Chapter 44: Really Pregnant?
Adrian Grant: "?"
’What does that have to do with me?’
The next second, Caroline Whitman’s voice reached him again. "She has one last event before she quits the industry. It’s in this very mall, and it’s today."
Adrian Grant: "..."
He silently took out his phone, stood up, and made a call, whispering something in a quiet corner.
A moment later, he hung up and walked back over. "I’ve already had my contacts lock down this entire floor."
Caroline Whitman raised an eyebrow. "You have that much pull in Marinus?"
Adrian Grant wasn’t being modest in the slightest. "This mall is one of the Grant Group’s investments."
Caroline Whitman: "..."
"So you’re telling me you came all the way to the next city over just to wander around your own mall with your kid? Aren’t you afraid of being recognized?"
But Adrian Grant was unconcerned. "It’s better than something happening somewhere else where my reach doesn’t extend, leaving me unable to handle the problem in time."
Caroline was speechless. She couldn’t argue with his logic.
"The worst-case scenario is just that we get recognized for having a child," Adrian Grant said nonchalantly.
Caroline shot him a strange look. "Don’t tell me you want to go public now?"
She scoffed. "Who was it that insisted on keeping this a secret to avoid affecting a certain someone’s group stock price?"
She casually flicked her hair back with one hand, adding haughtily, "Let’s get one thing straight. If you want to go public, I won’t agree to it. If a single woman like me is exposed as having a child this old, how am I supposed to find someone in the future?"
Adrian Grant showed no sign of embarrassment from her sarcastic jab. His expression remained unchanged. "I was talking about the worst-case scenario."
Caroline was once again at a loss for words.
’She really had nothing more to say to this man.’
"Do you have someone you like?" Adrian Grant suddenly turned to her and asked.
Caroline paused, turning her head to look at him. She could only see her own reflection in his sunglasses. Her lips parted, but she didn’t answer directly. "Why do you ask?"
Adrian Grant: "Just asking."
Caroline turned away, her gaze falling back toward their son. "Haven’t you asked me that before?"
Adrian Grant hummed in affirmation.
The air fell silent for a moment.
Caroline’s heart suddenly tightened. For some reason, a thought struck her, and she turned her head to look at him again. "Don’t tell me *you* have someone you like?"
Adrian Grant kept his eyes on the little one, his voice level. "No."
Hearing his answer, Caroline felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
’Wait.’
She realized her reaction was off, but before she could analyze what this strange feeling was, Adrian Grant’s voice came again.
"If the child is ever exposed to the public, you can rest assured that I won’t reveal the mother’s identity without your permission."
He paused, as if to reassure her, then added, "I’m capable of protecting that bit of privacy."
Caroline had been right earlier. If their child’s identity were exposed, she would be saddled with the label of being a mother.
’If she really met someone she wanted to marry one day...’
At this thought, Adrian Grant’s brow furrowed slightly. He stopped himself from entertaining the non-existent hypothetical.
The two of them once again turned their gazes toward their son.
The little guy was beaming, happily playing with a little girl.
Having spent this time taking care of the child who had suddenly appeared in their lives, they had genuinely developed some paternal and maternal feelings.
Seeing their child so happy, they couldn’t bear to interrupt.
After all, this was a rare chance for him to interact with his peers.
So, the two of them just waited quietly while Ryan Grant played.
「Until four in the afternoon.」
They had arrived in Marinus at noon, and after lunch, they entered the kids’ play paradise at one.
He played straight through until four.
Only after the little girl and the other children had left did Ryan Grant reluctantly leave the play paradise.
"Did you have fun today?" Caroline Whitman asked with a smile, patting his head.
With the backpack slung over his arm, Adrian Grant took out a water bottle and handed it to the little guy. "Drink up."
Ryan Grant took the bottle and took a big gulp, then looked up at them both with a radiant smile. "So much fun."
Adrian Grant, who usually wore a cold, expressionless face, actually revealed a gentle look at that moment. "Good. What do you want to do tomorrow?"
"I want to go to the aquarium."
"Okay."
Marinus happened to have an aquarium.
The little guy’s expression turned to one of innocent curiosity. "The aquarium we’re going to tomorrow won’t be like that bankrupt, empty amusement park Dad took me to last time, right?"
Adrian Grant: "...No, it won’t."
Before they left, Caroline Whitman checked the situation online.
Luna Lynn’s event had ended an hour ago.
Though most of the onlookers at the mall had dispersed, the foot traffic was still considerable.
Since this floor had been locked down, it had remained relatively quiet.
As they were leaving, Caroline took out a child-sized mask and put it on her son, then pulled his hat down as well.
Once he was disguised, Adrian Grant bent down and picked the boy up, slinging the backpack over one shoulder.
She followed behind, holding their son’s water bottle.
One after the other, they entered a private elevator down to the underground parking garage.
It was the weekend, so the parking spots were already full, not to mention today was also Luna Lynn’s final event.
The underground garage was crawling with fans and passersby holding cameras.
The two of them walked discreetly to their parking spot.
Adrian Grant opened the rear door and placed their son in the back seat before walking over to the driver’s side to get in.
Caroline opened the other rear door. Before getting in, she glanced at a few girls ahead who were looking down at their cameras, then quickly ducked into the car.
In a corner.
"Damn it! We’re too late, didn’t get a single shot. That moron boss of ours sends us to get an exclusive only after everyone’s already leaving."
"Just go to Luna Lynn’s social media page, find some material, and Photoshop it."
The two young women had just entered the garage, listlessly complaining about their jobs, when their eyes fell on the backs of a family of three.
"Whoa, look at that family of three up ahead. Check out the guy’s build."
"Holy cow, and the woman next to him isn’t bad either," her companion said, looking over. She quickly pulled out her phone, snapped a photo, and zoomed in. She suddenly froze. "Hey, doesn’t her silhouette look like Luna Lynn?"
The woman in the photo was wearing a black dress, her head lowered, with a hat and a mask on. It instantly gave off that vibe.
"Wait, I think Luna Lynn was wearing that same dress today."
"What a coincidence. They’re wearing the same outfit."
"Could it be that Luna Lynn is quitting the industry because she secretly has a child and is married?!"
The two women’s eyes darted. They exchanged a look, and an idea instantly formed. They let out a devious "Heh heh heh."
"And there’s our exclusive!"
Even though it wasn’t actually Luna Lynn in the photo, all they had to do was blur it a bit, touch it up with some Photoshop, and as long as it had the right feel, it would work.
「That evening.」
Caroline Whitman’s cousin, Lily Young, replied to her message.
Lily Young: [Word is Luna Lynn was the one who decided to quit the industry. She told the Lynch Family she’s going abroad for advanced studies.]
Caroline Whitman: [So are she and Vincent Fuller still together?]
Lily Young: [About that... the Fuller Family elders are apparently pressuring Vincent Fuller to marry Wanda Sutton in a business alliance. Luna Lynn tried to break up with him, but Vincent refused and they had a huge fight.]
Caroline Whitman: [...]
She rubbed her nose. ’A classic soap opera plot,’ she thought. Right now, all she wanted was the gossip: was this a classic case of Luna Lynn being pregnant and on the run?
But she wasn’t prepared for Lily Young’s next message, which gave her a shock.
Lily Young: [Holy crap! Luna Lynn actually has a kid?]
Caroline froze. ’She was really pregnant?’
She asked: [How do you know?]
The next second, Lily Young sent over a few screenshots and several photos.