Yes, I Have a Child with the Villain

Adrian Grant had barely taken a few steps out of his private booth when he caught sight of a scene unfolding across the corridor.

Caroline Whitman was pinned against the wall by Chase Ford. The man leaned in sideways, resting one hand against the wall behind her, trapping her within the narrow space. A fallen service cart lay askew nearby, its contents scattered across the floor, while a waiter scrambled to clean up the mess.

Adrian narrowed his eyes and stood completely still. It wasn’t until Chase retracted his hand and Caroline stepped out of his embrace, looking up and noticing him, that he casually withdrew his gaze and continued walking toward the elevators.

Caroline froze for a moment. Staring at his retreating back, she wondered if Adrian had just come out of his room.

Chase’s voice rang in her ears, interrupting her train of thought. "Did anything hit you?"

Caroline looked away and glanced down at her feet before shaking her head. "No. Thank you, Mr. Ford." After a brief pause, she smiled and added pointedly, "Actually, Mr. Ford, you didn’t have to go out of your way to protect me. A little spill like this wouldn’t have hurt me."

Just moments ago, a waiter pushing a service cart had conveniently slipped right next to them, causing the messy scene on the floor.

Chase merely chuckled. "You have a good sense of humor, Miss Whitman. I simply can’t stand seeing anyone get hurt in front of me. It was just a subconscious reaction. Let’s go. If you don’t mind, I can escort you home," he offered gentlemanly.

Caroline found Chase’s characterization as the designated "Mr. Nice Guy" in the novel rather amusing. Not only was he gentle and considerate toward the female lead, but he was also surprisingly attentive to a random bystander like herself. However, she smiled and pointed at her own cheek, gesturing to him. "There’s no need. You’d better take care of yourself first, Mr. Ford." With that, she turned and walked toward the elevators.

"Then let’s head to the elevators together," Chase said. "That should definitely be on the way."

Caroline remained silent. The two of them walked to the elevators one after the other. As luck would have it, they bumped right into Adrian, who was already inside the car. Just like their previous encounter at the restaurant in Marinus, the elevator doors were just beginning to close the moment they arrived. It was truly a bizarre twist of fate.

This time, Chase acted quickly and pressed the open button, parting the elevator doors once more.

"President Grant. What a coincidence," Chase said as he stepped inside, flashing a warm smile.

Adrian’s gaze lightly swept over the wound on the corner of Chase’s mouth. He gave a brief nod and hummed in acknowledgment.

Caroline stepped into the elevator in silence.

"Allow me to introduce you," Chase said, his eyes curving into a smile as he suddenly spoke up. "This is President Whitman of the Whitman Group."

Adrian merely shot Chase a faint glance. "The Whitman Group has collaborated with the Grant Group far more times than your Ford Family."

Caroline was rendered speechless. She could easily hear the mockery in Adrian’s tone, as if he were saying, "As if I need you to introduce us." Both of these men were acting incredibly strange. It was completely baffling.

Chase merely let out a light chuckle. "I almost forgot. Miss Whitman was also present at the old man’s birthday banquet last time. I assumed the two of you weren’t well-acquainted, so I thought I’d play the middleman and introduce you. What an embarrassing mistake."

The elevator descended rapidly from the fifth floor. Just as Caroline was trying to think of something to say to ease the tension, the doors chimed open on the ground floor. The three of them stepped out. Despite the visible injuries on his face, Chase maintained his dignified demeanor and bid farewell to the two of them.

He stood by the entrance of the clubhouse, watching them head in opposite directions and get into their respective cars. Only when the vehicles slowly drove off did he retract his gaze and stride toward a Bentley with its headlights on.

The window rolled down, revealing Aiden Lockwood in the driver’s seat. "What took you so long to come down?"

"I ran into an acquaintance on my way out," Chase replied.

"Who?"

"Caroline Whitman of the Whitman Group."

Aiden found it rather amusing. "You’re unbelievable. How do you manage to strike up a conversation with literally anyone? Especially with your face beaten up like that. Aren’t you afraid of making a fool of yourself?"

