After giving Olivia and then her baby brother a kiss, she left with Dylan, following his lead.

Once they left, Edwin turned to Mark, incredulous. "You just let him walk away, Dad? And you let him take Leyla too? How could you be so lenient?"

Sitting with a newspaper, Mark responded calmly, "You think I'm being soft on him? Didn't you notice Leyla called him daddy? Being a father isn't easy. He has to put in a lot of effort to look after the little girl. He'll be too busy and tired to cause any trouble for Olivia while Leyla is with him."

Edwin was at a loss for words.

Olivia started to speak, a bit flustered. "Dad, he didn't.."

But before she could finish, Mark dismissed the topic, setting his newspaper aside. "That bastard had too much free time lately. He'll learn his lesson looking after Leyla on his own."

Edwin was so taken aback by Mark's remark that he gave him a thumbs-up.

Meanwhile, as Olivia sipped her soup, she checked a message from Dylan on WhatsApp. "Did you tell your father about yesterday?"

The message seemed straightforward, yet its vagueness hinted at the previous night's events.

Olivia briefly looked at her phone before setting it aside.

On the sofa, Mark adjusted his reading glasses and suggested casually, “Dylan seems quite adept at caring for the children. Perhaps he could take on more of that responsibility with Leyla and Eason in the future? I don't think a woman should always have to be the one looking after her kids."

Cecilia quickly called him out for his hypocrisy.

She glanced at Edwin and Olivia, and then rebuked, "Don't listen to him. He never said such things when I was the one giving birth to you."

Edwin couldn't help but laugh as he lifted Eason from his cot and approached Mark.

Studying Eason's face, Mark commented quietly, "Well, such a handsome little fellow!"

Meanwhile, downstairs, Dylan secured Leyla in her car seat, climbed into the driver's seat, and messaged Olivia on WhatsApp.

He doubted Olivia would respond.

But he felt compelled to do it anyway.

Even though it made him seem like a troublemaker, he was out of options. He needed to find a way to communicate with Olivia. If they continued acting like strangers, he would never have a chance to reconcile with her.

After sending the message, Dylan gazed at his phone for a moment.

Then Leyla, with a hint of sadness in her voice, said, "I'm hungry, Daddy!"

Setting his phone aside, Dylan smiled and suggested, “Let's grab something to eat at a nice restaurant!"

But Leyla preferred homemade food. Specifically, she craved a king crab meal she had once enjoyed with Olivia.

Dylan turned to her with a soft smile and said, “You certainly take after your mother! All right. I'll cook that meal for you."