Chapter 2091

Brycen straightened, vitality radiating from him. “Your mother and I feel better by the hour. After we go home for the holidays, I doubt we’ll need to set foot in this ward again.”

Denise watched the way Brycen and Calliope tried to smile, their skin stretched thin and colorless beneath the fluorescent glow. She could see through the brave fronts, knew every upbeat word was a lie they told for her sake.

Even so, in this fragile pocket of warmth, she refused to call them out. Some illusions, she decided, were worth protecting.

“Mm,” Denise murmured, letting the single note linger like a promise. “That’s wonderful.”

Brycen opened his mouth, meaning to ask the young man who exactly he was and how he had appeared in his daughter’s life, but the question remained suspended in the antiseptic air.

“Let’s head back to the place I rented first. The ward is far too small, and there isn’t a proper corner to rest. Once we’re settled, I’ll make dinner, and you can take your time talking with Magnus.”

“All right, all right. Of course,” Brycen said, relief loosening his shoulders.