Chapter 11

"Oh right, ma'am, these are the house rules of the Presidential Palace. His Excellency made a point to remind me—you'll need to go through this in the next few days. Once he's back, he might quiz you on it." George said as he handed her a thick, gold-stamped booklet.

"Rules? This thick?" Evelyn raised her eyebrows at the absurd number of pages.

"Just take your time and read it," George said vaguely before adding, "There are two things that are absolutely off-limits here. First, the room at the very end of the first floor—that's His Excellency's study. It's where he handles a lot of confidential state matters. You can't go in there. Not even a step."

"Got it." Evelyn nodded. She might not be into politics, but she knew better than to mess with sensitive stuff like government secrets.

"Second, and this one's even more important—don't bring up anything about the little master's mother while you're in this house. Especially not when His Excellency is around." George's tone turned serious.

"Why? Did something happen between them?" Evelyn couldn't help being curious.

"That's not something you need to worry about. Just take it as an unspoken rule here," George said, clearly trying to dodge revealing too much about Alexander's private life.

"Alright." Evelyn wasn't the nosy type anyway, so she let it go. But then she remembered something George had mentioned earlier. "Wait, did you say the President would check in when he comes back? Is he out of the country now?"

"Yeah, he left early this morning for a visit to Avaria. Should be gone for about a week," George confirmed.

So... that means she wouldn't have to see him for a whole week?

The thought made Evelyn quietly cheer inside. Last night's awkward encounter between them was still fresh in her mind. Sure, Alexander was ridiculously good-looking—almost unfairly so—but being alone in a room with a guy like that? Definitely not her thing.

For the next week, she stayed at the palace. And every day after school, Ethan would practically glue himself to her side. He was like a little shadow that followed her everywhere—except the bathroom and shower.

And every now and then, he'd casually flip the news channel on in front of her."Mommy, don't you think Dad's super handsome?" Ethan pointed at the TV and looked at her, eyes full of excitement.

Evelyn followed his finger and glanced at the screen. On it, Alexander was shaking hands with the leader of Avaria. That calm confidence between his brows needed no explanation.

Even though the Avaria leader was much older, standing next to Alexander, he still got completely overshadowed. That man didn't even have to try—just standing still in a crowd, he naturally drew everyone's eyes. No matter how impressive the others were, they just faded into the background next to him.

"Yeah, he's definitely handsome," she found herself admitting.

"Right?! My dad is the most dashing and powerful man in the whole world!" Ethan looked so proud he was about to burst.

This kid... does he have to praise his dad so flat-out? Evelyn chuckled softly, but she couldn't really refute him—everything he said was true.

She kept watching the screen, and then Alexander suddenly looked into the camera. That shot made it feel like he was looking right at her.

His eyes were calm, sharp, carrying that quiet confidence that didn't need to shout. For a man under thirty, he carried a depth that was hard to come by. Not even exaggerating—a president like him, totally lived up to the title.

Feeling his gaze, Evelyn's heart skipped unexpectedly, and a flush crept up her face.

"So promise you won't leave Dad and me again, okay? Let's just stay together—all three of us." Ethan's voice was soft, hopeful, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"..." Evelyn didn't expect a kid his age to say something like that, and it made her chest ache a little.

Clearly, deep down, he was craving some sort of certainty. Maybe that's why he kept showing her how great his dad was—trying to convince her to stay, to let her see what kind of home they could be.

But honestly, she didn't need convincing. She already knew how incredible Alexander was—the one who felt small and unsure was her.

"Please, Mommy?" Ethan tugged at her sleeve when she still didn't answer, eyes anxious.

"Okay," she finally nodded, unsure what she was feeling exactly, but she meant it.

"Yes!" Ethan was so excited he spun in circles around her until he got dizzy.

Watching him be that happy made Evelyn's heart sting. He was so sweet and lovable—why would his mother walk away from him?