Her fingers trembled. She looked up at him in shock. "What... is this?"
David smiled. "Just a small gift." His tone softened.
"After saying those harsh words yesterday, I reflected on how much I must have hurt you. This is my compensation."
The café seed to fall silent around her.
Twenty percent. That was almost everything David owned. And he was giving it to her.
For a long mont, Adriana couldn’t speak.
Then she pushed the docunt back toward him, her voice trembling with restrained anger. "I already know how little I’m worth in your eyes."
She stood abruptly. "You don’t need to humiliate again. If you want to leave Peter, I will."
Panic flashed across David’s face. He shook his head rapidly. "No, no, that’s not it. I’m telling the truth."
He tapped the paper anxiously. "The contract is legal. Everything is valid. I’m not lying."
His voice lowered, earnest and hurried. "My intentions are genuine."
Adriana couldn’t help but think of what David had said before... that he would marry Peter off to a supermodel. If that was the case, then why was he changing his stance now?
At that mont, David himself almost wanted to slap his past self.
’Why did I oppose this girl so fiercely?’ The more he looked at her, the clearer it beca. She was kind, sincere, almost angelic.
Adriana was still doubting his words, yet what made David truly anxious was sothing else entirely.
If she refused to accept the contract, then the agreed sum would never reach him.
Taking a deep breath, he smiled at her, his tone gentler than before. "Perhaps my words ca out harsh," he admitted.
"But everything I did was to test your love for my son." His eyes softened. "And now I know how deep it is. I won’t interfere anymore."
"But the supermodel..." Adriana begin.
David interuppted briefly before adding, "As for that supermodel... she’s nothing compared to you."
Adriana felt her heart tremble. "But my background..." she began.
David raised his hand lightly. "I know your background," he interrupted calmly.
"You might think it isn’t good, but to , it’s sothing I could never even dream of."
His mind flashed back to Aurora’s cold warning, her voice clear and rciless.
’Make sure you don’t cross Adriana. Otherwise, forget about the Richardson Corporation, and forget about surviving in New York.’
He inhaled slowly and looked at Adriana with sincerity. "I truly apologize for every word I said before," he said firmly.
"I also apologize for intervening in your relationship." His expression turned solemn.
"From now on, I take everything back. I will never interfere again, and I’ll make sure no one ever tries to separate you and Peter."
Adriana’s heart began to race. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears as she realized that he truly ant every word.
A warm wave of joy surged through her chest.
’Did Peter convince him?’
Her eyes grew moist before she hurriedly looked down, trying to hide the tears.
Not far away, Peter sat quietly at a side table, his fingers clenched.
Watching her shoulders tremble made his chest ache.
He wanted to rush over, to wipe her tears away himself, but soone moved faster than him.
David noticed imdiately. Panic flickered across his face. ’If Miss Dawn sees this... I’m finished.’
Without hesitation, he pulled out a tissue and handed it to Adriana, his voice almost coaxing. "Don’t cry. Please don’t cry."
He leaned forward earnestly.
"From now on, I’ll support you. I’ll protect you." His voice softened further.
"I’ll pamper you like my own daughter. And if Peter ever dares to mistreat you, I’ll be the first to punish him."
The more Adriana heard, the harder it beca to hold back. Tears slipped down despite her efforts.
She didn’t know what Peter had said to David, but whatever it was, it had completely changed him.
And that alone filled her with imnse relief.
For the first ti, she felt it clearly. ’Maybe this ti... we can really be together.’
From the side, Peter narrowed his eyes slightly.
He didn’t believe his father could suddenly beco generous enough to give away twenty percent of the company.
Either the contract had a loophole, or soone else had bought the shares and placed them under Adriana’s na.
He didn’t need to think long. ’Miss Dawn.’
A low chuckle escaped him. For that twenty percent, he and his eldest brother had fought endlessly in the past.
