She had never known her own birthday, nor had she ever celebrated it.
But he had given her such a surprise.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t moved.
About two feet ahead was a low, round table, on which sat an enormous twenty-two-layer cake.
Although each layer wasn’t very tall, Nora Ainsworth counted them and confird there were indeed twenty-two.
"I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to reach it if it were too tall," he explained from the side.
Nora Ainsworth turned around. "Thank you, Leon."
Leon Lynch gently tapped her nose with his finger. "What are you thanking for? No need for thanks. Co on, let’s put the candles on."
He handed her the candles, and the two of them placed twenty-two on it together.
Then, they lit them one by one.
"Make a wish." Leon Lynch stood there holding an umbrella to shield the candles from the wind.
Nora Ainsworth quickly closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.
This was the first ti she had ever celebrated her birthday. Soon, her wishes were made. Leon Lynch would never be able to guess what she had wished for.
She made three wishes, and not a single one was for herself.
"Co on, let’s blow them out together."
They blew out the candles, then each cut a slice and sat on the sofa to eat.
But after just two bites, Nora Ainsworth found a diamond ring in her mouth.
She took it out of her mouth, her eyes fixed on Leon Lynch.
"Don’t give it back to . Just keep it safe for now, okay?"
Before she could even speak, he quickly said this.
"You’re really just keeping it safe."
He nodded and slipped it onto her finger. "If I decide I don’t want it, please keep it for until the day I ask for it back."
’If that day ever ca, perhaps it would be the day he placed it on her finger again at their wedding.’
Nora Ainsworth stared at the dazzling diamond ring, speechless.
Just then, Leon Lynch spoke to soone on the phone, saying, "You can start now."
A mont later, fireworks erupted high in the sky not far in front of them.
Nora Ainsworth’s excitent was beyond words.
Her gaze followed the fireworks, which displayed their utmost beauty before instantly vanishing, and she suddenly understood sothing.
So people are destined to be like fireworks—they pass by in a brilliant flash but can never keep that beauty until the end.
When the last firework appeared, Nora Ainsworth shot to her feet.
It was because this final firework was a portrait of her, instantly recognizable. Beside it were three words: I love you.
This grand finale must have been incredibly expensive.
Nora Ainsworth turned to et his gaze.
In that mont, she found herself feeling sorry for herself.
’If she loved Leon Lynch too, couldn’t they live happily together outside of this place? Ignoring Mrs. Lynch, wouldn’t they be happy?’
But right now, that was impossible.
"Leon, thank you for my first birthday celebration, but—"
He stood up. "Nora!"
Nora Ainsworth was stunned by his outburst.
"What?"
"Nora, you don’t have to give an answer right away. We’re still young. We have a long ti ahead of us. I’m willing to wait. I’ll wait until you’ve had your fun, until you’ve seen through this society and the fickle ways of the world, until you’re ready to place your hand in mine."
Her eyes brimd with tears, and her nose tingled. This version of Leon Lynch was completely different from her initial impression of him.
’This Leon Lynch... it wasn’t like him.’
"But, I’m only just realizing now, Leon, that I don’t deserve you at all."
Leon Lynch gently embraced her. "I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you, Nora. Let’s go back."
He brought the topic to a close himself.
Nora Ainsworth looked at the magnificent cake with a sense of waste. "We only ate two slices. It’s a sha to throw the rest away. I saw so sanitation workers on the street on my way here. Why don’t we give it to them?"
Leon Lynch smiled. "It’s your cake. You can do whatever you want with it."
Nora Ainsworth nodded. "Then have soone send it to them. It’s not a waste if it’s eaten, but it’s a waste if it’s thrown away."
He put his arm around her shoulder as they walked into the elevator.
When she was standing at the gates of the Grant Residence once more, Nora Ainsworth took the diamond ring off her finger. It was clear that this ring was of extraordinary significance, and its design was one-of-a-kind.
She held it in her palm, thinking for a good while before finally going inside.
A Man in Black closed the door and said from beside her, "Miss Ainsworth, the Young Master wants you to go to his room."
"When did he say that?"
"Half an hour ago."
Nora Ainsworth said in a low voice, "Okay, I understand."
She went up the stairs. The door was ajar.
Pushing the door open, she found no one inside. The sound of running water ca from the bathroom.
Nora Ainsworth sat on the edge of the bed, waiting quietly for him to co out.
After a mont, he erged, drying his hair as he walked.
Seeing her sitting there, lost in thought, Quentin Grant felt an inexplicable anger rise. "Who were you out seeing in the middle of the night?"
"A friend," Nora Ainsworth said calmly.
"It was Leon Lynch, wasn’t it?"
Nora Ainsworth didn’t deny it.
"What did you two do?"
Nora Ainsworth raised her eyes. "What do you *want* us to have done?"
Quentin Grant was taken aback. "What I want? You think too highly of yourself."
Nora Ainsworth didn’t respond. Then, she finally spoke.
"Maybe you’ll tell to get lost soon, or to never appear before you again, but I still have to say this. After all this ti, Quentin Grant, do you really think I’m just a toy to you?"
He narrowed his eyes, his expression too intense to et. "Isn’t our relationship transparent? Don’t we both know that full well?"
She laughed, then stood up. "Do you want to stay with you tonight?"
"Go take a shower."
Nora Ainsworth walked toward the bathroom. She moved extrely slowly, the ripples in her heart gradually calming.
’Why did she just have the urge to ask him if he saw her and Catherine Callahan differently? And how so?’
’Maybe it was because she had been with him for a while, and now that her departure was imminent, other feelings were stirring.’
Nora Ainsworth washed herself exceptionally clean. When she ca out with her hair dried, he was already lying in bed with his eyes closed.
She stood by the bed and called out, "Quentin?"
He opened his eyes slightly, and with a swift movent, his long arm reached out and pulled her onto the bed, his chin nuzzling against her neck.
She didn’t move, and neither did he.
They just lay there like that. In the lamplight, Nora Ainsworth turned her head. His ears were a translucent red, and his long eyelashes were closed as if he were asleep.
"Quentin?"
"Mm." Too lazy to speak, he grunted a single word through his nose.
"In your heart, am I different from Miss Callahan?" In the quiet of the night, she finally asked the first question that went beyond their transparent relationship.
"You are different."
Nora Ainsworth was about to ask him *how* they were different, but his next words snapped her out of the brief mont in which she had lost herself.
"You and she are not comparable. Do I make myself clear?" he said, opening his eyes, a trace of coldness at the corner of his lips.
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