Before her business dinner ended at nine, Caroline Whitman deliberately touched up her makeup.

By the time she came downstairs, Adrian Grant’s car was already parked at the restaurant’s entrance.

She pulled open the car door and got in. Adrian Grant glanced at her.

Her makeup and clothes were still as exquisite as when she had left that morning.

He looked away and started the car.

The light from the streetlamps streaked past the window. Watching the route gradually deviate from the way home, she finally couldn’t help but turn her head to look at him. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll know when we get there.” Adrian Grant turned the steering wheel, veering onto a quiet, tree-lined road.

The moment he said that, Caroline Whitman’s heart began to race.

‘Is it finally happening?’

Neither of them spoke again.

It was far too quiet inside the car.

Caroline, who was usually accustomed to the quiet atmosphere in Adrian’s car, felt inexplicably unsettled at this moment.

She thought for a moment. The problem, she decided, had to be their son.

He wasn’t in the car today.

Caroline Whitman tried to distract herself. ‘Was Ryan picked up and brought home today?’ she wondered.

‘On second thought,’ she reasoned, ‘since we dropped him off at Gavin Grant’s this morning, he’ll probably be at the family estate for the next few days, unless something unexpected happens.’

In other words, until their son’s birthday, she and Adrian Grant would have the world to themselves.

As her thoughts drifted, she also realized that Ryan hadn’t called to check up on them today.

So, Caroline casually looked for a topic to break the silence. “Is Ryan at your father’s tonight?”

“Mm.”

“…”

Caroline was silent for a moment. ‘Of all times,’ she thought, ‘he picks now to be so sparing with his words again.’

As silence fell over the car again, Caroline continued with the topic. “Ryan hasn’t called me today. Did he call you?”

“No. I had dinner at the family estate today.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t bring him home tonight, did you?”

“No. Ryan will be at the family estate for the next few days.”

“Oh.”

After that “oh,” Caroline found she had completely run out of things to say.

She turned to look out the window. The streetlights retreated one by one. The car wasn’t moving fast, but she felt her pulse was much faster.

The car finally stopped by the river.

It wasn’t the riverbank in the commercial district, but a quieter stretch. In the distance, the lights of the cross-river bridge floated in the night like a delicate string of pearls, and the river’s surface shimmered with a light like crushed silver.

Adrian Grant turned off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Let’s get out and walk.”

Caroline followed him out of the car. The river breeze, carrying a hint of moisture, brushed against her face. It felt very pleasant on this summer night.

The two of them walked along the path for a while. The streetlights were sparse, and pedestrians were few and far between.

She thought he would stop here, but he didn’t.

Adrian simply held her hand the whole way, occasionally pointing at the lights on the opposite bank to mention when a certain building was constructed, or what schemes someone had once used to fight for that piece of land.

His tone was normal, and the pace of their walk was normal too.

After walking a full loop and returning to the car, Caroline thought as she fastened her seatbelt, ‘That’s it? Was it really just a walk?’

‘I left the house in full makeup today and was on pins and needles all day, and it turns out you just brought me to the riverside for a twenty-minute breeze and a little chat about the history of Kingsport’s business district?’

Caroline pressed her lips together, grumbling inwardly.

‘Could it be that I was just overthinking things?’

‘Adrian wasn’t planning on proposing today after all?’

She thought about it. ‘That makes sense.’

‘Our son’s birthday is just around the corner; he probably wouldn’t propose right now.’

Caroline leaned back against the seat, unsure if she was relieved or a little disappointed.

The car started, pulling away from the riverbank.

Caroline watched the scenery outside and suddenly realized they were going the wrong way.

This wasn’t the way back to Azure Heights. It seemed they were heading toward The Seraphic.

“Where are we going?” She turned to look at Adrian.

“The Seraphic.” Adrian’s hand rested on the steering wheel, his tone as casual as ever. “We’re staying there tonight.”

A thought sparked in Caroline’s mind.

They had been living at Azure Heights for a while now and hadn’t been back to The Seraphic in a long time.

Suddenly deciding to go back there today… her internal radar immediately went off.

‘Nothing happened while we were standing by the river just now. Maybe that was just a diversion, and the real surprise is hidden in the villa?’

Caroline leaned back against her seat and discreetly glanced at Adrian.

She saw him driving, his expression unchanged. His profile, alternating between light and shadow from the streetlamps, revealed no cracks in his composure.

Caroline recalled how she had been pointlessly nervous by the river, and a rebellious impulse suddenly surfaced.

‘Hmph! He made me nervous all day, so I’m going to make him a little nervous too!’

“I want to go back to Azure Heights,” she said suddenly.

Adrian’s hand paused on the steering wheel for a split second.

A flicker of astonishment crossed his face—so brief that she would have missed it if she hadn’t been staring at him.

Adrian’s expression quickly returned to its usual calm. “The Seraphic is quite close from here.”

The meaning was clear: he was determined to go to The Seraphic.

The more insistent he was, the more Caroline gloated inwardly. Her expression remained neutral as she replied in an equally serious tone, “Kingsport isn’t that big. Besides, I have a document at Azure Heights. If we go to your place, I’ll have to rush over tomorrow morning. What a hassle.”

She leaned back in her seat, her tone languid. “Besides, The Seraphic is too far from my office. I’d have to wake up even earlier for work tomorrow.”

Adrian was silent for a moment before finally conceding, “Alright.”

Caroline caught the fleeting trace of disappointment in his voice and felt a secret sense of triumph.

‘Looks like there really is something at The Seraphic,’ she thought.

‘But after he led me around all evening, hehe, it’s only fair to collect a little interest.’

The car stopped in front of the building at Azure Heights.

Adrian turned off the engine and walked around to open her door.

Caroline didn’t move. She suddenly said, “I just remembered, the document is at the office. We don’t need to go upstairs.”

“We haven’t been to Brocade Bay in a long time,” she added.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. “You want to go to Brocade Bay tonight?”

Caroline feigned a normal nod. “Mhm.”

“Why the sudden urge to go there?”

Unable to come up with a good excuse on the spot, Caroline stiffened her neck and said defiantly, “Can’t I?”

“You can.” Adrian gave a resigned smile and looked toward the garage elevator. “But since we’re already here, are you sure you don’t want to go up and take a look?”

‘Here it comes.’

‘On the way back, Caroline had been wondering. A meticulous person like Adrian would surely have a backup plan, right?’

‘What if he prepared a surprise in my apartment too?’

Caroline smirked to herself.

She decided to keep him in suspense tonight as well.

She cleared her throat and lifted her chin in a show of feigned haughtiness. “Let’s go to Brocade Bay first. I was looking for something the other day and couldn’t find it. I’m thinking I might have left it there when I moved out.”

While keeping him in suspense, Caroline added a sliver of hope so as not to shut him down completely. “If I can’t find it, we can come back.”

Adrian let out an indulgent chuckle. “Alright. Whatever you say.”

He closed her door, walked back around to the driver’s side, and drove to the place where they had first lived together.

Brocade Bay.

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