"Isn't today Parents' Day at Sunny Meadows Kindergarten where Liam goes?" Eleanor Grant inquired cautiously.

Lucas froze instantly. His mother's unexpected mention of the event caught him completely off guard.

"It is," he replied, his tone flat and unreadable.

"Were you planning to attend?" Eleanor pressed gently.

Lucas remained silent, his intense gaze fixed on his mother.

Eleanor interpreted his expression and felt a sharp pang of unease. "Lucas, I know you're angry with me, but I was only trying to—"

"Mother, please." Lucas cut her off sharply. "I'm not angry. Just... deeply disappointed." With those final words, he turned and left the manor without looking back.

Eleanor sat motionless on the sofa, her eyes following him until he vanished from sight. Silent tears began tracing paths down her cheeks.

"I'm doing this for his own good..." she whispered into the empty room, her voice trembling with emotion. "Why does it have to be so difficult?"

Outside, Lucas's car accelerated away, disappearing down the tree-lined driveway.

That night, Eleanor wrestled with her thoughts, sleep eluding her entirely. She tossed and turned in her bed, the silk sheets tangling around her. Visions of her son's determined exit and Isabella's challenging stare haunted her. With a heavy sigh, she finally sat up, grabbed her robe, and moved to the window. The night enveloped everything, streetlights casting soft pools of illumination into the surrounding darkness.

She massaged her temples, overwhelmed by the chaos in her mind.

Lucas, her only son, had been cherished and protected from all hardship since birth. Yet now he was ready to defy her for a woman who already had a child. The more she thought about it, the greater her disappointment grew, bringing fresh tears to her eyes.

"I cannot allow this to continue," she whispered, her jaw tightening with renewed determination.

"Isabella, I must see for myself what spell you've cast over my son."

Resolute, Eleanor decided to visit Isabella first thing the next morning.

As mistress of the Grant household, she firmly believed she could handle a single mother. Despite Lucas's obvious affection for Isabella, she would never consent to their relationship. But what if Lucas persisted? Eleanor considered his notorious stubbornness and reconsidered her approach.

She exhaled deeply, beginning to formulate a new strategy. Perhaps a compromise could satisfy both parties. If Isabella were willing to relinquish custody of her child and properly join the Grant family, it might be acceptable after all.

The following morning, Isabella held a trash bag in one hand and Liam's small hand in the other, preparing to take him to kindergarten.

"Mommy, can I have two ice creams today?" Liam looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

"No, just one, sweetheart," Isabella answered, playfully squeezing his little nose.

"You're so mean, Mommy!" Liam pouted adorably.

Isabella laughed softly, saying nothing more.

As they approached the roadside, an unexpected figure stepped into their path.

"Miss Scott, may we have a word?" Eleanor stood beside a black luxury vehicle, addressing Isabella with polite yet firm authority.

Isabella froze, completely unprepared to encounter Lucas's mother here. "Mrs. Grant, what brings you here?" she asked, both startled and uncomfortable.

Liam eyed the well-dressed woman curiously, unsure of who she was.