Chapter 9: Fiancée?
"No," Adrian answered.
Caroline pressed him. "A fiancée?"
"No."
"A girlfriend?"
"No."
"Then, anyone you have a crush on or feelings for?"
"..."
Adrian was struck by a strange sense of absurdity, as if he were being cross-examined in a courtroom. He looked up at her, his gaze holding an unreadable meaning, and coolly tossed out a single word:
"No."
The moment he spoke, he leaned back, lazily propping up one leg. He looked back at Caroline at his leisure, turning the tables on her. "You’ve asked me so many questions. What about you?"
"Same as you."
"Good." Adrian quickly accepted this fact, his tone calm. "In that case, I don’t want the fact that we have a child to become public knowledge. I hope you can keep it a secret."
"I was thinking the same thing," Caroline agreed with a nod.
He stood up, put on his glasses, and picked up his phone, glancing at the time. "It’s late. You should get some rest. Tomorrow, I’ll draft an agreement for our joint custody of the child. You should draft one as well, and we can compare notes."
"..."
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
For one of them, at least.
After Caroline saw him out, she took a shower, returned to her room, and immediately fell fast asleep.
But before eight o’clock, she was shaken awake by Ryan.
"Mommy, why is Daddy gone again?"
His shoes were gone too.
Ryan looked like he was about to cry. "Mommy, you and Daddy fought, didn’t you? Does Daddy not want me anymore?"
His lower lip trembled.
Any morning grogginess Caroline felt was instantly washed away by the sight of her child’s tears.
’Help me.’
She quickly got up to comfort him. Just as she was about to use the excuse that Adrian had gone to work overtime, Ryan blinked his wide, teary eyes and whispered:
"Mommy, were you about to say Daddy went to work overtime?"
"I don’t believe you. Daddy never works overtime on the weekend."
"..."
Caroline glanced away. ’The Adrian from the parallel timeline really is a family man, huh?’
She never would have guessed. She’d only used the "business trip" excuse a few times, and before she could even try the "working overtime" one, the kid was already immune to them.
’Now that he’s found his father, raising him isn’t just my problem anymore.’
Caroline picked up her phone to call Adrian and tell him to come get his son.
Thank goodness she’d gotten his number before he left last night.
But she called and called, and no one picked up.
"Daddy doesn’t have any clothes here. He didn’t have anything to change into last night, so he must have gone back to The Seraphic," Ryan suddenly piped up.
"..."
’Damn, is this really the IQ of a three-and-a-half-year-old?’
...
「The Seraphic.」
When Adrian woke up, he saw several missed calls.
He checked and saw they were all from Caroline.
There was also a text message.
[The kid woke up, and you were gone. He’s crying and coming to find you. He’s on his way to your place now—The Seraphic, is that right? Call back when you get this.]
He got up and was heading downstairs to call her back when he heard a noise at the front door.
Outside.
"Good boy, do you know the code?"
"I know. It’s 1130. Daddy said it’s the date the door was installed."
"..."
CLICK. The villa’s door suddenly swung open.
At the same time, Caroline’s phone rang.
"We’re in!" The moment Ryan stepped inside, he saw Adrian in a black silk robe. He immediately rushed forward, calling out in a happy, sweet voice, "Daddy!"
Adrian, who had just come downstairs and was dialing his phone, saw the scene unfold. He paused, then hung up. He didn’t remember giving them the code to his house.
Having only slept for two or three hours, he dazedly remembered: this child was from the future.
After their brief meeting the night before and the paternity test results, Adrian was no longer as unmoved by the child’s affection as he had been at first.
Adrian bent down and picked the boy up. He heard the child whisper plaintively in his ear, "Daddy, why did you sneak back to The Seraphic to sleep?"
"I had some company business to take care of, so I came back to handle it and just ended up sleeping here."
He put Ryan down, patted his little head, and walked over to get Caroline a new pair of slippers.
After being set down, Ryan looked around at the furniture and decorations. Everything was unfamiliar.
"Daddy, what happened to all my toys?"
With that, he familiarly ran upstairs to find his room. A moment later, he reappeared at the top of the stairs, whimpering.
"My room is gone, too!"
Fresh tears began to fall.
Ryan wasn’t normally a crybaby. He’d been taught that big boys had to be strong. But now, faced with the terrifying thought that his mommy and daddy didn’t want him anymore, he couldn’t hold back his tears.
Caroline had been the first one to meet Ryan. While the boy had been well-behaved and quiet for the past few days, it was obvious he was feeling down.
Today’s events were likely the last straw, and he just couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Seeing the boy cry, the one he kept calling "Mommy," she felt a pang of sympathy.
She walked over to Adrian, tugged on his sleeve, and urged, "Hey, Dad, you need to explain! He hasn’t seen you for days and thinks his parents got divorced and don’t want him anymore."
"Sigh. He must have inherited his intelligence from me. He’s just too smart and sensitive."
Adrian: "..."
He went upstairs, crouched down to meet Ryan’s gaze, and wiped away the boy’s tears. "Daddy was actually planning a surprise for you."
Ryan blinked his round, wet eyes. "What surprise?"
"I’m redecorating your room, getting you all new little toys, and preparing a surprise birthday present for you."
"Really?" Ryan’s sobs subsided.
"When has Daddy ever lied to you?"
Listening from downstairs, Caroline felt the corner of her mouth twitch. ’This villain’s ability to adapt is off the charts. He slipped into the dad role so fast.’
Since she was playing the mother, she had to put on a show too. "That’s right! It was a little surprise from Mommy and Daddy for our Baby Ryan. Too bad our baby found out ahead of time."
"Is Mommy’s house getting a surprise too?" Ryan blinked, his watery eyes turning to Caroline.
Caroline beamed and nodded. "Mhm!"
"So Mommy and Daddy aren’t going on business trips anymore? Can you both sleep with me every night from now on?"
Ryan hit them with another soul-piercing question.
Adrian carried him downstairs, answering smoothly, "Big boys need to be independent and sleep on their own."
Ryan: "But I’m still just a baby! Daddy, you haven’t slept with me and Mommy in a long, long time."
"How long has it been?"
"As long as half a month."
Ryan had only arrived a little over a week ago.
Then Ryan added, "Daddy and Mommy haven’t slept together in a long time, either. Before, Daddy was always stuck to Mommy’s side when it was time for bed."
Ryan pouted, speaking with the unfiltered honesty of a child as he described what he’d seen. "Every time Daddy comes in the door, Mommy goes and kisses Daddy. And when Mommy comes in the door, Daddy goes and kisses Mommy."
’Why did everything change after the business trip?’
"..."
"..."
Caroline finally understood why Ryan was so sensitive.
So their future, parallel-timeline selves were completely open with their public displays of affection, even in front of their child.
But in this timeline, they were practically strangers. A child would be the first to sense the distant, unfamiliar aura between them, even down to the way they treated him.
Adrian raised an eyebrow in surprise. His reaction was identical to Caroline’s.
’Just how in love were their future selves?’