Chapter 81: Then We’re Even
Who could’ve imagined Franklin Whitman’s mind worked in such a peculiar way.
But considering that the only person in her family with a normal level of intelligence—her mother—was also there, Caroline Whitman figured it was best to make a run for it.
"Mommy, that looks like Grandpa and Grandma. Why aren’t we going to say hi?"
From Ryan’s perspective, he was now allowed to be seen by his grandparents, so he didn’t understand why they couldn’t even say hello.
Caroline Whitman started spouting barefaced lies again. "Grandpa and Grandma are spending some quality time together. I’m sure they don’t want us to disturb them."
Ryan Grant tilted his head, only half-understanding. He pressed, "Just like Daddy and Mommy?"
"Huh?" Caroline Whitman didn’t immediately follow.
Ryan Grant blinked, a look of dawning comprehension on his face. "You and Daddy used to send me to Grandma’s and Nana’s all the time. Did you want to spend time alone together?"
"..."
Caroline Whitman subconsciously turned to look for Adrian Grant, only to realize he had paid the bill at some point and was now standing just two steps behind her to the right.
’He must have heard that.’
"Mommy, why aren’t you saying anything?" The little one in her arms, his eyes sparkling, was determined to get an answer.
’How would I know?’ Caroline thought. ’I’m not the one who did those things.’
So, an idea struck her. She said coolly, "Why don’t you ask whoever took you to Grandma’s house back then?"
Caroline Whitman was certain she herself would never do such a thing.
Ryan Grant looked at her, then at Adrian Grant, who was trailing behind them.
He answered instantly, without a second thought. "You and Daddy both did."
"..."
"..."
Just then, Adrian Grant, who was walking behind them, finally spoke up. "That’s right. I did want to spend some time alone with Mommy."
His unique voice drifted into her ear. Even though she knew he was answering on behalf of the Adrian Grant from the parallel world, her heart still skipped a violent beat.
Ryan Grant, not forgetting that one person still hadn’t answered, rested his head on Caroline’s shoulder and turned to press her. "What about Mommy? You too, Mommy?"
"..."
’Kid, you really don’t have to be so persistent.’
"Mommy, Mommy, say something!"
"Yes, yes, fine! Now, no more questions," Caroline said helplessly, pinching his little cheek.
The little guy huffed and pouted. "Daddy’s mean, and Mommy’s mean. I want to spend time alone with you guys too, but you just send me to Grandma’s and Nana’s for days."
Adrian Grant chuckled at his childish words. "But aren’t you spending time alone with us right now?"
Caroline Whitman: "..."
’Does he even know what he’s saying?’
’Mister, don’t you realize how easily someone could read into that?’
She didn’t respond, just silently carried her son toward the car. Adrian had already gotten there a step ahead of her and opened the passenger door.
"Thanks."
The word slipped out of Caroline’s mouth as she bent down to place Ryan in his car seat. She didn’t expect him to blink up at her and suddenly say:
"Mommy, you and Daddy are being so polite to each other."
Caroline Whitman: "..."
’Kid, what’s gotten into you? Why do you keep pulling the rug out from under me?’
Adrian Grant said, "Miss Whitman really doesn’t need to be so polite with me."
"..."
’And calling me ’Miss Whitman’ isn’t polite?’
Adrian Grant’s eyes crinkled into a smile behind his glasses. "Is that so? Then I suppose we’re even."
"..."
Caroline lowered her head and ducked into the car. Adrian smoothly closed the door for her, then rounded the car to the driver’s seat.
The car started and drove slowly back to the villa.
It wasn’t dark yet when they returned to the villa, and the little guy was soon pestering Adrian to take him swimming.
Caroline shamefully chose to be a spectator once again.
Her excuse to herself was that she needed to get used to the sight of Adrian’s body.
Otherwise, if she got another nosebleed the next time she was confronted with Adrian, her intentions would be as plain as day. That would be very detrimental to her plan of slowly winning him over!
After half an hour of the visual feast on each of the past two days, by the third day, she seemed to have become desensitized.
Today, more than half an hour had passed. By the time Adrian lifted their son out of the pool, Caroline had managed to avoid another nosebleed.
’Sure enough,’ she thought, ’it’s just like grinding practice problems to master a difficult subject.’
’The more you see it, the more you’re exposed, the sooner you’ll get desensitized.’
As Adrian walked past her, Caroline suddenly said, "I was thinking we shouldn’t spend the next few days of our trip here."
Franklin Whitman had suddenly shown up here. And even if he had the wrong idea, she was, after all, out with Adrian and their son.
If he were to run into the three of them together, she was afraid Franklin Whitman might suddenly put two and two together.
Adrian paused, towel still in hand as he dried his hair. He turned his head. "All right. I understand."
He paused for a moment, then asked, "Are we leaving tonight? Heading back to Kingsport?"
Caroline glanced at Tiny, who had already run off to the bathroom on his own. "Let’s talk about it tonight. You should take him for a shower first."
Adrian understood. They would be staying one more night.
He then followed his son into the bathroom.
「That evening.」
As promised, Ryan Grant went to sleep by himself without a fuss.
In truth, he couldn’t have made a fuss even if he’d wanted to.
The past two days had drained too much of his energy. He started yawning right after his shower.
Now, the two of them were sitting in the living room.
"Should we head back to Kingsport?" Adrian asked.
Caroline counted on her fingers. "Ryan still has six days of vacation. If we go back to Kingsport, all we can do is stay home with him."
Adrian understood. He took out his phone, unlocked it, and opened some app while saying, "In that case, let’s not go back to Kingsport just yet."
"Or, if you think looking after him is too tiring, we could leave him with my parents. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to have Ryan."
Now, the one benefit of his side of the family knowing the truth was that he could openly bring his son to see Jonathan Grant.
Although Caroline had the same thought, Ryan’s comment about them ’spending time alone together’ from earlier that day popped into her mind...
She was afraid their son would bring it up again to tease them.
She was afraid that while he might say it innocently, others might read into it.
So she said, "It’s not often Ryan gets a vacation, and he’s had so much fun these past few days. Let’s just spend a few more days with him."
Adrian said, "Hm, then let’s look for somewhere nearby where we can relax."
He began searching for tourist properties he had invested in.
Caroline watched him, thinking this was a perfect opportunity to learn about his interests.
So, she worked up some courage and asked casually, "Where do you usually like to go for fun?"
Adrian Grant replied, "I don’t spend much time in the country, so I’ve rarely visited any of the local attractions."
"..."
"Thanks to you and Ryan, this is the first time I’ve experienced any of these places."
"Oh." Caroline pursed her lips, momentarily at a loss for words.
’Come to think of it,’ she mused, ’it seems like their conversations were always about either their son or work.’
This was the first time they had ever properly transitioned from talking about their child to something more personal, aside from that one time they played ’Truth or Dare.’
After a moment’s thought, she asked, feigning casualness, "You’ve never gone on trips with anyone before?"
Adrian’s gaze lifted from his phone and landed on her face. He sounded amused. "Who do you think I could have gone with?"