“What, you didn’t know? A few days ago, the Grant Group and the Whitman Group announced a marriage alliance.”

“Sean, you’re overseas, not in Africa. And even if you were in Africa, your internet connection couldn’t possibly be *that* bad, could it?”

“Gavin Grant announced it himself. It’s as real as it gets.”

Sean Winslow sat down and poured himself a glass of wine. He took a sip, and the memory of her calling another man “husband” made him ask, “They just announced the alliance? They’re not married?”

“How would I know? It’s not like they’d tell us if they got their marriage license.”

Sean Winslow set down his glass, the image of the child nestled in Adrian Grant’s arms flashing through his mind once more.

‘It was hard to say if that was their child.’

‘He looked to be about three or four years old.’

「Meanwhile, Caroline Whitman and Adrian Grant were already in the car.」

“Mommy, Mr. Winters came to see you again,” the little one suddenly said, his voice soft and childish as he asked with curiosity.

Caroline Whitman froze, turning to him in surprise. “You know him?”

‘She’d never mentioned this to the child. Besides, Sean Winslow had long since faded from her memory. Who on earth keeps track of their neighbors from their school days?’

‘The fact she even remembered his name was a testament to her good memory.’

Ryan Grant found it a little strange.

‘He felt like his mommy and daddy were always forgetting things, almost like they had amnesia.’

He tilted his head. “Of course I do. Mr. Winters told me before that he’s Mommy’s childhood sweetheart.”

The car fell silent for a few seconds.

Caroline Whitman instinctively glanced up at Adrian Grant.

His expression was perfectly calm; she couldn’t read anything into it.

‘A phrase suddenly popped into her head: the calm before the storm.’

‘But first things first, she had to deal with Ryan. The term “childhood sweetheart” had come from his own mouth. It seemed that in whatever future world Ryan came from, he was genuinely familiar with Sean Winslow.’

“Ryan, who taught you that phrase, ‘childhood sweetheart’? Do you know what it means?”

“I know! It means good friends who grow up together,” Ryan Grant explained logically. “Mr. Winters said he and Mommy used to live next door, went to school together, came home together, and did homework together. Doesn’t that make you childhood sweethearts?”

“…”

‘Childhood sweethearts, my ass.’

Adrian Grant was just watching her quietly, offering no opinion.

Caroline Whitman took a deep breath. “That’s not called being childhood sweethearts. That’s called being neighbors. Do you know what neighbors are? It just means we happened to live next door to each other, that’s all. Back at Grandpa’s old house, we had lots of kids and grown-ups living next door. Does that make all of them my childhood sweethearts?”

“Oh, so that’s called being neighbors?”

“Right, a neighborly relationship. My relationship with Sean Winslow never reached the level of being childhood sweethearts, so don’t get the wrong idea, sweetie.”

She said it for the child, but it was meant for Adrian Grant, too.

Ryan Grant furrowed his little brow and thought hard for a moment. “But Mr. Winters said you went to school together.”

“If we went to the same school, were we supposed to attend separately? All the students in the entire school attend together. Does that make the whole school childhood sweethearts?”

Ryan Grant was stumped by this line of reasoning. He tilted his head, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to imagine what it would be like if the entire school were childhood sweethearts.

“Oh.”

Caroline Whitman peeked at Adrian Grant. He still wore a blank expression, and she couldn’t tell if her explanation had registered.

So, she doubled down. “After your grandpa’s house was torn down, we moved away during elementary school. Sean Winslow didn’t go to the same school as me again until high school, and he transferred out during his sophomore year. So, Mommy doesn’t actually know him well. Don’t listen to nonsense from strangers.”

Ryan Grant, however, tilted his head and thought for a moment before his face lit up in realization. “I get it! Uncle Sean Winslow must have lied to me. He said you two were together from kindergarten through elementary, middle, and high school.”

“Hmph! What a big liar.”

“…”

Caroline Whitman was speechless.

‘Well, then.’

‘Now she was sure of it. This kid was definitely from a parallel universe.’

‘He was definitely not a child from the future of this timeline.’

‘Either that, or Sean Winslow really had been lying to a child.’

Adrian Grant was silent for the rest of the drive.

When they returned to The Seraphic at noon, Caroline put the child down for his nap. As she came out of his room, she found Adrian Grant leaning against the hallway wall, arms crossed. His gaze, from behind his glasses, was cool and unreadable as he watched her.

“Childhood sweethearts,” he said quietly.

“…”

Caroline Whitman knew this wasn’t over. “You’ve been silent this whole time. Were you just stewing over that one phrase?”

“No.” Adrian Grant took off his glasses, speaking slowly. “I was thinking about how a man, speaking to a child from a family, would introduce himself as your childhood sweetheart. And that I would have to hear about it from that child.”

“…”

“You can’t punish an official from this dynasty with a law from the next.”

Caroline shot him a slow, knowing glance and spoke deliberately. “Darling, you’re being a bit unreasonable.”

Adrian Grant froze.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected Caroline Whitman to suddenly call him “darling.”

The two of them had been married for several days, but Caroline rarely called him that.

That word was usually reserved for the bedroom.

Adrian Grant was utterly defenseless against her.

Caroline walked right up to him, tilted her head back, and grinned slyly. “Darling, you’re not jealous, are you?”

Adrian Grant put his glasses back on and looked down at her smug, fearless expression.

After a moment of silence, he gave up the struggle.

“…I am.”

Caroline Whitman blinked. “You are what?”

“Jealous,” Adrian Grant admitted, his hand wrapping around her waist to pull her closer. “What you just called me… say it again.”

“…”

‘If calling him “darling” could prevent this much trouble, Caroline was more than happy to oblige.’

With Adrian Grant’s arm locked around her waist, she didn’t struggle. She just looked up at him and called out again, “Darling.”

Adrian Grant lowered his head and captured her lips.

The kiss was deeper and lasted longer than usual.

Caroline was pressed against the hallway wall, her fingers clutching the front of his shirt. In a brief moment when they broke for air, she reminded him in a hushed voice, “Not here. The child just fell asleep.”

Adrian Grant didn’t stop, but simply guided her toward the master bedroom.

As they passed the child’s room, Caroline spared a moment of her attention to listen for any sounds. It was completely quiet; the little one must have been sound asleep.

The next second, Adrian kicked the master bedroom door shut, and the latch slid into the frame with a soft CLICK.

The afternoon sun, filtered by the curtains, cast a warm, yellow glow that covered half of the bed.

As Adrian Grant laid her down on the bed, she hooked her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear,

“President Grant, our lunch break is limited. You’d better make it quick.”

The look behind Adrian Grant’s lenses darkened for an instant. He took off his glasses, set them on the nightstand, and leaned down over her, his voice dropping to a low growl.

“That depends on you.”

“…”

The curtains billowed gently in the breeze before falling still again, and the patch of afternoon sunlight on the floor slowly shifted an inch.

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