"I'm fine. The doctor said the baby is healthy and completely unaffected by yesterday’s accident."
"That’s such a relief. I saw how serious you looked when we got to the hospital and how silent you were. I thought something was wrong with our baby."
Knox’s casual words froze Giselle for a moment.
Unintentionally, the image of me, standing in that blazing fire with cold indifference, flashed in her mind.
Frowning slightly, she opened her email inbox again, irritation growing as I still hadn’t replied, not even a word.
In the past, no matter how coldly she treated me, I had always answered her every request without hesitation.
But now, I had learned to play hard to get.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips as she accompanied Knox while he was discharged from the hospital, then headed straight for the company.
The moment she entered her office, her assistant’s voice cut through the air, "Your grandpa, Leonardo, has returned to the country and summoned all upper management to the No. 1 conference room for an urgent meeting."
Upon hearing this, Giselle turned and walked toward the meeting room, casually instructing her assistant as she went, "Get me a few sets of the latest suits and watches."
The assistant quickly responded, "Yes, President Deveraux. I’ll arrange it and have them delivered straight to Assistant Remington’s place."
Giselle paused, pinching the bridge of her nose. "No, send them to the Thatcher Grand Residence."
In her mind, since I left the villa, the Thatcher family home was the only place she figured I could possibly be staying.
A week later, late at night.
After finally wrapping up a project, Giselle returned home and found a figure curled up on the living room sofa like a shrimp.
"Milo, how many times have I told you? I’ll come home when I’m done with work. You don’t need to…"
But as she drew closer and realized it was Knox, the sneer on her lips stopped mid-sentence.
Under her cold stare, Knox couldn’t help but shiver. His expression was a mix of hurt and pleading.
"Giselle... he... he still hasn’t come back. I’ve sent him so many apology messages, but he’s ignored all of them. Maybe I should just move out?"
Seeing the hurt in Knox’s eyes, Giselle’s heart softened. She wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace.
She planted a half-hearted kiss on his cheek and gently whispered, urging him to take care of himself, not to overthink things.
"Whether Milo accepts it or not, from now on, this is your home."
Half an hour later, dressed in a robe, Giselle stood alone on the open-air balcony, a cigarette dangling from her fingers.
She knew better than to smoke while pregnant, but tonight, she couldn’t seem to help herself.
Almost without thinking, her fingers slid across her phone screen until her eyes landed on my name at the very bottom of her contacts list.
Her thumb hovered over the call button for what felt like an eternity.
After finishing two cigarettes, she finally made her decision. Instead of calling, she typed a warning message.
[Milo, tomorrow is Grandpa’s 80th birthday. Don’t even think about pulling any stunts at the banquet. Don’t embarrass me or Knox.]
On Grandpa Leonardo’s birthday, Giselle arrived in grand fashion, Knox by her side. Together, they looked every bit the inseparable couple.
It wasn’t until Grandpa Leonardo made his grand entrance that Giselle finally released Knox’s hand. She walked over to stand beside the old man, assisting him in greeting the important guests.
“Why didn’t Milo come with you?”
Grandpa Leonardo’s sharp question hung in the air. For once, Knox pressed his lips into a thin line, his voice calm but steady as he spoke up in my defense.
“Sorry, Grandpa. Milo’s been busy preparing the gift these past few days. He’s exhausted, so I told him to rest a bit and come later.”
Two hours flew by in a blur.
The birthday banquet reached its peak, the moment everyone had been waiting for: the gift-giving ceremony.
And yet, I still hadn’t shown up.
Suppressing the unease that gnawed at her, Giselle stepped into a quiet corner and pulled out her phone, dialing my number.
“The number you dialed is currently unavailable…”
Her frustration flared, but she dialed again, only to be met with the cold, mechanical tone of a busy line.
At that moment, a deliveryman entered the banquet hall, his presence unnoticed until he brought forward the three gifts I had sent.
Grandpa Leonardo smiled warmly as he opened the first gift. Inside was a beautifully embroidered Hundred Gods Longevity Scroll that looked so real, it almost seemed alive.
It was clear to anyone that it had taken me months to create, each stitch made with careful precision.
Moved, Grandpa Leonardo gently lifted the second gift.
Inside lay the heirloom gem, once given to me by the Deveraux family’s grandmother when I married Giselle.
As the gem caught the light, the room fell into a hushed silence.
In high society, returning such a treasured heirloom spoke volumes; everyone understood its significance without a word.
Before Grandpa Leonardo could react, Giselle’s face darkened, her expression as cold as stone.
She silently clenched her fists and moved toward the third gift.
Just as I had anticipated, her face remained frozen, her eyes hard as she lifted the lid of the final box.
