Chapter 303: Lingering Warmth
The night wind carried the chill of late autumn, stinging her face.
Wren Sutton, however, was completely oblivious. Her eyes and heart were fixed on the solitary figure standing under a dim, yellow streetlight.
Adrian Lancaster froze in place, his pupils contracting sharply.
He instinctively raised a hand to rub his wind-bitten eyes. His fingertips were ice-cold. When his vision refocused and he clearly saw the figure striding toward him, his Adam’s apple bobbed violently. For a moment, he was rendered speechless.
It was Wren Sutton.
It was really her.
She wore a thin, beige coat, her hair whipped by the night wind and plastered messily against her cheeks. Her eyes were rimmed with red.
Though she was clearly marching over in a fury, her appearance ignited an overwhelming joy in Adrian Lancaster’s eyes. But that joy was quickly followed by a heart-wrenching pang that shook him to his core.
"Honey, you... why are you down here?"
It took Adrian Lancaster a great deal of effort to find his voice. Having stood in the cold wind for so long, it came out raspy, with a barely perceptible tremor.
Like a child who’d just been showered with candy, he started forward uncontrollably, only to stop dead in his tracks just two steps away from Wren Sutton.
The late-night chill had seeped into his very bones, the tip of his nose frozen red. Yet the eyes he fixed on her were brighter than all the stars in the sky, brimming with cautious hope and the ecstatic joy of recovering something precious he had lost.
Wren Sutton planted herself in front of Adrian Lancaster, her chest heaving, her nostrils flaring slightly.
The anger and frustration that had built up on her way over, mixed with that indescribable ache in her heart, swelled into a tidal wave of emotion the moment she met Adrian Lancaster’s eyes.
She glared at him, her eyes turning redder by the second.
"Adrian Lancaster, have you completely lost your mind?"
"It’s freezing! Are you planning to stand out here all night?!"
"Do you think you’re being so devoted and noble? Well, let me tell you, I just think you’re childish! Stubborn! And completely unreasonable!"
Each sentence was harsher than the last as she roared out the worry in her heart.
Adrian Lancaster looked at Wren Sutton’s red-rimmed eyes, at her shoulders trembling slightly in the wind, at her chest rising and falling with fury, and felt his heart being squeezed by an invisible hand.
All his shock and elation were instantly drowned in an overwhelming wave of self-blame and guilt.
He strode forward, slipped off his trench coat, and draped it over Wren Sutton before pulling her into his embrace.
The coat still held his body heat, mingled with his unique, crisp cedar scent. It was like a warm shield, instantly rescuing her from the wind and enveloping her securely.
"Let me go." Wren Sutton struggled, trying to push him away, but he only held her tighter, squeezing the air from her lungs. "Let go."
"I was wrong. I was stupid. I made you worry." Adrian Lancaster held Wren Sutton tightly, his chin resting on the crown of her head. His voice was low and raspy, thick with guilt and reverence.
"It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have disturbed your rest, I shouldn’t have upset you, and I definitely shouldn’t have made you run down here in the middle of the night. I’m sorry, honey, I’m so sorry. Please don’t be angry, okay?"
He apologized again and again, his warm breath brushing against her hair. His embrace was fever-hot and powerful, as if it could ward off the entire chill of the night.
His embrace was so secure, so reassuring, that all of Wren Sutton’s stubborn resistance crumbled in an instant.
She felt a sting in her nose, and the tears she’d been holding back for so long finally fell, splashing onto his cashmere sweater.
She clutched his lapels. "What if you catch a cold? What about Owen and Nina? You keep saying you want to be a stay-at-home dad, so how are you going to take care of the kids if you get sick? Aren’t you afraid you’ll get them sick too?!"
Every question struck Adrian Lancaster’s heart like a hammer, filling him with both pain and bliss.
He knew this was Wren Sutton’s way of showing she cared, that she was worried about him.
