The Illegitimate Flame: Bride of Ashes
Chapter 75- Reyn

Chapter 75: Chapter 75- Reyn

In the crowd, her eyes were drawn to the man just outside the garden,

holding Callum in his arms, a tender smile gracing his handsome face.

Charles was patiently teaching Callum some basic combat moves—

hand in hand, step by step.

The little boy mimicked him earnestly, throwing neat punches with surprising precision.

Every time he looked up at Charles with those bright, admiring eyes,

Janet stood there in the hallway, quietly watching them amidst the stream of guests.

Charles loved Callum—anyone could see that from the gentle look in his eyes.

He truly adored children.

She remembered how, when she’d told him she was pregnant,

he had been more anxious and excited than she was.

It was the kind of joy and nervous pride that came from becoming a father for the first time.

Even after the child was gone, he never stopped cherishing her.

Thinking back, Janet realized—with a pang in her heart—

that she had never really given him anything in return.

Now she knew the kind of cold, ruthless father he came from.

And now, she only wished she had more of her heart to offer him.

Seeing him surrounded by people who genuinely cared—like Shaun, Brian, and Steven—

men from the same world,

men like devils born of the underworld, bound not by blood but by something stronger,

an unbreakable bond even closer than brotherhood—

she could only feel more remorseful.

"You little brat! I can teach you too, you know! Why won’t you ever let me?"

Shaun stood off to the side, grumbling loudly.

He and Callum never quite saw eye to eye—

compared to him, Callum clearly favored Charles more.

Back when Callum first learned to speak,

his very first word had shocked them all:

"Uncle."

They all knew who that "Uncle" was—Charles.

"Daddy bad, Uncle good! Uncle teach!"

Callum declared, shaking his little head with an impish grin.

His words made Brian, who had been quietly observing, laugh out loud.

"What an ungrateful little wolf!" Shaun huffed,

jealousy creeping into his tone.

"He’s not even your son-in-law yet, and his heart’s already gone to you!"

"Callum’s bound to be part of the Elwin family someday anyway,"

Charles said with a grin, crouching down to stroke Callum’s head.

"Come now, my good little son-in-law. Say ’Daddy’ for me, won’t you?"

It was strange, really—

Callum probably didn’t even understand what they were talking about,

yet somehow Charles’s voice carried more authority than Shaun’s.

Without hesitation, the boy blurted out,

"Daddy!"

Shaun nearly choked on his own breath.

Brian and Steven couldn’t hold in their laughter any longer.

This amusing scene of four mysterious, powerful men

and one cheeky little boy had already become the highlight of the evening.

"Good boy," Charles chuckled softly,

gently patting Callum’s head as he stood up.

As if guided by invisible strings,

his gaze lifted toward the main hall—

and there, through the stream of passing guests,

his eyes met hers.

Two pairs of black eyes locked together,

each reflecting the other’s image,

their gazes intertwining in an invisible arc of affection.

Charles began walking toward her.

Janet took a step toward him.

Only a narrow corridor stood between them—

and in that moment, they didn’t need words.

He had just lifted his foot to step forward when—

she was already standing right in front of him.

"The moon’s so full tonight."

Janet looked up at the starry sky and suddenly spoke.

Charles instinctively followed her gaze upward—

but before he could say anything,

Janet rose on tiptoe and planted a quick kiss on the corner of his lips.

By the time he turned back, startled,

she had already shyly retreated, hiding her blushing cheeks.

Only—there was no moon at all tonight.

Charles chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

His little woman was getting more adorable by the day.

"You’d better start moving too."

Not far away, by the flowerbeds, three tall shadows stood quietly under the night sky.

They had seen everything just now.

Brian placed a hand on Steven’s shoulder,

his eyes following Charles and Janet as they disappeared into the dark.

"It’ll never happen between us,"

Steven said calmly, his cold, hawk-like gaze veiled with silence.

His hands were buried in his pockets,

but deep within those dark eyes lay a loneliness no one could touch—

a love buried in his heart, one so unforgettable it had become a scar.

A forbidden love—one he had no right to feel.

"There’s no such thing as ’never’ when it comes to love,"

Shaun said as he stepped up behind them.

The three towering figures stood beneath the trees, silent and proud.

If time could rewind five years,

none of them—men hardened by the shadows of their past—

would have ever believed that one day,

a woman would come along and gently pull open the doors to their long-locked hearts.

But here they were.

One Samantha had made Brian fall—

One Angela had made Shaun turn his back on a forest full of temptations,

choosing to drink from just one stream.

And one Janet—

had made the cold, restrained Charles

finally know what it meant...

to feel his heart ache.

When Charles led Janet into the grand hall, the banquet was already underway.

Angela descended the staircase, holding Candy in her arms.

They were dressed in matching mother-daughter outfits, both in soft princess pinks.

Candy’s wide eyes blinked curiously—dark as obsidian,

not the amber hue of Callum’s,

but more like Shaun’s—those deep, devoted eyes

that had never seen anyone else but Angela.

Shaun walked over as well, carrying Callum in his arms.

The four of them stood together, a picture-perfect family,

bathed in the warm blessings of the guests.

They looked so... complete.

"Bro, you’re finally here!"

Suddenly, just as all eyes had gathered on the little princess in Angela’s arms,

a ripple of murmurs stirred from the entrance of the hall.

A tall, imposing figure stepped into view—

powerful, magnetic, and undeniable.

It was him.

Chestnut-brown hair.

Eyes like molten amber, piercing and impossible to ignore.

A presence so dominant it made the room seem smaller.

He didn’t walk—he commanded space.

Every step was calm, deliberate, and yet... dangerous.

Janet recognized him instantly.

He was the man who had stepped in to help her at the café that day.

But she had no idea—

he was Angela’s brother.

Reyn.

The crown prince of the Italian mafia.

A ruler who straddled both the light and the dark.

His real name was rarely spoken aloud.

In the underground world,

everyone simply called him—

"Your Highness."

Apart from Charles and Shaun—whose power stood on equal footing—

Reyn had once been their enemy.

But because of Angela,

they had set aside their blades and become... unlikely allies.

A man as dangerous as Reyn—

should never have been on the same side.

And yet, somehow, he was.

He belonged to the same world as them.

Men carved from shadows and steel.

Men with that unmistakable aura—

the sovereign arrogance of born kings.

At the same time,

Janet’s gaze was drawn to the woman beside Reyn.

A delicate, graceful East Asian woman who clung lightly to his arm.

From her angle, she only caught a glimpse—

a single fleeting profile.

But that one glance was enough to send a jolt through her chest.

Janet’s eyes widened.

Her.

That woman...

She had seen her once—

by the wishing fountain near Notre-Dame in Paris.

A stranger who had silently handed her a coin.

A quiet, distant kindness.

And now... she stood beside Reyn.

What were the odds?

Janet felt a strange rush—

a mix of surprise, awe, and a faint chill down her spine.

Perhaps...

some people were always destined to cross paths.

No matter how vast the world seemed.

Fate, ever so subtle, had woven their lives together.

And Janet could tell—

from the way that woman stood beside Reyn,

from the way his gaze lingered on her—

this was possession.

That fierce, unyielding dominance a man had

when a woman had completely taken root in his soul.

She had seen it before.

On Charles.

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