Adelyn was about to say sothing when Nigel’s words made her stiffen.
After a mont she spoke, almost in a chiding tone. Raising her hand, she grabbed his ear and twisted it sharply in punishnt.
"What boyfriend? What absurd nonsense have you been imagining in my absence?"
Nigel winced at the sudden pain. Just monts ago, he had been the one questioning her —and now the situation had flipped completely.
"Ah ... ah," he hissed, reaching up to pry her hand away. "Let go of my ear. That hurts!"
"I am using this pain to wake you up," she retorted. "Are you still dreaming about having a boyfriend?"
She twisted it once more before finally letting go.
Nigel imdiately stepped back, rubbing his ear.
"You —who is dreaming?" he shot back. "I only repeated what you said yesterday."
"I said that?"
"Or what else do you think?" he countered, then quickly added, "And it wasn’t just that. When I called you last night to ask when you would be back, you told not to wait —you are having fun and would be staying the night with the most handso man in the universe. So ..." he narrowed his eyes, "tell —what kind of man have you found this ti?"
Adelyn was startled.
For a second, it would have been easier to believe he was lying just to tease her.
But rembering the ss she had created last night, she couldn’t brush it off so easily.
And besides —Nigel wasn’t the kind of person who would lie about sothing like that. Not until she has experienced a close death.
And that only leaves one possibility —
Clearing her throat, she shook her head. "No ... you shouldn’t be asking that."
Nigel frowned, and she continued smoothly,
"You should be asking whether I’ve seen the entire universe of n to make such bold claim."
Nigel pursed his lips, completely rendered speechless.
Placing his hand on his hips, he stared at her, and seeing that look, Adelyn added casually. "Don’t look at like that. I was intoxicated last night and might have spouted so nonsense under the effect. Who asked you to take it seriously?"
Nigel’s frustration spiked.
"Nonsense?" he repeated, nearly stomping his foot. "Damn you, Adelyn. Do you even know your ’nonsense’ made stay awake the entire night? And what intoxicated? You sounded perfectly sober when you made that claim!"
Adelyn blinked, montarily at a loss for words.
"If you couldn’t sleep last night, you can sleep now," she said matter-of-factly. Then she paused, realizing sothing, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Wait ... sothing is not right."
She stepped closer, studying him carefully.
"Are you okay? Why would sothing so trivial keep you awake? Staying outside for the entire night wasn’t my first ti."
Nigel instinctively avoided her gaze and took a step back.
"I was just curious. You know —ah!"
He yelped as she suddenly stomped hard on his foot.
"Curiosity kills the cat, grandson," she hissed. "Haven’t you heard that?"
Nigel winced sharply, lifting his foot off the ground.
"You are cruel," he accused.
"Sotis cruelty saves lives," she replied coolly, crossing her arms. "And I am saving yours. Now that I taught you the lesson, learn it well. Grandma is going to rest."
She waved her hand dismissively before turning to leave.
Behind her, Nigel hopped on one foot, trying to soothe the pain. Turning toward her retreating figure, he called out.
"So, you really don’t have a man —I an, a boyfriend?"
Adelyn paused for a brief second.
"I have long learned my lesson from past failures. Adding more to the record isn’t my plan."
With that, she didn’t linger. She resud walking, entered the apartnt, and headed straight to her place.
What happened last night couldn’t be undone —so technically, she did have a boyfriend right now.
But soon enough ...she wouldn’t.
And temporary things didn’t need to be revealed. Otherwise, it would only make things more intense and complicated later.
—————
anwhile, on the other side —
From the mont, Eira learned that the clothes would be sent back to Adelyn, she hadn’t let go of the bag.
She carried it while walking, held it while sitting, and even kept it tucked in her arm while reading.
Given her small fra, it was clearly uncomfortable —but she didn’t seem to mind it at all.
She sat in Aiden’s office, a book in her hands as she waited for the ti to pass.
Every couple of minutes, she would glance at the clock —only to frown even deeper the next second. The disappointnt etched between her brows was so obvious that everyone around her noticed it.
A young woman from the CEO’s secretariat couldn’t help but approach her.
The little girl was already adorable —and on top of that, she was the CEO’s daughter. Who could resist the urge to get close to her?
"Young Miss," a woman said gently, "you look a little troubled. Is sothing bothering you?"
The frown on Eira’s face didn’t ease. She looked at her and asked,
"Why is evening taking so long?"
The question caught the woman off guard.
She didn’t know how to answer that.
Maintaining a polite smile, she said, "Isn’t it better that evening takes ti to arrive? That way, you can spend more ti here, and we can get you more snacks."
That only made Eira’s frown deepen.
Her gaze turned cold —sharp enough to send a chill down the woman’s spine.
Just monts ago, she had found the girl adorable.
But now, she felt intimidated.
"I—I was just trying to say sothing," the woman stamred. "Evening isn’t late. It will co when it’s supposed to, or even earlier than that ..."
Even she knew her words made little sense, but under Eira’s gaze, she couldn’t think straight at all.
Eira didn’t respond.
She simply picked up her book and resud reading, as if the woman in front of her didn’t exist at all.
The woman wiped the sweat from her forehead before quickly leaving.
If she had known approaching the little girl would be so terrifying, she wouldn’t have dared.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel curious.
Just what was going to happen in the evening that the little girl was waiting for so eagerly?
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