Chapter 73: Boiling the Frog
His chubby little hands followed suit, rubbing his face. Only when he heard the water shut off did he wipe the droplets from his eyes and slowly open them, his damp gaze fixed on Adrian Grant:
"I’m sorry, Daddy. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have hidden this from you and Mommy."
"..."
Adrian Grant was starting to realize this kid was a pro at apologizing to get out of trouble.
"Since you know you were wrong, your punishment is to sleep by yourself tonight."
Ryan Grant knew he was in the wrong, so he could only pout. "Oh..."
After bathing the little one, Adrian Grant wrapped him in a dry towel, dried his body and hair, dressed him in his pajamas, and then ushered him out of the bathroom.
"Daddy, where are we going to play tomorrow?"
"Are we leaving Kingsport again?"
"That’s the plan for now, but we’ll ask for Mommy’s opinion before we decide."
Adrian Grant glanced down. Seeing that the little guy was about to press him with more questions, he cut him off. "Get your hair dried and go to sleep. It’s too late, and Mommy needs to rest, too. We’ll talk about it tomorrow."
Ryan Grant had no choice but to obediently close his mouth. "Okay."
When Adrian Grant came out after putting the child to bed, Caroline Whitman was already waiting in the study.
"Is he asleep?" Caroline Whitman asked.
"He’s asleep."
Adrian Grant came in and closed the door behind him.
"Have your grandfather and your parents really not called you yet today?" Caroline Whitman got straight to the point.
Ever since Adrian Grant had returned, she’d been listening for his phone to ring, but unfortunately, she hadn’t heard a single sound from it.
’Could it be that I’m just being paranoid? Maybe there’s nothing wrong at all?’
Adrian Grant said, "No. Perhaps the situation isn’t as serious as you think."
Caroline Whitman said, "I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling about this. Even my dad, who’s usually so oblivious, asked me a couple of days ago if Ryan was your illegitimate son. There’s no way your family’s reaction would be this calm, right?"
After a pause, Caroline Whitman ventured a guess, "Maybe they’ve already taken a sample of his hair and are waiting for the DNA test results?"
Adrian Grant: "..."
Although he didn’t want to think along those lines, it was definitely something they would do.
When it came to the question of an illegitimate child, a scientifically-proven paternity test was the most conclusive evidence.
Learning that Jonathan Grant had seen the child two days prior, he feared the real reason he’d been summoned back to the family home for dinner that day was for a paternity test.
"Hey, say something!" Seeing how quiet Adrian Grant had been since he came in, Caroline Whitman grew anxious.
Adrian Grant walked over to the sofa and slowly sat down, looking quite composed. "First, don’t get worked up."
Caroline Whitman: "..."
She shot him a look. "You certainly don’t seem flustered."
Adrian Grant said, "Even if they find out about the child, I’ll be the first person they come to. As for his mother..."
He paused before continuing, "I’ll tell them the truth—that the child time-traveled from the future. And unless you agree to it, I won’t reveal that you’re his mother."
Caroline Whitman found this laughable. "The boy stayed with my father for just over a week before your family found out he exists."
"After he’s officially recognized by the Grant family, how long do you think we can hide the fact that I’m his mother?"
"Besides, even if you tell them he’s a time traveler, they’ll probably see such a fantastical story as just an excuse we came up with for having a child out of wedlock."
Adrian Grant fell into thought. "Sorry, I was being thoughtless. I’ll handle it."
Caroline Whitman lowered her eyes and pursed her lips. "How are you going to handle it?"
Adrian Grant said, "I won’t let my family bother you."
"..."
Caroline Whitman looked up at him. "That’s it?"
Adrian Grant replied, "Perhaps you have a better idea you’d like to offer for consideration?"
Caroline Whitman turned her gaze to the night view outside the window. "No."
Adrian Grant stood up. "Alright, let’s leave it at that for now. Get some rest."
Caroline Whitman also stood and followed close behind him. The moment he went to open the door, she acted on a sudden impulse and grabbed his sleeve.
Adrian Grant’s hand, which was on the doorknob, paused. He turned to the side, his gaze falling upon her delicate hand.
His gaze traveled upward, finally resting on her exquisite face. He watched her quietly, patiently waiting for her to speak.
Caroline Whitman stared at the pristine white cuff she was clutching, not daring to look up. She pursed her lips. "I mean, we, we..."
"Where should we take the kid to play tomorrow?" The moment Caroline Whitman looked up and met his intense dark eyes, she instantly lost her nerve and could only blurt out words that didn’t match what she was truly thinking.
Her hand clutching his sleeve let go and dropped to her side as their eyes met.
Adrian Grant chuckled, his tone unreadable. "So that’s what you wanted to ask?"
He gave her an answer. "The boy doesn’t have any official identification, so we can only drive to nearby cities, or stay in Kingsport. What are your thoughts?"
Caroline Whitman said, "Let’s forget about Kingsport. Let’s go to Norcaster."
’Since I’m on annual leave, if I’m just going to be cooped up at home in Kingsport looking after the kid, all while under the stress of being found out, I might as well just go back to work.’
Adrian Grant nodded. "Alright, Norcaster it is. There’s a mountain resort there for summer getaways. The environment is nice, and there are places for kids to play. How about we go there?"
Caroline Whitman was suspicious. A mountain resort was the first thing he thought of. "That resort isn’t owned by your family, is it? What’s the difference between me, you, and the child showing up on your family’s turf and walking right into a trap?"
Adrian Grant smiled. "It doesn’t belong to the Grant family. It’s my own private property. Since you don’t want to go, I wonder if Miss Whitman has any recommendations?"
"If we’re going to a resort, why don’t we go to mine? As it happens, I’ve also invested in a resort in Norcaster. It should be more suitable than your mountain villa."
"Alright."
With that settled, Adrian Grant opened the study door.
"Um..."
On another sudden impulse, Caroline Whitman went for an encore, once again reaching out to grab his sleeve.
"Hm?"
Adrian Grant paused, looking at her curiously.
When Caroline Whitman met his eyes, she swallowed the words she had prepared.
She had no choice but to chicken out again, letting go of his sleeve. Hesitantly, she played the coward one more time. "What time are we leaving tomorrow?"
"How about eight in the morning?" Adrian Grant raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. It was only nine-thirty. After a quick mental calculation, he said, "The boy has been waking up earlier than us these past few days. We should try to get up early too, so he doesn’t wake up and see us sleeping separately again."
"Waking up early is no problem for me."
"Good." This time, Adrian Grant didn’t rush to leave. His gaze remained fixed on her as he confirmed one more time, "Is there anything else you want to ask?"
"No. You should get some rest."
After saying that, Caroline Whitman slipped out of the study before he could.
Back in her bedroom, after showering and lying down in bed, Caroline Whitman could have kicked herself for her own cowardice.
’No one told me theory and practice are completely different! Aaaah!’
’That probing question, "If the child stays in this world forever, are we just going to keep things the way they are?"—every time I was about to say it, I was intimidated into silence by his eyes.’
’Those eyes, like cold, deep pools, held no hint of harshness, yet they were incredibly intense.’
’Do I have to get myself drunk again next time just to make a move?’
Caroline Whitman sat on the bed, stroking her chin as she slowly calmed down.
’No, that won’t work.’
’It’s too reckless.’
’If I try to test the waters now, it’ll be too obvious.’
After calming down, Caroline Whitman decided to play the long game.