Melissa flashed a smile.

Shawn watched her depart, and then waved at Yvonne on the balcony.

"Hey, Yvonne, Dad's off to work. I'll get you a Ferrari once I'm earning."

Yvonne stayed put, neither responding nor ignoring him as before.

Shawn kept his gaze fixed on her.

Eventually, he gritted his teeth and left. In the car, he wiped his face, delivering a self-inflicted slap. "You let your daughter Live under someone else's roof. Even if Melissa and Marcus are decent people, they aren't Yvonne's real folks. You're a real piece of work, Shawn.

Marcus escorted Melissa inside.

As Waylen and Rena prepared to depart, they couldn't resist a few parting words. With an arm around Melissa, Marcus murmured, "Mom, Dad, don't worry. I'll look after Melissa."

Waylen scoffed. "You're good at taking care of folks. Look how you've looked after Julie's family.”

There was a deeper meaning behind Waylen's words.

Only Rena was in the dark, looking puzzled.

Once they settled into the car, Rena scolded Waylen for his comment.

"You got it all wrong. It's only natural for Marcus to look after Julie's kin. Remember how Julie cared for Matthew back then?"

Waylen couldn't bear to recount his inner turmoil.

He couldn't spill the beans to Rena about Marcus' deeds. So, all he could manage to say was, “You don't know the lengths Marcus can go to. Back in the day, I wasn't half as cunning as him."

Turning to Rena, he added, “Rena, we've got great genes. We should've had more kids when we were younger."

Rena rested against her seat, speaking softly. "You were swamped when we were younger. Hospital visits for transfusions, lawsuits abroad.

When would you find time for a baby?"

Feeling guilty, Waylen reached out to caress Rena's still lovely face, saying gently, "That's all in the past, sweetheart. But you remember every bit of it."

Rena turned to him, planting a kiss on his lips.