Chapter 137: Adrian Grant, How Old Are You?
"Huh? Daddy, why are you wearing a ring?"
"Did Mommy give it to you?"
"How come Mommy isn’t wearing a ring?"
"Daddy, why didn’t you give Mommy a ring?"
Ryan Grant had only just noticed the ring on Adrian Grant’s hand.
For the past two months, both his parents’ fingers had been bare.
He’d secretly been wondering about it, but he was too scared to ask, afraid of what the answer might be.
But after hearing Adrian Grant’s explanation this morning about "getting to know Mom all over again," he finally understood.
’Mommy and Daddy aren’t on bad terms; they’re just getting to know each other again. That’s why they weren’t wearing rings during that time.’
Caroline Whitman fell silent.
The car fell silent for a couple of seconds.
The two of them had just dropped the subject, and now their son was bringing it right back up.
The little guy was completely unaware of the bombshell he had just dropped, swinging his short little legs and waiting for their answer with a look of pure innocence.
Adrian Grant spoke up. "Your mother gave me the ring."
"Wow!" Ryan Grant’s eyes lit up, and he asked the million-dollar question, "Then why doesn’t Mommy have one?"
"Your dad gave me one too, it’s just too dazzling to wear all the time." Caroline Whitman felt she had to step in and defend Adrian Grant.
"Oh!" Ryan Grant nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite, then fell quiet for a couple of seconds.
Then he spoke again, his tone more serious than before. "Then Daddy should just give Mommy another ring that she *can* wear all the time."
He remembered his mom had lots of rings.
Caroline Whitman was speechless.
The corner of Adrian Grant’s mouth twitched slightly.
’He did, in fact, have the same idea and was planning to act on it later. Now that his son had said it, it made him look like he didn’t know what he was doing.’
"Sweetie!" Caroline Whitman turned her head, her expression a little stern. "You’ve said quite enough today."
Ryan Grant immediately shut his mouth, but his eyes were still darting back and forth between the two of them.
Finally, he let out a compliant "oh" and dutifully started playing with the toy in his hands.
The car returned to silence.
The air conditioning vents blew cold air, creating a different world from the stuffy summer night outside.
Caroline Whitman leaned back against the seat, holding the child, and glanced at Adrian Grant out of the corner of her eye. His expression was unreadable.
By the time the car turned into their neighborhood, the little guy had already fallen asleep, slumped in her arms.
Once the car was parked, Adrian Grant got out first and walked around to the other side.
"Here, I’ll take him."
He lowered his voice, bent down, and carefully took Ryan Grant from Caroline Whitman’s arms.
The child’s head rested in the crook of his shoulder. He didn’t even frown, just puckered his little mouth before continuing to sleep.
Caroline Whitman grabbed the little guy’s backpack, got out of the car, and followed Adrian Grant into the building.
Back home, Adrian Grant put the child to bed in his room. Caroline Whitman followed close behind. After entering, changing her shoes, and closing the door, she sank onto the sofa.
Her whole body relaxed into the cushions, and she let out a long sigh.
When Adrian Grant came out, he went to the kitchen and poured two glasses of warm water. He handed one to her and held the other himself. Just as he sat down next to her, the doorbell rang.
Caroline Whitman looked up in surprise. "Who is it?"
’For someone to be ringing the doorbell at this hour, and here in Golden Crest Manor of all places... Besides one of my people, it had to be someone of Adrian’s.’
The next second, she saw Adrian Grant put down his glass, get up, and open the door. Caroline didn’t see the person, but she did see someone outside hand him something.
After taking the item, Adrian Grant closed the door. When he turned around, Caroline Whitman clearly saw what he was holding: a small ring box.
Caroline Whitman blinked. For a moment, her heart inexplicably sped up.
They had just been discussing rings in the car. Seeing Adrian Grant suddenly holding a ring now, it was hard for Caroline Whitman not to let her imagination run wild.
Adrian Grant walked back and sat down beside her.
He placed the dark blue velvet box on the coffee table. He didn’t rush to open it, simply picking up his water glass again for a sip.
Caroline Whitman’s gaze lingered on the box for only two seconds before she looked away.
"What is it?" she asked, trying to keep her tone even.
"Guess."
"...Adrian Grant, how old are you?"
’So childish.’
The corner of Adrian Grant’s mouth twitched. He put down his glass, picked up the box, and opened it with one hand. Inside was a ring.
Caroline Whitman froze for a second.
Unexpectedly, it was the same design as the one on Adrian Grant’s hand.
The band was smaller; it was clearly the women’s version.
"You..."
"I had a matching one designed after that day." Adrian Grant’s tone was casual. He took out the ring and pulled her right hand toward him.
Caroline Whitman lowered her gaze and didn’t pull her hand away.
On her fair, slender finger, the ring slid onto her middle finger, passed over the knuckle, and settled securely at the base.
The size was perfect, not too loose and not too tight.
He held her hand, the ring glowing with a soft luster under the warm yellow light.
Adrian Grant’s thumb gently caressed the surface of the ring. This was the second time he had put a ring on her finger.
He paused at the base of her finger, then let go.
"Perfect," Adrian Grant said. "You can wear this one every day."
Caroline Whitman looked at their matching rings. If they were seen together, anyone paying attention would immediately recognize them as a couple’s set.
This alone, without them needing to say a word, made their relationship perfectly clear.
’No wonder he was so amenable when they talked about going public in the car.’
Caroline Whitman glanced up at him. "What made you think of getting a matching one?"
Adrian Grant: "Better to be prepared."
"Then why were you putting on an act and discussing rings with me in the car today?"
"I wasn’t putting on an act. It was a serious discussion."
"..."
’After all, it was only the third day of them being back together, and Caroline was already not wearing a ring, during work hours no less. It was hard for him not to overthink it.’
’He felt that his decision to have a new, matching ring made was absolutely the right one.’
’It just so happened to be finished tonight. As soon as he got the news, he had his assistant deliver it.’
Caroline Whitman was speechless. She made an excuse and got up to take a shower.
After her shower, Caroline Whitman glanced at her messages and noticed a new friend request on WhatsApp.
[Crescentia: Hello, I’m Luna Lynn.]
"..."
Caroline Whitman stared at the friend request for a long time, so long that she didn’t even notice when Adrian Grant finished his shower and sat down beside her.
It wasn’t until she felt the man’s presence close by and a sudden wetness on her earlobe that Caroline Whitman snapped back to her senses.
"What are you looking at? You’re so absorbed."
Caroline Whitman turned her head away, putting down her phone and pushing his head away at the same time. "Don’t lick me," she chided.
’Speaking of which, she still hadn’t gotten even with him for that bizarre stunt he pulled at the dinner party tonight, swapping their wine glasses.’
"You’ve been especially weird today," Caroline Whitman said, turning her head away as he leaned in again.
’Her idealized image of him was shattering.’
But unexpectedly, Adrian Grant just reached out, his fingertips slowly brushing the stray hairs from her forehead.
Then his fingers traced the curve of her ear, and the pad of his finger gave her earlobe a gentle pinch.
"How have I been weird?"