Zayden faked composure as he replied, "You're overthinking things. I simply wanted to bond with my dear nephew. Perhaps we'll have the chance to spend more time together in the future."

Ariana's expression turned frosty, her gaze piercing as she regarded Zayden with suspicion. It was apparent to her that Zayden was privy to the truth about Holden and Theodore being the same person as well as what had happened in the past.

Rumors had circulated about Zayden and Holden's strained relationship, and Ariana had heard whispers of past conflicts and misunderstandings between them. Though she was unaware of the specifics, she sensed that Zayden was not a good person.

The fact that Zayden could get along with the Likes of Sadie already said a lot. Coupled with secretly taking Melon away, his actions only served to deepen Ariana's distrust. So, it was natural for her to think every word that came out of Zayden's mouth just now was total bullshit.

With Little patience for further interaction, Ariana cut to the chase and said bluntly, "No matter what you're up to, stay away from my son." Then, Ariana left with Melon without sparing another glance at Zayden.

Watching Ariana leave, the smile at the corners of Zayden's mouth faded.

Ariana's anger simmered under a sullen expression as she and Melon made their way home, unmoved by Melon's attempts to apologize and charm her with his cuteness. Upon their arrival, Ariana wasted no time in administering a punishment, delivering a stern spanking to Melon.

“I warned you about the dangers of strangers. What were you thinking? Why did you leave with him?" she said.

Melon pleaded for forgiveness, grasping Ariana's arm with a pitiful expression. "Mommy, I'm sorry. I was wrong. I knew he might be a bad guy, so I wanted to find out what his purpose was. And in the end, I even fooled him."

However, Ariana's anger only intensified upon hearing Melon's self-congratulatory tone. She delivered another stern spanking and snapped, "Do you think you're cleverer than him? If he really wants to do something bad, you don't even stand a chance against him, let alone if he has accomplices! Have you forgotten what happened last time when you were kidnapped? You may think you're clever, but you didn't consider the vast difference in strength between you and him. This time, you got lucky. But what about next time?"

Despite her anger, Ariana couldn't bear to see Melon crying. So, she stopped.

With one hand covering his reddened buttocks, Melon looked up at Ariana with watery eyes, his other hand grasping her sleeve as he attempted to console her. "Mommy, I know I made a mistake. Please don't be mad at me."

The resemblance between Melon's distressed expression and Holden's was striking, and the more Ariana looked at Melon, the angrier she became. But she stopped herself from lashing out further as she had already punished him enough.

Initially, Ariana contemplated informing Holden about the incident.

However, upon reflection, she decided against it. Because she knew Zayden hadn't technically done anything bad to Melon. Sharing her suspicions with Holden could potentially stir up unnecessary trouble, so she opted to keep the matter to herself.

In the early hours of the next morning, Ariana was stirred awake by the ringing of her phone. Groggy from sleep, she heard Marge's voice on the other end. “Ariana, your schedule for today is to come in for makeup for that love-variety show. Don't forget.”

As Marge's words registered in Ariana's mind, embarrassment washed over her. She had completely forgotten about her commitment to the show.

In the midst of her irritation with Holden, she had agreed to Marge without much thought. But now, things were better between her and Holden. She knew that Holden would be extremely jealous if she joined the love-variety show.

After a moment of hesitation, Ariana finally spoke up. "Can you replace me with another person? I might not be able to join the show.”