Oops! My Secret Baby Is Caught By His Top-Lawyer Daddy! Novel

---- discovering Owen's affair. She had never truly been happy at all. The only joy left behind seemed frozen in these pictures. Clara ran her fingertips across the glossy surface, her heart aching. "Mr. Storm, these photographs..." She wanted to ask if she could keep some. "You can't have them," Sebastian cut her off before she could finish. "They're too important to me. You're welcome to come and look at them anytime, but I can't give them away. I'm sorry." Clara understood.

"Then at least let me take some photos of them." She snapped picture after picture of her mother's radiant smile, wanting to carry that light with her, to remember her this way. By the time they left the study, night had already fallen, and the city lights were glowing. Aaron was waiting in the living room. "You've ---- been gone so long I figured I'd better come get you. Clara turned to Sebastian. "Thank you so much for your hospitality. This has been unforgettable for me." Sebastian's expression still carried a trace of melancholy, as if he hadn't yet escaped the pull of memory.

"Thank you for keeping me company today, Clara. You're welcome here anytime." Clara's own heart felt heavy. The more she thought about her mother and Sebastian, the more sorrow weighed on her chest. Aaron offered a quiet comfort. "Clara, life is full of things we want but can't have. That's the rule, not the exception. Which is why cherishing what we do have matters most." After they left, Sebastian found he couldn't even touch dinner. He retreated to the study and called up his old teacher, Caspian Everett. He wanted to visit the next day, to sit in that piano room again.

---- Caspian still lived in the same small house from back then. Now eighty, he had been retired for many years. His once-jet-black hair was now white, though his frame remained tall and straight. Still, his steps had grown heavy, and his mind often drifted, forgetting people and events. Over his lifetime, he had taught countless students. Yet none had ever been as accomplished as Sebastian. When the appointed time came, Caspian shuffled out to the iron gate to wait. Seeing Sebastian walk slowly toward him filled him with pride.

How many teachers could say they had trained one of the nation's greatest pianists? "Sebastian, you're here!" Sebastian handed his gifts to the housekeeper and quickly moved to support Caspian. "How many times have I told you not to wait outside? Traffic can delay me sometimes." Caspian chuckled. "But seeing you arrive makes ---- me happy." They returned to the piano room. Every visit followed the same rhythm-play a little music, reminisce about the past, talk about art. Sebastian could lose hours there without realizing it. Caspian studied his prized student.

Even Sebastian's hair was streaked with gray now, and he had spent half his life alone. A wave of emotion overtook the old man. "Sebastian, my memory is fading fast. There's something I need to return to you before I forget. Fetch that box where the sheet music is kept." Sebastian did as he was told and pulled out a box. Caspian opened it and handed him a thick bundle of sealed letters. "These are the letters you and Sue exchanged after you went abroad. I never passed them along. I was afraid they'd distract you from your studies.

Your mother also came to me repeatedly, begging me not to deliver anything from her." ---- Sebastian's hands trembled violently as he accepted them. Because of his mother's disapproval-and his teacher's as well-Sue hadn't even known his address. The only way they could have communicated was through Caspian. Sebastian had written letter after letter, but never received a single reply. And here they were-all of them. Caspian continued rambling. "A man should establish his career before starting a family.

I saw the bond between you two, but I thought it could wait until you finished your studies. I never understood why Sue married so early. After that, I didn't dare give you the letters anymore." Sebastian couldn't listen to another word. Clutching the stack of letters, he staggered out and collapsed into his car.