"I know I was wrong. I’m sorry." Adrian Lancaster patted her back, his movements gentle and soothing.
"It’s my fault for being so willful and impulsive. I just can’t stop myself from wanting to be near you, to watch over you, to be just a little bit closer... I..."
Adrian Lancaster, once so aloof, calm, and self-possessed, was now nothing but clumsy and reverent before Wren Sutton.
"I won’t do this again." He tightened his arms around her, his voice utterly serious.
"I’ll listen to you. I’ll do whatever you tell me. I’ll never make you angry again, and I’ll stop being so reckless with my health. Whatever you say, goes."
The cold wind still howled around them, sweeping fallen leaves across the ground with a rustle, but the couple embracing under the streetlight was warmed through by the heat they shared.
The warmth spread from where they touched, chasing away the late autumn chill.
The warm, yellow streetlight stretched the shadow of their embrace.
Wren Sutton pushed herself out of Adrian Lancaster’s arms. Breathing heavily, she looked up at him, her expression serious.
"Okay. Since you said you’ll listen to me, I have one demand right now: leave the hospital this instant and go home."
She enunciated every word, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Adrian Lancaster reached out to pull Wren Sutton back, but the moment his fingertips brushed the hem of her coat, she dodged him with a cold look.
"..."
"I’m not joking. If you insist on staying here, then from this moment on, I’m done with you."
"I won’t answer your calls. I won’t reply to your messages. And you can forget about seeing Owen and Nina."
Adrian Lancaster’s expression changed in an instant. The tenderness from their embrace vanished from his eyes, replaced by sudden panic.
What he feared most was never the cold or exhaustion; it was Wren Sutton truly ignoring him, truly pushing him away for good.
Adrian Lancaster didn’t dare to test her. He quickly nodded in agreement. "I’ll go. I’m going home right now. Just don’t be mad, and please don’t ignore me."
He was terrified that if he’d answered a second too late, Wren Sutton would have turned and walked away, ignoring him for the rest of his life.
Seeing Adrian Lancaster’s panicked and pitiful expression, Wren Sutton felt her heart soften.
Still, she kept her expression stern and didn’t back down. She tilted her chin, motioning for him to turn.
"Go. Now."
Adrian Lancaster dared not hesitate any longer. He hastily took two steps back, but his gaze remained glued to Wren Sutton, unwilling to part with the sight of her for even a moment.
"I’m going. I’m going right now."
"You should get back to your room. It’s too cold out here. Don’t catch a chill."
Wren Sutton didn’t move. "I’ll watch you drive off, then I’ll go back up."
"Okay, I’m going, I’m going..."
Adrian Lancaster didn’t dare delay any longer, afraid Wren Sutton would catch a cold.
He gritted his teeth in resignation, quickly got into his car, and hit the gas, leaving with great reluctance.
The car’s taillights left faint red streaks that quickly vanished into the night.
Wren Sutton remained where she was, still wrapped in Adrian Lancaster’s cedar-scented trench coat.
The warmth still clinging to it felt like an embrace he had left behind.
The wind was still blowing, but she no longer felt the cold.
The tangled, aching feeling in her chest slowly unknotted, spreading a gentle warmth through her.
After who knows how long, Wren Sutton finally turned and walked back into the hospital building.
The lobby was as empty and quiet as before. When the elevator doors opened, their mirrored surface reflected the exhaustion in her eyes.
Back in the room, Isla Griffith was still sound asleep, her breathing even and steady.
Wren Sutton lay back down in bed. Unlike before, she was no longer tossing and turning. She fell asleep almost instantly.
At that moment, Isla Griffith slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Wren Sutton in the next bed.
Hearing her steady, deep breathing, Isla Griffith’s lips curved into a lovely, gentle smile.
Adrian had called Wren from downstairs, and Isla had heard every word Wren said.
She thought to herself, ’I hope you two make up and find your happiness together.’