Alexander's silence hung in the air, making the atmosphere suddenly stiff.
Danielle forced a smile, smoothing over the awkward moment. "We will," she said.
After the officials from the Strategic Intelligence Agency left, a quiet calm settled over the villa once more.
Danielle sat on the sofa, unconsciously fiddling with the hem of her shirt, her gaze fixed on Alexander as he played with Niki across the room.
The side of his face was soft, his eyes filled with a gentle smile that made the little girl giggle.
The words she had blurted out to the officials—"We will"—still echoed in her ears.
Returning to the Project 07 team meant facing complex schemes and unknown risks all over again, but she hadn't hesitated.
She would do it not for herself, but for the researchers who had died unjustly, and for the years of silent perseverance Alexander had endured.
Still, a subtle tension lingered in the living room.
The officials' parting words about them being a complete family had been pointed, yet Alexander hadn't mentioned remarriage at all.
Danielle pressed her lips together, pushing down the faint flicker of hope in her heart.
Maybe now just wasn't the right time.
His body hadn't fully healed, Niki had just returned to them, and the project was about to restart.
There was hardly room to think about romance.
Niki, tired from playing, stretched out her arms, asking Alexander to pick her up.
With a smile, he carefully bent down to lift his daughter, forgetting about the unhealed wound on his chest.
The movement, though small, tugged at the injury.
"Hiss—" He drew a sharp breath, his face instantly turning a shade paler as a fine sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead.
Danielle saw it and rushed over.
"What's wrong? Did your wound reopen?"
She supported him, her fingertips brushing against his back and finding his shirt damp and warm.
Niki, sensing something was wrong, puckered her lips, whimpering, "Daddy."
"I'm fine," Alexander insisted.

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