Jaden Lancaster stopped in his tracks.
He turned his head stiffly, his heart skipping a beat.
“Wynn, it’s so late.
Are you still awake?”
He had just spent so long placating Summer Sullivan.
If Wynn Shaw had overheard any of that…
he didn’t dare to think about it.
After he spoke, silence filled the air.
There was no response.
Only then did he see it clearly: a streetlight ahead had a bad connection and was flickering on and off.
It was a false alarm.
The light in Wynn Shaw’s bedroom was still off; she must have been asleep for a while.
Jaden Lancaster let out a long sigh of relief before pushing the door open and walking into his bedroom.
‘If Wynn Shaw really did find out about me and Summer Sullivan,’ he thought, ‘knowing her personality, she would definitely throw a huge fit.
While she wouldn’t leave me, she would certainly force me to choose between the two of them.
I’d have no idea how to clean up that mess.’
「The next morning.」
Wynn Shaw pulled open the car door and sat in the passenger seat.
She glanced sideways at Jaden Lancaster and couldn’t help but freeze.
“Did you see a ghost?”
The man before her had heavy, dark circles under his eyes and a messy stubble.
He had even misbuttoned his shirt by two buttons.
He looked completely disheveled and worn out.
Jaden Lancaster froze for a moment, then forced a smile.
“Wynn, you’re so funny.
I didn’t sleep well last night and woke up late this morning.
I was afraid of making you late, so I got ready in a hurry…
You’re not disgusted with me already, are you?”
He had been on the phone with Summer Sullivan for a long time last night, then gotten a fright from the streetlight.
After he lay down, he was plagued by nightmares.
In his dream, Wynn Shaw found out about Chase’s parentage.
She threw a massive tantrum and ended up threatening to kill herself in front of the company building.
Summer Sullivan and the child were crying off to the side, and he was caught in the middle, completely trapped.
In the end, Wynn Shaw stormed into the street in a fit of pique and ended up in a vegetative state, leaving him and Summer Sullivan to care for her for the rest of their lives, bearing the public’s condemnation.
After jolting awake in the middle of the night, he couldn’t get back to sleep.
He tossed and turned until dawn, when he finally managed to close his eyes again, only to wake up late.
Wynn Shaw fastened her seatbelt, her gaze sweeping over him coolly as she responded without emotion:
“A little.”
She had dreamed of Vincent Preston last night.
Unlike the cold and distant man he was in reality, the him in her dream was gentle and thoughtful.
He would give her a genuine smile and praise her without reservation:
“You’re exceptionally talented.
You are more than qualified for the position of Mrs.
Preston.”
She hadn’t even dared to look directly into his eyes—they were breathtakingly beautiful.
When he looked at her with such focus, dressed in a crisp black suit, his expression serious as he analyzed work…
Wynn Shaw felt like her heart hadn’t slowed down all night.
After waking up, she sat on her bed in a daze for a long time.
Only then did she realize that today was the day she was going to Vincent Preston’s company.
She had been lost in thought the whole time, unable to get the face from her dream out of her head.
But as soon as she opened the car door, the stark contrast of reality hit her—Jaden Lancaster’s haggard, listless face instantly yanked her back from her beautiful dream.
In that moment, she almost wanted to close her eyes again and escape this fractured reality.
The smile on Jaden Lancaster’s lips froze.
He gave a dry laugh, a strange bitterness welling up in his heart.
Part of the reason was that when Wynn Shaw first fell for him, his appearance, though not the main factor, had played a role.
Now that he was slightly unkempt, she was already showing her distaste…
‘Although you could count on one hand the number of men in all of Eldoria who are more handsome and successful at his age,’ he thought, ‘what will happen once Wynn Shaw goes to Kaelus and sees a bigger world?’
He was actually starting to worry that Wynn Shaw would fall in love with someone else.
Jaden Lancaster figured he must not have slept well to have become so sensitive and suspicious, making such absurd assumptions just from Wynn Shaw’s subtle expression of disgust.
