From a quick glance, this household appeared to be well-off, and the man seemed to be a dedicated husband and father.
Thinking so, Karina decided to leave Andrew in this family's care.
As she gently placed the baby down, she leaned forward, kissed his forehead softly, and murmured:
"God will watch over you, and we will meet again in eighteen years."
Then, the elderly maid stood up, knocked on the door, and quickly hid herself. Not long after the knock echoed, the man inside opened the door. He was utterly surprised to see a baby left at his doorstep. He immediately picked the child up, carefully looked around, and finally brought him inside.
"Emily, there's a baby abandoned in front of our house."
"Oh, poor thing, he looks so cold and hungry that he's turned pale. Let me hold him and warm him up, I'll nurse him right away."
"There's also a necklace next to the baby."
"His name is Andrew?"
"Yes. Andrew, what a beautiful name. But why would his parents abandon him like this?"
"I don't think it's as simple as that."
o0o
For Layla, the most boring thing in the world was school.
While her friends were cherishing their last years of high school, she only wanted to graduate as quickly as possible. She hated the long, dragging lessons. She despised the numbers in math class, loathed the experiments in physics and chemistry, detested biology, disliked French class, and to sum it up, she hated everything.
The only thing Layla did during a class was twirl her pen in her fingers and gaze out at the rows of trees beyond the school walls. Today was no exception, and as she was lost in her daydreams, a voice suddenly startled her.
"Layla, bring me your homework."
The teacher sitting at the podium adjusted her glasses and fixed a stern, bullet-like gaze on Layla. Panicked, Layla couldn't even remember whether she had packed her books. This math teacher was notoriously strict; if she didn't have her homework, she would definitely get a failing grade, be made to copy lines, and worst of all, have her parents called—that was something Layla dreaded the most.
Luckily, she managed to grab her homework notebook, though she was almost certain she hadn't done the assignments for the entire year. Maybe she'd scribbled a few problems here and there just to show effort. Layla frantically opened her notebook and, to her surprise... she found the homework completed. Every single problem, neatly done.
Since she never looked at her homework, she had no idea it had been altered. Andrew must have done it for her. Layla let out a silent sigh of relief, then brought the homework up to the teacher's desk.
o0o
The bell signaling the end of class rang, and Layla stretched enthusiastically. She was always the fastest to pack up, stand up, and leave the classroom—sometimes even before the teacher. The teachers were so used to this that they could only shake their heads in resignation.
Every day, she would leave school with Andrew, and today was no different. But after walking a considerable distance, Layla turned around and didn't see him. Normally, no matter how early she left, Andrew would always catch up quickly. Yet today, he was nowhere to be found.
Where is he? Layla wondered as she turned back to look for Andrew. She wasn't accustomed to walking home alone. When she returned to the classroom, she wasn't surprised to find him still there, but there was someone else standing in front of him.
Stelle!
A girl who had had a crush on Andrew for a long time.
Had she come to confess?
Her curiosity piqued, Layla hid behind a nearby wall to eavesdrop.
"Andrew, I… I like you."
Standing before Stelle's shy and fragile demeanor, few boys could resist. Layla thought it over; having Stelle as her sister-in-law wouldn't be bad. At the very least, she played the piano beautifully and sang well, things Layla had always wished she could do.
But it seemed Layla's dreams would never come true because Andrew... rejected Stelle.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I'm worthy of you. There are many other excellent boys around you. Please consider them. Besides, I'm not interested in dating right now. I want to focus on the upcoming university entrance exams."
Layla: "…"
Is he out of his mind? So many guys would kill for a chance to date Stelle, and he just turned her down? Granted, Andrew had grown more handsome over the years, which attracted a lot of attention from girls. With his brownish hair, blue eyes, sharp features, tall frame, and deep voice—not to mention his intelligence and outstanding academic performance—girls had liked him since kindergarten.
Layla recalled an incident in fifth grade when a classmate took a fake flower from the teacher's desk to propose to Andrew, promising that she would love him forever. Even now, thinking about it made Layla laugh. In middle and high school, even more girls pursued him, but no matter who confessed, he would always put on that cold face and reject them.
This time was no exception.
At moments like this, the one thing Layla wanted to do was laugh at Andrew and tease him. Seeing him approach, she planned to jump out and surprise him, but suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist, yanking her backward. Layla's mind went blank, and before she could even scream, a hand covered her mouth.
Her eyes widened. Was this some twisted prank by some classmates? Layla struggled, but whether it was a prank or not, it was terrifying. You damn jerks! She seethed inwardly, straining to look behind her to see who was responsible. But it was no use.
Although she wasn't weak, Layla's struggles were futile. She hoped Andrew would hear the commotion and come to her rescue. If she managed to get free, she'd give these jerks a piece of her mind. If not, she'd make sure Andrew taught them a lesson. He was almost here anyway.
But just then, a chilling voice whispered in her ear:
"Stay still, or I'll kill you!"
That voice… didn't sound like a student's.
A shiver ran down her spine. Could there be murderers or kidnappers on campus? As Layla pondered, everything suddenly went dark. Her feet left the ground, and she felt weightless. The sensation was over in a blink, and when light returned to her vision, she found herself somewhere entirely different—from a school hallway to an open, empty field. Layla staggered as gravity suddenly reasserted itself, nearly causing her to fall.
It took a moment for her to regain her senses. She was now behind the school, in an empty field. And she saw them—the ones who had kidnapped her.
They were men dressed in medieval attire, with reddish hair, blue eyes, and deathly pale skin.
At that moment, the person behind her released her mouth, and the hand that had been holding her wrist moved to grip her neck instead.