It was still warm from Mark's touch.

She noted that they hadn't used any contraception during their earlier encounter, indicating his desire for a child.

Cecilia felt elated and rolled around on the bed. But her excitement was interrupted when her hand brushed against something hard.

She discovered Mark's phone on the bed.

Although she didn't intend to snoop, a message from Cathy appeared on the screen, catching her attention.

Mark's phone wasn't locked, and curiosity got the better of Cecilia.

She opened the message and found that over the past two weeks, Cathy had sent numerous messages, most of which were about Laura. Cathy's tone was gentle, but Mark had barely responded to any of them.

There was only one response from him last week.

“Laura is being well taken care of."

Cecilia's body tensed, and she felt a chill.

The simple message left her deeply troubled.

Mark and Cathy's relationship resembled that of divorced couples, connected through their shared responsibility for a child. The ironic part was that the child wasn't even Mark's.

Just as she was processing the message, Mark entered the room.

He saw her in a daze and noticed his phone in her hand.

Mark could sense what she had discovered. He approached and gently retrieved his phone, promptly deleting the message from Cathy. He affectionately rubbed Cecilia's head and offered reassuring words.

"Don't dwell on it."

Cecilia lifted her head and softly asked, “Can't you just stay out of it?"

Mark had already fulfilled his duty by assisting the Thomas family in regaining custody of Laura. He had done enough, hadn't he?

Mark then blacklisted Cathy.

He kissed Cecilia. Despite her sadness, she wrapped her arms around his waist.