Wynn Shaw stiffened.
“Wh-who said I was looking at you?” she retorted defensively.
She quickly remembered the matter at hand.
“Why did you come for me so late?
Is something wrong?”
Vincent Preston’s tone was calm.
“To talk about our engagement.”
His expression was so detached it made Wynn Shaw’s heart clench, and she couldn’t help but recall what Elizabeth Shaw had said.
‘If that wasn’t the reason, why else would he come in the dead of night?’ She took a deep breath, tilted her chin defiantly, and said:
“Let me tell you, it’s too late to back out now.
That ring you gave me…
I’m never, ever giving it back!
A man like President Preston can’t just go back on his word, can he?”
Hearing this, the driver in the front seat couldn’t help but flinch.
‘There were very few people in all of Kaelus who dared to speak to Master Preston that way.’
Vincent Preston’s gaze shifted, and a barely perceptible smirk touched his lips.
“Are you afraid I’ll call it off?”
Wynn Shaw nodded gravely.
“One must be true to their word.”
He suddenly curled his lips into a smile, seeming to be in a good mood.
The sudden silence made Wynn Shaw uneasy, and he offered no further words.
The car finally pulled up to a private room at a top-tier establishment, one of the best restaurants in Kaelus.
Wynn Shaw was surprised.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“To meet my parents.”
Those four words made her freeze.
‘Are we meeting his parents to discuss the engagement details?’
She glanced at the time.
It was just past midnight.
‘Mr.
and Mrs.
Preston really are one of a kind, asking me to meet them at this hour?’
“Maybe…
I should change my clothes?” she asked, glancing tentatively at the man across from her.
“That’s not necessary.”
The special assistant noticed her discomfort and smoothly intervened with a smile.
“Please don’t worry, Madam.
What’s most important is that you’re comfortable.
The timing is perfect.
Please, go on in.” The word “Madam” made Wynn Shaw’s cheeks grow warm.
‘I haven’t even married into the family yet.’
But, not wanting to keep her elders waiting, she straightened her clothes and pushed the door open.
The private room was elegant, with a dazzling night view outside the window.
A waiter guided her to a seat and began to bring out the dishes.
Dish after dish was set on the table, and surprisingly, they were all to her taste.
‘I just don’t know if they will suit Mr.
and Mrs.
Preston’s preferences,’ she wondered.
She hadn’t eaten much at the Lancaster’s place, and having rushed back to Kaelus right after, she was genuinely hungry.
After a long, anxious wait, the door to the private room finally opened again.
Wynn Shaw’s heart leaped into her throat—but it wasn’t the Preston elders who entered.
It was a waiter, pushing a cart with an exquisite cake.
In the flickering candlelight, she made out the words written on top:
“Happy Birthday.”
Only then did she remember—today was her birthday.
‘It’s not surprising that the Preston Family could find out everything about me,’ she thought, ‘but it’s strange that they would be so considerate.’
“Is…
is it Mr.
Preston’s birthday today, too?” she asked cautiously.
Special Assistant Warren smiled and shook his head.
“No, this is exclusively for you, Miss Shaw.”
‘Could it be…?’ Wynn Shaw glanced at the man, then immediately dismissed the thought.
‘There’s no way he would do this just to celebrate my birthday.’
“Was this his parents’ idea?” The assistant’s smile deepened.
“You can certainly think of it that way.”
A pang of emotion made Wynn Shaw’s nose sting.
Jaden Lancaster had never once properly celebrated her birthday.
No matter how much she hinted, he always turned a deaf ear.
She looked toward Vincent Preston and said softly,
“Mr.
Preston, please thank your parents for me for being so thoughtful.
And thank you, as well, for being so considerate.”
‘This must be his way of maintaining the facade of a loving couple for his family,’ she guessed.
‘Discussing the engagement and celebrating my birthday in one go.’
‘For him to be so attentive to detail…
even without love, maybe marrying him wouldn’t be a bad choice.’
Vincent Preston gave her a deep, searching look, the emotions in his eyes complex and unreadable.
He didn’t explain, simply going along with her assumption.
“It’s nothing.”
‘What a cold reaction.’
But then again, Wynn Shaw was used to it.
Although Wynn Shaw was hungry, she maintained her manners and continued to wait for the elders.
Seeing this,
Vincent Preston looked up from his phone, his voice calm but with a hint of barely perceptible distance.
“Something came up.
They can’t make it.”
Wynn Shaw breathed a sigh of relief, though she was also a bit surprised.
“Then all this food…”
Let’s not waste it.”
At his signal, she finally began to eat.
Special Assistant Warren sliced the cake for Wynn Shaw and stood quietly to the side, watching the tranquil, contented look on her face.
‘Who wouldn’t be captivated by a woman so resilient yet so pure?’ he thought.
As he was lost in thought, an intense gaze swept over him.
He immediately lowered his gaze and bowed his head, not daring to look again.
“When…
will I be meeting your parents next?”
Wynn Shaw asked, hoping to prepare in advance.
Vincent Preston’s tone was flat.
“At the engagement banquet next month.”
Wynn Shaw nodded.
Another silence fell between them.
‘He came to see me the very day I returned to Kaelus,’ she mused.
‘If I hadn’t come back, would he have gone to Eldoria to find me?
It seems that every time I’m in a bind, he appears and pulls me from the mire.’
‘A silver lining in a series of misfortunes, I suppose.’
As her thoughts drifted, she gazed down at the cake on her plate, a faint, unconscious smile gracing her lips.
And the man across from her took it all in.
…
Lancaster Villa.
Jaden Lancaster dragged his exhausted body home, but there was no sign of Wynn Shaw in the villa.
Today was her birthday.
He had assumed she would wait for him to have dinner together.
He looked at his phone; his messages remained unanswered.
He frowned.
‘How long is Wynn going to keep throwing this fit?’
He irritably pushed open her bedroom door to find it empty.
‘Where on earth had she gone?
Her phone wasn’t going through either.’
Just as he was about to leave, a distinctive brocade box on her dresser caught his eye.
He opened it and froze.
Although the design of the diamond ring looked like something Wynn Shaw would create,
the quality of the inlaid diamond was flawless, and its value was enough to purchase several villas in Eldoria.
‘She had the ability to design it, but she absolutely could not have afforded to buy it.’
Jaden Lancaster’s brow furrowed.
He suddenly remembered that night Wynn Shaw had claimed to be meeting a client,
yet she had gotten out of a luxury car with a license plate full of eights.
Combined with her recent cold and distant behavior…
‘She loved him so much; how could she bear to be in a cold war with him?’
‘Unless…’
‘Could it be that Wynn Shaw…
was cheating on him?!’