He chuckled, trying to sound relaxed.
“Next time, I’ll make sure to be handsome and sharp when I pick you up.
I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”
「On the way to Kaelus.」
Wynn Shaw quietly watched the scenery rushing past outside the window.
Only now did she truly notice how long the journey was.
She hadn’t realized there was such a long distance between Eldoria and Kaelus.
She turned her head and saw that although Jaden Lancaster was looking straight ahead, he couldn’t hide the exhaustion in his eyes from the long drive.
‘It’s such a long drive, yet Vincent Preston was willing to come to Eldoria personally to discuss the marriage with me, rather than wait for me to return to Kaelus.’
‘Does this mean he takes this marriage contract quite seriously, that it isn’t just some casual partnership he mentioned offhand?’
Throughout the journey, because of that one dream, his face kept flashing through her mind.
Lost in thought, Wynn Shaw closed her eyes to rest.
After what felt like a long time, Jaden Lancaster’s voice came from her left.
“Wynn, we’re here.”
He turned off the navigation, his gaze filled with awe as he looked out the window at the magnificent skyscraper.
‘To own a company of this scale in a place like Kaelus, where every inch of land is worth a fortune, their power must be extraordinary.’
The entire building’s facade exuded a cold, elite aura.
“Can you tell me which big boss’s company this is?”
His eyes showed a mixture of eager excitement and unconcealed shock.
‘If Wynn Shaw can successfully land business here, maybe I can use this opportunity to get into this circle.
My future development would be much smoother then.’
Wynn Shaw couldn’t be bothered to explain.
She just tossed out two words: “Preston Group.”
Then she opened the door and got out.
‘When I used to love him, I thought his naivety and ambition were proof of his drive to succeed.’
‘Now that I don’t love him, looking at him is like watching a joke who’s completely out of his depth.’
Jaden Lancaster called out behind her, “Wynn, good luck with work!
I’ll wait for you to come back!”
After watching Wynn Shaw walk into the imposing building, he remained standing there for a long time, not only studying it carefully but also taking pictures.
He didn’t know much about Kaelus, only that it was a glamorous city of wealth and elites.
‘Preston Group,’ he thought.
‘I’ll have to look them up when I get back.
Next time, I must try to get a chance to cooperate with them.’
The moment he turned and got back in the car, he immediately made a phone call, his tone gentle.
“Where are you?
I happen to be in Kaelus, I’ll take you home.”
…
「Pierce Group, President’s Office.」
Following the directions, Wynn Shaw waited in the outer office first.
“Please, come in.” An assistant with a friendly smile came forward.
“Miss Shaw, President Preston is in his private office.
Please follow me.”
Wynn Shaw nodded slightly.
Passing through the hallway, she saw a figure inside through the bright glass wall—dressed in a sharply tailored black suit, his eyes focused on his work, his profile cold and handsome.
It overlapped somewhat with the scene from her dream, and Wynn Shaw found herself momentarily dazed.
As she stepped into his private office space, the faint, crisp scent of a cool fragrance filled the air.
The room was decorated in uniform cool tones, the furnishings minimalist, yet it emanated an inexplicably intimidating aura.
“President Preston, Miss Shaw is here.”
The assistant quietly withdrew.
Wynn Shaw sat down across the wide desk, but the man behind it didn’t look up from start to finish.
The surroundings were completely silent, so Wynn Shaw had to take the initiative to break it.
“Long time no see.
I didn’t expect you to be at the company in person today…
waiting for me.”
In her impression and from what she’d heard, he was a recluse who rarely even showed up for daily work.
Yet today, he had appeared at the company because she was coming.
Hearing this, the man crisply signed his name on the last document, capped his pen, and moved the file aside.
Only then did he unhurriedly raise his eyes to meet hers, his gaze calm.
“Waiting for you?” His tone was flat, without a trace of emotion.
“I’m not that free.”
“?”