Nervous about dining with Apollo’s children that evening, Maddie decides she cannot face Christophe and 5lan cold. After Apollo says the land is now fully guarded and it is safe to walk without an escort, Maddie takes Meeta and Loretta through the woods to secretly watch the children during their outdoor time. Hidden near the main house, Maddie is moved by the sight of Christophe practicing archery and 5lan building in the snow, and Meeta’s remark that they need a mother hits Maddie hard.

While watching, Maddie notices two rough-looking men moving low through the trees toward the children. Because they appear to be sneaking and not openly guarding, Maddie assumes they are a threat. She orders Meeta and Loretta to get help, grabs a fallen branch, rushes the men, strikes one of them, and shouts for the children to run.

Apollo stops Maddie mid-attack and reveals that the supposed intruders are Quincy and Balthazar, men from Frey’s side and familiar to the children. Maddie is mortified when Christophe and 5lan happily greet them as uncles. Apollo introduces Maddie to the children anyway, and despite the embarrassing start, the meeting goes better than Maddie feared: Christophe is polite, 5lan is openly friendly, and both respond warmly, especially after 5lan mentions liking Maddie’s cookies.

Left at the house, Maddie tours Apollo’s grand but welcoming home and is impressed by both its scale and its warmth. When Apollo joins her later, the conversation turns intimate at first, but he abruptly announces that since she likes the house, she should move in the next morning. Maddie resists because she thinks it is far too soon, especially with his children involved and with their relationship only days old.

The discussion becomes a full argument. Apollo says they already share meals and a bed, wants his children to know the woman he intends to marry, and admits he has already told Christophe about Maddie avenging him and about the children she lost. Maddie is upset both by how quickly he is deciding their future and by his sharing her private history without asking. As Apollo keeps insisting that moving in and marriage are inevitable, Maddie says none of that has been decided. Hurt and angry, Apollo ends the conversation, tells her to return home on her own, cancels dinner with the children, and leaves her feeling gutted.