dare make a reckless move.

Susanna nodded slowly. "That makes sense."

"Are you coming with me to Ferrowland tomorrow for Star's wedding?" she asked, her voice softening with obvious envy at the word 'wedding'.

During Star's years in Portis City, she rarely talked about the Quinn family. Back then, Susanna had assumed Star would be entangled with Yorick Quarry for the rest of her life. The thought of Star spending her life with Yorick had always made Susanna's heart ache for her.

But things had turned out perfectly. Yorick wasn't her destiny after all. She had the Quinn family behind her, and she had Ronald Quinn.

"Do you envy them having a wedding?" Hull asked.

"Yeah, I do," Susanna nodded.

What girl didn't dream of a magical wedding?

Hearing the longing in her voice, Hull gently pressed her head against his chest. His heartbeat was strong and warm.

Susanna nuzzled against him. "If you go, do you actually have the time?"

"Yeah, I have time."

Hearing that, a bright smile lit up Susanna's face. She happily snuggled deeper into his embrace.

Hull gripped the back of her head, his voice turning husky and strained. "Don't move around so much."

Sensing the sudden shift in his tone, Susanna froze, not daring to wiggle another inch.

Hull gently stroked her hair.

Exhausted from the recent stress

and utterly drained by Hull's

demanding stamina from earlier

Susanna soon drifted to sleep right

there against his chest.

Looking down at the sleeping woman in his arms, Hull felt his hardened heart soften

a fraction more. He carefully picked her up and laid her on the bed.

Then, he called Silas in.

When Silas walked into the room, Hull was sitting in a chair, a cigar clamped between his fingers. He was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, a deep frown of concentration on his face.

"Boss, you needed me?" Silas stepped forward respectfully.

"Look into the wedding customs and traditions in Portis City," Hull ordered.

"Huh?" Silas blinked.

Investigate that?

"Why do you need to look into that? Is..." Silas trailed off. Wedding customs? Did Hull mean what he thought he meant? "Are you planning to marry Susanna?"

What did a bunch of hardened mercenaries know about weddings? They lived their lives on the edge of a blade. The concept of marriage was foreign, almost nonexistent in their world.