As Kris Cooper read the news one by one, his gaze grew deeper.
He pulled open the drawer and took out a cigarette, placing it between his lips. He searched the desk for a lighter, but instead bumped into the corner of a photo frame.
With a thud, the photo frame hit the ground.
He hurriedly bent down to pick up the frame; the glass had shattered, and the photo slipped out. He reached out to pick up the photo.
In the photo, Liliana Davis was sitting in the middle, with Kris Cooper and Vera Wave leaning against her on either side. Vera was smiling brightly, while Kris was turned, gazing in her direction.
This was the only photo of the three of them together with his mother. After her passing, he had kept it on his desk.
His fingers gently traced the new scratch across the surface of the photo, stopping at Vera's face. Kris Cooper's mind flashed back to the image of the two as children.
...
"Brother Nathan, will you protect me like a knight protects a princess?"
