Love Across the Light Years -The Devil CEO Indulges My Lies.

Adelyn’s gaze stilled for a brief second when she saw the crowd gathered outside her door.

But just as quickly—

Whatever flicker had appeared in her eyes vanished, leaving behind nothing but indifference.

"How may I help you?" she asked, her tone polite —so polite that it made everyone’s heart sink.

They couldn’t help but feel a strange impatience creeping in.

Especially Charlotte.

But she suppressed it, forcing a gentle smile as she refocused her gaze on her daughter.

It has been seven years —

And yet, seeing her now felt as though decades had passed.

Adelyn looked so different from the girl she remembered.

More refined.

More distant.

More ... untouchable.

"Adelyn ..." Charlotte’s voice trembled slightly. "Sweetheart, you’ve grown even more beautiful. I can’t help but remember how everyone used to praise your looks when ever I took you out with me."

Adelyn listened to her, but she gave no reaction at all.

No words.

No smile.

Nothing.

Bryer’s lips curved into a small smile as well when he looked at her.

"Adelyn ... it’s been a long time. Did you miss us?"

Adelyn’s gaze shifted to him, her brows lifting slightly in quiet amusement.

"Who do you think people miss in their lives?" she asked calmly.

Her tone was light, and her words were simple.

Bryer didn’t think much of it and simply replied,

"Of course, friends and family."

"Exactly," Adelyn said.

"People miss their friends and family. But me —being an orphan since birth —how could I possibly miss anyone?"

Her words landed heavier than anyone had expected.

Bryer froze.

Charlotte staggered slightly, instinctively holding onto Liam’s arm for support.

And Liam —

He could only stare.

The moment he saw her, the guilt in her chest had already begun to tighten.

"Adelyn ... you’re my daughter," Charlotte said, her voice breaking under the weight of her emotions. "How can you call yourself an orphan in front of me?"

But Adelyn remained completely unaffected.

As if none of it reached her at all.

Maintaining the same polite, distant smile, she replied,

"I’m simply stating the truth. If you don’t believe me, I’m more than willing to cooperate. We can get a DNA test done. I’m sure it will only prove further how unrelated we are."

"It’s not about blood," Bryer said quickly, desperation creeping into his voice. "It’s about the heart. And in our hearts, you are still our sister —the one we grew up with."

He stepped forward and gently took her hand.

"Linnie ... you’ll always be our sister. Nothing can change that. Not your anger. Not the past. Not what happened —nothing."

Charlotte nodded immediately.

"Yes ... nothing can change that. You are my daughter, and you always will be. We came to take you back. Come home with us."

Adelyn didn’t refuse immediately.

Instead, she simply listened —

As if she were actually considering their words.

Liam, who had been silent all this while, finally gathered the courage to speak.

"Linnie ..." his voice came out strained. "I’m sorry. It was my fault. If you want to blame anyone, blame me. I couldn’t protect you. I failed you. Mom and Bryer ... they weren’t responsible. I was —"

"I don’t blame anyone."

Adelyn’s calm voice cut him off.

"Especially for the day you’re all so concerned about."

Liam’s brows drew together.

"You don’t blame us?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Adelyn nodded. Her composure only made things harder for them.

Charlotte couldn’t make sense of it.

She had thought Adelyn’s words might be just a form of suppressed resentment —

But the calmness in her expression was too unsettling.

There was no trace of anger ... at all.

No bitterness.

No emotion at all.

And that frightened her more than anything else.

After all, after being apart for so many years —shouldn’t their reunion be filled with emotions?

Tears?

Longing?

But nothing about Adelun felt emotional.

If anything —

She looked so much stranger to her.

"Adelyn, how can you not blame us for what happened that year?" she pressed. "It was clearly our fault. If we protected you back then, today everything would be —"

"It would still be the same," Adelyn finished calmly.

She turned her gaze to Bryer and slowly withdrew her hand from his, making sure he felt the absence of her touch.

"If anything, what happened that year was the best thing that could have happened to me," she continued. "How could I blame you for it when I don’t resent it at all?"

Her gaze briefly brushed past Liam before settling on the others again.

Charlotte frowned deeply.

"Adelyn ... what are you saying? How can you not hate that day? If not for that incident, you would never have been separated from us."

"Then have you ever considered," Adelyn replied evenly, "that that incident might have been the very escape I had been looking for all along?"

She paused slightly.

"After all, I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity."

"Escape?" Bryer echoed, his brows knitting together. "Escape from what, Linnie?"

Adelyn turned to him, her lips curving into a faint, indifferent smile.

"Escape from the shackles of family ties that I had grown tired of."

Her words were light, but they carried a weight that crushed everything in their hearts."

"That incident gave me exactly what I wanted," she added. "So how could I possibly hate it?"

Her words didn’t just hurt—

They shattered everything they had believed all these years.

Adelyn didn’t resent that day ...

She didn’t resent them.

If anything—

She welcomed it.

How was that even possible?

The day that had haunted them for years —was nothing more than liberation to her.

Charlotte’s frown deepened, her restraint finally breaking.

She stepped forward and grabbed Adelyn’s arm, her grip tightening unconsciously.

"What do you mean by that, Adelyn Scott?"she demanded. "Explain yourself."

Adelyn didn’t flinch.

She simply stared into her eyes —calm ... detached ... unreadable.

Then after a brief pause, she spoke —

"You can call me Adelyn Grace, Mrs. Scott," her voice remained steady. "Because I no longer carry the Scott family name. It would be more appropriate and easy."