Chapter 24: The Child Wants to Go to Your Company
Caroline went home with Adrian tonight.
Adrian’s chauffeur was driving.
The two of them were silent the entire way.
In reality, they never had much to say to each other outside of matters concerning their child and their companies.
Even though it was just like always, Caroline felt a little awkward.
’Am I feeling guilty?’
’Or am I just embarrassed?’
Caroline couldn’t quite put her finger on the feeling.
She stole a glance at Adrian, who was sitting beside her with his eyes closed, resting.
Her gaze slowly drifted across his profile, from his handsome eyes and brows to his high-bridged nose, then down to his sharply defined lips, finally settling on those thin lips, which held a healthy pink hue.
’Sigh... I really let lust go to my head. How could I dare to kiss the villain?’
Just then, Adrian’s phone rang. Seeing his eyelashes flutter, just as he was about to open his eyes, Caroline quickly retracted her gaze and turned to look out the window.
"Grandpa," Adrian answered the phone.
"You brat, where did you go? Why couldn’t I find you?"
"Something came up unexpectedly, so I headed back early."
"What was so urgent that you had to rush back tonight?"
Facing the irritation on the other end of the line, Adrian remained calm. "Something happened at the banquet earlier. I’ve already explained the situation to Special Assistant Kim. He should be handling it now. You can ask him about it later."
...
「Back at home.」
Ryan, cheerful as ever, ran over and shouted, "Daddy, Mommy, you’re home!"
But today was a little different.
He blinked his curious eyes, tilted his little head, and asked, "It’s rare for you two to come home together."
"But Mommy’s face was all red when she came back today."
Caroline touched her cheek. "..."
’Has the blush on my face still not faded after all this time?’
’Kids say the darndest things, but that doesn’t mean you have to say *everything*!’
She instinctively looked in Adrian’s direction. Seeing that he had already walked into the living room without looking back at her, she relaxed a little and put on a natural expression, smiling faintly.
"I had some wine tonight, so it’s normal for my face to be red."
"Oh."
Tonight, to "punish" the two of them for not taking him to his great-grandfather’s birthday banquet, Ryan made them take turns telling him a story.
A small night-light was on in the room.
Only a few hours later, the two were once again lying in the same bed, under the same blanket, sitting up against opposite sides of the headboard.
With a little dumpling between them.
Though she had grown used to this arrangement, she felt exceptionally uncomfortable at this moment.
Caroline felt like it was the first time she had ever shared a bed with Adrian all over again.
Only this time, she was even more flustered than the last.
She secretly glanced up at Adrian. He still had that cool and aloof look, his eyes lowered as he read to their child from the storybook in a placid tone.
In the middle of the story, Adrian paused and turned his head to look up at her. A jolt of panic shot through Caroline, and she hurriedly averted her gaze, pretending to be calm as she gently patted their son.
...
After they took turns finishing the stories, Ryan finally fell asleep.
This time, however, neither of the adults was asleep.
Caroline looked up. Seeing him about to get up and go to the guest room, she quickly called out to him in a low voice.
"I’ll sleep in the spare room tonight. Let’s not wake the child."
Adrian paused but didn’t insist, simply acknowledging with a soft "Mm."
Caroline got out of bed, turned off the night-light, and went to the other spare bedroom.
The apartment had a four-bedroom, two-living-room layout.
One room was used as a study, and another had been made into a child’s room.
That left the master bedroom and a spare bedroom.
In the past, Adrian would always be the one to move to the spare room after putting their son to sleep. Over the past month, there had hardly been a single night where he and Caroline had slept in the same bed until morning.
Tonight was the first time Caroline had ever slept in the spare room.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight and wanted some quiet time alone.
She just didn’t expect that when she pulled back the covers, the distinct scent of Adrian’s body wash would still be lingering on the bedding.
"..."
Although the two of them lived together, they used separate toiletries. Even their laundry detergents were different, and their clothes were washed separately.
Lying in bed, Caroline sighed. Now she was even more wide awake.
She got up, opened the closet, and took out a new, thin blanket. After spreading it on the bed, she finally escaped the feeling of being completely enveloped by Adrian.
But she still lay awake all night.
Caroline got up at six and went to the office.
She didn’t return until the early hours of the morning.
Leaving early and returning late, she successfully staggered her schedule to avoid running into Adrian.
This went on for a week.
Even on the weekend, Caroline used "working overtime" as an excuse to hide in her office, avoiding spending the entire day with Adrian.
According to their original plan, she and Adrian were supposed to take their son to the amusement park this weekend.
In the end, Adrian had to take him by himself.
She wasn’t sure if Adrian was deliberately expressing his dissatisfaction with taking their son out alone, but short video clips from him kept popping up on her phone throughout the day.
Adrian: [Video]
Adrian: [Video]
Adrian: [Video]
Sitting alone in her air-conditioned office, Caroline guiltily opened the videos.
They were all clips of Ryan on various rides at the amusement park.
Ryan on the carousel.
Ryan on the pirate ship.
Ryan driving a bumper car...
Caroline silently closed the video and replied: [Thanks for doing all that.]
Adrian: [It’s no trouble. The kid says he wants to go out alone with you next time.]
Caroline: [...Are you sure that’s what Ryan said, and not what you’re thinking?]
Adrian had already put his phone away. Just as his son finished his go-kart ride, he walked over, ruffled his hair, and asked, "What else do you want to play?"
Ryan looked around the empty amusement park and shook his head. "I don’t want to play anymore."
"Tired?"
"Daddy, there are no other kids here. It’s not fun."
Ryan felt like he couldn’t have any real fun.
Without other kids to play with and fight over toys, it was just plain boring.
"Daddy, why isn’t there anyone at this amusement park? Did it go out of business? Can we go to a different one?"
Of course, Adrian couldn’t possibly let him appear in the public eye.
It was fine for him and Ryan to be seen separately, but if they appeared in public together, it would be troublesome.
Adrian mulled it over for a moment. "Well, since it’s come to this, Daddy won’t hide it from you anymore."
Ryan hugged his water bottle and took a couple of sips, then tilted his little head up curiously. "What’s wrong?"
"Daddy’s company has a lot of rivals right now. If you were to appear in public, it would be very unsafe. Daddy doesn’t want Baby Ryan to be in any danger, understand?"
Ryan looked thoughtful. It wasn’t clear if he understood or not, but in the end, he still nodded. "I know, Daddy."
"Then when can I go back to the old residence? I haven’t seen my grandmas and grandpas in a long time. I kind of miss them."
"..."
For the first time, Adrian felt how difficult it was to raise a child.
’This kid... first he’s looking for his dad, then his mom, and after his mom, he starts asking for his grandmas and grandpas.’
Adrian was silent for so long that the little dumpling reached out a chubby hand to tug on his sleeve. "Daddy, say something! When can I see my grandmas and grandpas?"
"They’re on a trip. I’ll take you back to the old residence when they return."
"Oh. Then I want to go to Mommy’s company to keep her company while she works overtime. It’s not right for us to be out having fun while Mommy is working so hard."
Adrian was silent. "..."
「Whitman Group.」
Caroline received another message from Adrian.
Only this time, the content of the message almost made her pass out.
Adrian: [The child wants to go to your company.]