Now that it belonged to Adriana, he felt no resentnt at all. Even if she never married him, he wouldn’t think of taking back those shares.
As long as Adriana was happy and self-sufficient, that was enough. Her happiness alone made him feel complete.
After leaving the café, Adriana lingered outside for a long while, the evening breeze cool against her flushed skin.
Finally, she pulled out her phone with trembling fingers and sent Peter a ssage.
’I don’t want to break up anymore.’
Almost instantly, a reply ca.
"If you really want to make up," Peter wrote, "co to my private villa at six p.m."
Adriana bit her lip, guilt twisting in her chest as she imagined how much she must have hurt him. Without hesitation, she decided to go.
And when the clock struck six in the evening, Adriana stood at the gates of Peter’s villa.
When she arrived, the gates opened smoothly, the guards recognizing her without question.
Adriana stepped inside the villa grounds, her heart pounding softly in her chest as the familiar path stretched out before her.
Inside the villa, a gentle warmth wrapped around her.
From the kitchen ca the quiet sound of cooking, oil sizzling, a knife tapping rhythmically against a cutting board.
Adriana turned the corner and saw Peter standing there, sleeves rolled up, focused and composed, as if nothing in the world could distract him.
She walked over slowly and placed the cake she had baked earlier onto the countertop.
Peter glanced at the cake briefly, his expression unreadable, then turned back to what he was doing.
Her heart tightened. "Are you... really that angry?"
Silence answered her.
Adriana took a hesitant step forward and then another, until she stood right behind him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, her forehead resting lightly against his back. His warmth seeped into her, familiar and comforting.
"I’m sorry," she whispered. "I acted impulsively. I shouldn’t have broken up with you like that."
Her fingers tightened slightly. "I didn’t think about you at all. I just... decided on my own."
Peter remained quiet, letting her words fall into the space between them.
Only after a long pause did he speak. "Do you even know what your mistake was?"
Adriana froze. She loosened her hold slightly, her thoughts racing.
After a mont, she spoke hesitantly. "I shouldn’t have chosen my family so decisively," she said softly.
"I shouldn’t have ignored your feelings."
Peter shook his head slowly. "That’s not it."
He turned off the stove and finally faced her, his gaze calm but deep.
"I can understand why you did that." His voice softened. "To you, I’m just..." He paused briefly. "The third boyfriend in your life."
Her heart clenched.
"But your family," he continued, "has always been there for you. They’re not sothing you can just abandon."
He continued in a gentle, steady voice, one that carried neither accusation nor anger, only quiet disappointnt.
"Your mistake wasn’t choosing your family," he said softly. "It was believing you had to shoulder everything alone."
Peter stepped closer, the faint scent of oil and spices still clinging to his clothes.
"You should’ve talked to ," he went on.
"If you had, we would’ve found common ground. We could’ve protected your family and still stayed together."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"But you let fear take over. You didn’t even give a chance before making that decision."
Adriana’s shoulders trembled. Regret flooded her chest, heavy and suffocating.
"I was wrong," she said hurriedly, her voice breaking. "I really was wrong. I’ll fix it. I promise."
Peter sighed, a long, restrained breath. "I expected more from you."
Her heart sank. Sha crept up her spine. "What... what kind of more?"
He walked toward her, untying the apron as he moved.
When he stopped in front of her, he lifted his hands and cupped her face, his palms warm against her cool skin.
"I expected you to co back to ," he said quietly. "To tell everything. To argue. To cling to ."
His lips curved faintly. "I even expected you to seduce and ask to abandon my entire family for you."
Adriana’s breath caught.
"I would’ve done it," Peter continued without hesitation. "Without a second thought." His gaze softened. "To , you’re precious."
He shook his head slightly.
"This isn’t just attraction. From the mont I saw you, I fell in love... hopelessly, recklessly. Little by little, I fell in love with who you are."
His voice lowered. "Sotis I even think I might be obsessed."
Adriana’s eyes widened, her heart pounding violently.
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