Chase got into the car and leaned back against the seat. "She’s a corporate partner anyway. A little small talk is perfectly normal."

Aiden started the car, glancing at the injuries on Chase’s face once more before teasing, "You must be thrilled, huh? Finally getting to kiss Luna Lynn. Do you need me to drop you off at the hospital?"

"As long as it pisses off Vincent Fuller, it’s worth it," Chase said.

Aiden chuckled. "Still haven’t given up after chasing her for so long?"

Chase merely looked out the window, choosing not to answer.

Adrian was the first to arrive home. Upon entering, he was somewhat surprised to find Miss King sitting in the living room.

"Mr. Grant, you’re back," Miss King said, standing up.

Adrian nodded. "Yes. Did she ask you to come over?"

"Indeed," Miss King replied. "Mrs. Grant told me about an hour ago that she had to step out for some business. She asked me to come over so the young master wouldn’t wake up to an empty house."

Right on cue, Caroline walked through the door.

"Mrs. Grant is back," Miss King said with a smile.

Caroline nodded gratefully. "Thank you for taking the trouble to come all the way back here, Miss King."

"Oh, it’s my duty," Miss King waved it off. "It’s late at night; we definitely can’t leave the child sleeping home alone. It’d be terrible if he woke up in the middle of the night, couldn’t find either of you, and wandered out on his own."

That was exactly what Caroline had been worried about. Remembering that Ryan Grant had a history of doing just that, she had deliberately called Miss King over before heading out. Seeing that both of them had returned, Miss King bid them goodnight and took her leave.

Even though Caroline had heard Miss King address her as "Mrs. Grant" countless times, she still couldn’t get used to it. She cast a faint glance at Adrian and asked, "Shouldn’t we explain our relationship to Miss King? It’s not great to let her keep misunderstanding like this, is it?"

"As long as the child is here, misunderstandings are inevitable," Adrian replied. "Changing how we address each other so suddenly would only make the child suspicious and cause Miss King to overthink things.

"If you’re worried about this affecting your reputation, you can rest assured. Miss King isn’t a gossip.

"Once the child returns to his parallel universe, I will naturally explain the true nature of our relationship to her."

After finishing his sentence, he paused before asking, "Did you go out to meet Chase Ford?" Leaving a child home alone just for Chase’s sake was something he couldn’t accept.

Caroline didn’t think much of it and answered truthfully, "My cousin ran into some trouble and called me to pick her up. By the time I arrived, she had already sorted things out and left. I just happened to bump into Chase there."

Only after she finished speaking did she belatedly realize that it sounded like she was reporting her whereabouts to him. "Wait, he hasn’t even explained why he was at the clubhouse. Why am I answering him so dutifully?" she wondered.

Unwilling to show any weakness, Caroline fired back, "What about you? Was the ’business engagement’ you mentioned tonight just an excuse to mess around with some friends at a clubhouse?"

Adrian frowned. "There was no messing around. A friend of mine just returned to the country, so we were hosting a welcome-back dinner. It also happened to be another friend’s birthday. Since we rarely have free time at the same time, we decided to get together." He paused, then added, as if recalling something, "The only two women there were my younger female cousin and another friend’s wife."

After two seconds of silence, she finally said, "You didn’t have to explain it in such great detail." It made it seem as though there was actually something going on between them.

"Don’t overthink it," Adrian said. "I am merely honoring the terms of our agreement. I will not engage in any relationships with other women during this period." Finally, he gave her a meaningful look. "I hope you can do the same."

Caroline fell silent, her expression unreadable.

Neither of them said anything more as they returned to their respective rooms. Adrian headed into the guest bedroom, leaving Caroline to enter the master bedroom.

She suddenly realized that, aside from Ryan, who had his own separate children’s room, neither of them seemed to have a fixed bedroom. Whenever they occasionally accompanied the child to sleep in the master bedroom, it was always a matter of whoever fell asleep first got to stay, while the other person would head to the guest bedroom for the night.