Composing herself, Thalassa glared at him. "Then I'll have the security guards throw you out."

Before Kris could respond, Betty's voice rang out from behind her. "Oh, you two are awake! Hope you had a good night. What am I even saying? Of course, you must've had a magical* night!" She giggled, earning a sharp glare from Thalassa, while Kris flashed a faint smile, noticing that she was holding a black plastic bag.

Turning to Kris, she continued, "Last night, after preparing your dinner, I came to call you down to eat, but the two of you seemed quiet... preoccupied."

Thalassa's face flushed with embarrassment as she realized Betty had probably witnessed their heated kiss. She clenched her jaw as Kris looked at her, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. "I'm sure you didn't eat at all yesterday, and that's not good. Come on, let me warm up the food so you can eat something. I don't want you passing out."

"There's no need for that because Kris is leaving now," Thalassa interjected quickly.

Betty's smile faltered, confusion flashing across her face. "Oh... can't he leave after breakfast? It's "

"No." Thalassa cut her off, shaking her head vehemently, silently praying Betty wouldn't make things more difficult. "He can have breakfast at his hotel or wherever he wants."

Still looking puzzled, Betty raised the plastic bag and handed it to Kris. "Here. I washed and dried your soaked clothes from last night."

Kris flashed her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Betty. You're an angel."

Taking the bag from her hand, he turned, about to go into Zeke's room where he and Thalassa had spent the night, but Thalassa's voice stopped him. "Where are you going?"

Kris paused, turning back to her with a bitter smile. "What? You won't even allow me to take a shower and change into my clothes before I leave?"

"No. You can shower when you get back to your hotel. As for Zeke's clothes, keep them."

Kris stared at her for a long moment, his brows pulling together in utter confusion. "Why are you so desperate for me to leave, Thalassa?"

Thalassa scoffed. "Because I don't want you near me. I've told you that a thousand times. You're the one who refuses to listen."

Kris continued to study her, his expression hardening before he nodded slowly. "I'll go, as you wish, but..."

His words were cut off by the unmistakable sound of a child's cry. It was a boy's cry, and it came from the room Thalassa had been so adamant about keeping him out of the night before. "Oh dear, sounds like the boy is awake," Betty remarked.

Thalassa froze, her heart pounding as she saw the questions forming in Kris's eyes. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted him to stay any longer.

"There's a child here?" Kris asked, his voice filled with surprise. "Who is he?"

"That's-" Betty began, but Thalassa quickly cut in, answering before the older woman could.

"That's Betty's son."

Kris blinked in surprise. "Betty's son?"

Betty, who had been about to go and check on the boy froze her confused gaze shifting to Thalassa. Thalassa looked back at her, silently begging her to go along with it.

To her relief, Betty smiled and nodded at Kris. "Uh... yes, it's my son. Why do you look so surprised? I'm not that old, you know. I'm only 39!"noveldrama

Kris chuckled softly, visibly relaxing. "I didn't mean to imply you were old." He paused, then asked, "What's his name?"

"Alex," Betty answered.

Relief instantly washed over Kris, and he almost laughed at himself. He couldn't believe that he had suspected that Alex was some sort of rival only for it to turn out that Alex was just a little boy.

"I'm sorry, I should let you check on him." Kris said. Betty nodded and started toward the door, but Kris stopped her with another question. "Can I see him?"

A rope of fear so huge gripped Thalassa so tightly that she thought she was going to faint. Immediately, she stepped in front of Kris, blocking his path.

"No, you can't see him. Alex... he's not used to people. He gets scared when he sees a stranger. That's why I didn't let you enter the room last night. He's probably crying right now because he heard your voice." She lied, her tone steady despite the turmoil inside her.

"Oh," Kris muttered, though a frown creased his forehead. Why was she breathing so heavily?

Once Betty had gone into the room and closed the door behind her, Thalassa turned back to Kris. "Can you leave now?"

Kris was pained, realizing she was really trying to act like last night meant nothing to her. But he wasn't deterred. Risking a step forward, he gently placed his hand on her cheek, expecting her to push him away, but she didn't to his surprise.

"You can try to push me away all you want, Lassa," he said softly, his voice full of conviction as he gazed into her eyes. "But I'm not giving up on us. Not after you showed me last night that you still love me as much as I love you even if you won't admit it."

Before she could respond, he leaned down and kissed her. Overwhelmed with guilt, Thalassa felt powerless as his lips claimed hers for several seconds until she felt breathless.

When he finally pulled back, he turned and walked toward the stairs. Thalassa followed him, making sure he left the house before she returned to Betty's room.

As soon as she entered, Betty was waiting for her, her expression full of questions. "You lied to him, Thalassa. Why did you tell him I'm Alex's mother instead of his nanny?"

Thalassa's eyes moved to the beautiful three-year-old boy sitting on his toddler bed. A tear slid down her cheek as she whispered, "Because he can never know, Betty. Kris can never know that Alexander is our son."