Chapter 63: Picking up the Kids
An upright, imposing figure was the first thing to meet her eyes. Caroline Whitman paused in her tracks.
Her heartbeat suddenly quickened.
She raised a hand to her chest. ’Did I stay up too late last night? Is my heart paying the price?’
Adrian Grant was in the kitchen, washing dishes.
She slowly walked over and found an untouched lunch on the dining table: a pot of still-warm millet congee, a vegetable dish, and a bowl of steamed egg, still kept warm.
The light meal was clearly prepared specifically for their hangovers.
And this spread, she was pretty sure, was left for her, the last one to wake up.
Caroline Whitman pulled out a chair and sat down, ladling a bowl of the millet congee.
Just then, Adrian Grant came out of the kitchen. The top two buttons of his white shirt were undone, leaving it hanging loosely open. His sleeves were casually rolled up to his mid-forearms, revealing their strong, smooth lines.
His gaze swept over the dining table. Seeing Caroline Whitman eating, he spoke in a neutral tone:
"You’re awake."
Even though Adrian Grant always asked the obvious, Caroline Whitman always cooperated with a simple "Mhm."
She was afraid he would be the first to bring up what happened last night.
So, Caroline Whitman took a small sip of congee and casually searched for a topic. "Did you make all this?"
"Yeah. Since we were on a business trip and the kid isn’t here, I let Miss King take a few days off. I saw you were still sleeping, so I didn’t wake you."
"Are you feeling any better?"
"Mhm." Caroline Whitman kept her head down, looking extremely focused on the congee in her bowl.
By the time she looked up, Adrian Grant had already walked into the living room, but his voice carried back, not too loud and not too soft:
"What time are we picking up the kid this afternoon?"
Hearing that Adrian Grant hadn’t deliberately brought up last night, she felt a small sense of relief.
Caroline Whitman glanced at the time. It was already 2:30. She did a quick mental calculation but was still a little unsure.
"I’ll call my father in a bit to see if he’s taken the kid out anywhere. We can decide when to go pick him up after that."
"Okay."
Once she had eaten and drunk her fill, Caroline Whitman leisurely made the call.
It was already three o’clock.
Even if the child had taken a nap, he should be awake by now.
So, she called Ryan Grant’s kids’ smartwatch directly.
Ryan Grant, who was still playing with a shovel in the garden of the Grant Ancestral Home, heard his watch ring. Seeing it was a call from Mommy, he quickly pressed the answer button.
As he spoke, he glanced at his grandpa and maternal grandpa playing chess up ahead, and his grandma who had just gone into the kitchen to get him some water.
Seeing the coast was clear, he finally let out the word he had been holding in for so long: "Mommy."
"Mommy, when are you coming to take me home?"
Listening to the soft, sweet child’s voice on the other end, tinged with a hint of grievance, Caroline Whitman couldn’t help but smile.
"Aren’t you having a good time at Grandpa’s?"
"I am, but I miss Mommy and Daddy more."
"Alright, alright. Are you guys at home or out somewhere? We’ll come get you soon. You haven’t been causing any trouble these past few days, have you?"
"Nope, I’ve been a good boy."
Grace Lawson had just come out of the kitchen with a glass of water when she heard the child seemingly talking to someone. Her steps faltered.
She crept closer to take a look. ’The little one is on the phone?’
"Is Daddy coming to get me too?"
Immediately after, a familiar male voice came from the phone: "Yes, we’ll come get you together."
That voice... The moment Grace Lawson heard it, she froze.
It sounded so much like her son’s voice.
’Wait, the child said Daddy, not Godfather, right?’
’Does that mean he’s on the phone with his real dad right now?’
"When are you guys coming?"
"We’ll be over in a bit. Wait for us at home, okay?"
The call ended, and Ryan Grant immediately scampered on his short legs over to Franklin Whitman. "Grandpa, Godmother is coming to the manor to pick me up. Can you take me back quickly?"
Franklin Whitman had just put his opponent in check.
He put down his chess piece and turned his head. "She’s back so soon."
Hearing this, Jonathan Grant quickly stood up. Although reluctant to see them go, he said considerately:
"Oh, and here I was hoping you’d stay for dinner. Since the child is being picked up, we shouldn’t keep them waiting."
"Alright then, Jonathan, let’s do this again sometime. And I have to say, your skill is quite impressive, almost rivaling the elder Mr. Grant’s. You nearly beat me."
"Your son is quite good too. I played a game with him once. Your family is a real den of chess masters."
"Haha, it’s just a hobby we enjoy for our own amusement."
Grace Lawson came out just then. "Leaving already?"
Franklin Whitman: "Yes, we are. Sorry for the trouble today."
"It was no trouble at all."
Grace Lawson smiled and patted the little one’s head. "Ryan, come play again soon."
"Okay! Goodbye, Grandma! Goodbye, Grandpa!"
...
Back on the other side, Caroline Whitman hung up the phone and turned her head to Adrian Grant. "You’re going too?"
Just now, Adrian Grant had suddenly cut in on her conversation, and she couldn’t contradict him in front of their child.
But Adrian Grant said, "He’s my child too. Ryan just mentioned me. As his father, is there a problem with me going with you to pick him up?"
Caroline Whitman: "..."
"There’s no ’problem,’ but for you and Ryan Grant to appear before my parents, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?"
After a pause, Caroline Whitman gave him a suspicious look. "Are you trying to go public? Didn’t you say before that we couldn’t expose the child to the public eye?"
Adrian Grant: "I’ll drive. I won’t get out of the car."
Hearing this, Caroline Whitman relented. "Fine. Let’s go now, then. If we get there around dinnertime, my parents will probably insist we stay and eat."
Adrian Grant glanced at the time. "It’s three in the afternoon. We won’t get to your family’s place by dinnertime. Unless your family eats early."
"We don’t eat that early."
Caroline Whitman went back to her room to change, then went downstairs with Adrian Grant. They went to the garage, got the car, and drove out of the residential complex.
「Half an hour later.」
Two cars arrived at the Whitman Manor, one right after the other.
Adrian Grant had just parked the car by the outer wall of the manor when another car approached from the opposite direction and pulled into the front courtyard.
The moment Caroline Whitman got out of the car, she walked into the courtyard. Ryan Grant had also just gotten out of Franklin Whitman’s car.
The instant he saw Caroline Whitman, he was about to shout "Mommy," but he quickly swallowed the word and changed it to "Godmother."
"You’re finally back from your business trip."
He paused, tilting his little head. "Where’s Godfather?"
Franklin Whitman had just parked the car and chimed in, "Yeah, where’s Adrian Grant? Why hasn’t he gotten out of the car? Is he shy?"
When their cars passed each other earlier, he had seen the car parked at the entrance and noticed Caroline Whitman wasn’t the one driving.
Caroline Whitman picked up the child and turned to leave. "There’s no need for him to get out. We’re heading back now."
As Franklin Whitman followed them out, Adrian Grant had already gotten out of the car. He greeted him with a polite expression, "Hello, Uncle."
"Come in and sit for a while."
"I can’t. I have something else to do later, so I won’t disturb you."
Adrian Grant had originally planned to stay in the car, but since Franklin Whitman had seen him, it would be impolite to remain seated.
"Dad, don’t be so polite. We still have to return the child to his parents, so we won’t stay."
As Caroline Whitman spoke, she shielded the child’s face, turning his head to the side as she quickly put him in the car.