Chapter 95: That’s Your Child, Right?
Caroline Whitman looked down at the little munchkin who had just hopped out of the car. He wore a little hat, and they had even put a pair of children’s sunglasses on him before he got out.
Even with all this physical sun protection, after a few days of running wild outside, the fair-skinned little boy had gotten a shade darker.
But no amount of sunscreen could compete with the tan he’d gotten from swimming outdoors.
She asked, "Are you hot?"
Ryan Grant ran up, reached out his chubby little hand to hold hers, stomped on their shadows, and bounced a couple of times. "Not hot," he said.
Adrian Grant closed the car door, walked straight to Caroline Whitman’s side, and naturally took the umbrella from her hand, bringing himself under its shade as well.
Caroline Whitman’s mouth twitched. ’This guy has gotten way too comfortable taking my umbrella these past few days.’
’Looks like even a CEO can’t handle this sun.’
They entered the courtyard and walked through a long corridor. A server greeted them and, after a brief inquiry, led them to a private room.
Soon, the desserts that Adrian Grant had pre-ordered at his son’s request were brought in.
Caroline Whitman took a few small bites and raised an eyebrow at the little guy, who was eating with great relish. "You’ve got good taste. This little foodie managed to find such a delicious place."
’Driving all this way just for a bite to eat... he’s really something else.’
Ryan Grant swallowed the food in his mouth before saying in his sweet, childish voice, "Great-grandpa ordered this for me last time. He also said he was going to buy us lots and lots of toys."
He gestured with his fingers. "He said he’d get me a huge mecha, this tall, but I said no. You guys said Great-grandpa doesn’t remember me yet, so I couldn’t take it."
"Dad, Mommy, while you’re at work these next two days, can I go play with Great-grandpa and Grandpa again?" Ryan Grant asked, blinking his innocent eyes as he looked at them.
Caroline Whitman replied, "Grandpa is out of the question, he has to work too. As for Great-grandpa, you should ask your dad about that."
Adrian Grant said, "If you want, I can take you to your grandfather’s place tonight."
’Now that the kid has laid all his cards on the table, it’s time to let the two old men help share the burden of childcare.’
"Will you come pick me up?" This was Ryan Grant’s main concern.
Adrian Grant answered, "Just give us a call whenever you want us to come get you."
"Oh, okay." Ryan Grant’s eyes curved into crescents. "I’ll go to Grandma and Grandpa’s tomorrow. I want to sleep with you guys tonight."
Adrian Grant: "Mm, whatever you like."
Ryan Grant scooped another spoonful of dessert into his mouth, then called out again, "Dad, Mom."
Caroline Whitman: "What is it now?"
Adrian Grant didn’t respond, merely glancing at him, waiting for him to continue.
The little guy started talking again in his sweet voice, "Are we going back to The Seraphic tonight, or Golden Crest Manor?"
"We haven’t been back to Brocade Bay in a long time. Are we still living at Brocade Bay?"
"Dad, Mom," the little munchkin called out again.
Then he asked:
"Why did you guys keep changing houses before?"
The little chatterbox was back online. After he rattled on for a while, Adrian Grant just tossed out a cool reply, "Tonight, you can sleep wherever you want."
Ryan Grant blinked his innocent eyes again. "Then can I go to Mommy’s place at Azure Heights tonight?"
"..."
"..."
The two of them gave him a long, hard look.
’Is this little guy setting a trap for us?’
Ryan Grant called out again in a syrupy sweet voice, "Mommy."
"Can I? Can I? Can I?"
Caroline Whitman fell silent for a moment.
’It’s not a question of whether he can or not.’
’If it were just her and Ryan Grant, of course it would be fine.’
’But adding Adrian Grant into the mix at her apartment could lead to a huge problem.’
’Franklin Whitman’s vacation should be over by now. If he suddenly decided to visit her on a whim tonight and found her living in the same house as Adrian Grant... the thought was unimaginable.’
Caroline Whitman said, "The apartment is still being renovated. It’s not ready yet."
’It was the only excuse she could give.’
Ryan Grant looked disappointed for a second, but the feeling was quickly replaced by another. "Then I want to go back to The Seraphic tonight. Dad, can you teach me how to swim again tonight?"
Adrian Grant: "Mm, we can do that."
They finished their desserts at the villa, had lunch, and rested for a while before leaving at three in the afternoon.
Adrian Grant walked ahead, carrying the child, while Caroline Whitman followed slowly behind, having put on her sunglasses.
"Caroline Whitman?"
After leaving the private room and rounding a corner in the corridor, a voice suddenly called out to her from the right.
Caroline Whitman stopped and turned to look. A glamorous woman was taking off her sunglasses, her gaze sweeping over Caroline. "It really is you? What are you doing here?"
"Molly Lawson?" ’Kingsport is a small world,’ Caroline thought, ’to run into an old classmate even here.’
Molly Lawson turned her head to look at the man walking ahead, who only showed his back. A small head was peeking over his shoulder, but with sunglasses on, she couldn’t see the child’s face.
The scene reminded her of the time at Zanthia when she saw Caroline Whitman with a child in a private room.
’An idea flashed in her mind. Could Caroline Whitman really have a child?’
’Is that man her sugar daddy?’
"What is it?" Caroline Whitman asked, stopping out of some lingering courtesy for a former classmate.
Molly Lawson smiled. "Nothing much. It’s just surprising to see you here. By the way, do you remember Matthew Grant?"
Molly Lawson’s face was reflected in Caroline Whitman’s sunglasses as she let out a soft laugh and continued:
"You’re pretty amazing, you know? To actually make Adrian Grant send his own nephew abroad for you."
After word about Matthew Grant spread through their class group chat, everyone started gossiping. Then, when the Whitman Family was invited to the Grant patriarch’s birthday banquet, their former classmates all assumed that Adrian Grant and Caroline Whitman were an item.
Caroline Whitman found this amusing. "What’s wrong? Did it get in the way of you and Matthew Grant seeing each other?"
Molly Lawson’s expression faltered for a second before returning to normal. Her gaze shifted to the space in front of Caroline, where she saw that the man had stopped and was waiting for her, turned to the side with the child in his arms. But because he was holding the child, his profile was obscured, and she couldn’t see who he was.
She curled her lips into a smirk. "That’s your kid, isn’t it?"
Caroline Whitman’s brow twitched, but her sunglasses hid any crack in her expression. She scoffed.
"You didn’t learn anything good in school. Hanging out with Matthew Grant, you just picked up his bad habit of spreading baseless rumors."
But Molly Lawson just laughed confidently. "I’m not spreading rumors.
I saw it all last time at Zanthia. You were in a private room with a child, all by yourself. How can it be a rumor when I saw it with my own eyes?
That man is your sugar daddy, right? If Adrian Grant found out you have a secret child like this..."
She paused, then gave a charming smile. "I’m afraid your company’s project with the Grant Group would be dead in the water. I wonder if your sugar daddy could save you then."
Caroline Whitman: "..."
’I really wish I could record this and let the ’sugar daddy’ have a listen.’
Caroline Whitman slowly lowered her sunglasses, revealing her smiling, crescent-shaped eyes. She looked at Molly and chuckled unhurriedly. "Oh? In that case, why don’t you send him an anonymous email and tell him?"
With that, she pushed her sunglasses back up and walked straight past her.
Seeing Caroline Whitman start walking over, Adrian Grant retracted his gaze, turned, and continued striding forward on his long legs.