Chapter 269: Was she simply overthinking things?
After Clara headed inside, Xavier was about to leave.
However, just as he reached for the driver’s door—
"Xavier."
Liam’s voice stopped him.
Xavier turned around, only to find Liam standing a few steps away, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Liam?"
"If you aren’t busy," Liam said evenly, "would you care to join me for a drink?"
Under normal circumstances, Xavier would have refused.
But one look at Liam was enough for him to realize this wasn’t merely an invitation for drinks.
There was something Liam wanted to discuss with him.
Something he had been waiting for.
After a brief silence, Xavier gave a small nod.
"Alright."
With that, the two of them headed inside together.
Instead of going toward the sitting room, Liam led him upstairs, straight to his room.
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Meanwhile—
Back at Sanctuary Heights—
After making sure Little Eira had fallen asleep, Adelyn carefully shifted her position.
Closing the storybook in her hands, she gently placed it on the bedside table. She intended to have a glass of water before sleeping.
However, when she reached for the glass beside the bed —
She realized it was already empty.
Pursing her lips, she quietly carefully out of bed.
Taking the empty glass, she quietly walked out of the room, making sure her every step remained light and silent so that Little Eira wouldn’t accidentally wake up.
As soon as she stepped into the corridor, she realized how eeriely quiet the entire mansion had become.
Only one room farther down the hallway remained lit.
Its door wasn’t fully closed, allowing a soft golden glow to spill into the otherwise dim corridor.
Adelyn’s brows knitted slightly.
Although she still wasn’t familiar with Sanctuary Heights, she knew one thing.
At this hour ...
Apart from herself, Dylan, and Little Eira —no one else should have been here.
Since Eira was already asleep, it only meant Dylan was still awake inside that room.
For a brief moment, she considered walking over to check on him.
But just as she lifted her foot—
She stopped herself.
"... Aren’t you getting a little too immersed in your role?" she muttered under her breath, half amused, half warning herself.
"The role of being his girlfriend doesn’t need to become this real. Otherwise ... it’ll only become much harder to explain later."
Having reminded herself of that, she turned toward the staircase, intending to head downstairs to refill her glass.
But before she could take another step—
"What exactly would become so hard to explain?"
An unfamiliar male voice suddenly spoke from behind her.
Adelyn froze. Her body instinctively tensed, and she slowly turned around —only to find a young man and a young woman standing several steps behind her.
Her brows immediately furrowed.
She hadn’t seen either of them before.
"... Who are you?" she asked calmly, though her posture had already become subtly alert. She shifted closer to the room.
"And what are you doing here so late at night?"
The young man simply stared at her. His expression gradually turned blank. "No ..." he muttered in disbelief before pointing between himself and the woman beside him.
"Don’t tell me you seriously don’t remember us."
Adelyn frowned.
Remember them?
Before she could respond—
The blonde-haired woman beside him suddenly stomped hard on his foot.
"Ow— Eve!" the young man hissed, nearly jumping. "What was that for?"
Eve shot him a sharp glare —one full of raw warning.
"It seems," she said meaningfully, "you are the one who forgot something important."
The words instantly made the young man’s face stiffen. His eyes widened ever so slightly.
"... Right."
He quietly bit the inside of his cheek. Only then did he realize how carelessly he had almost spoken.
He had nearly blurted out something that was not supposed to be mentioned again.
Adelyn hadn’t caught Eve’s subtle warning. But she had clearly noticed the sudden change in the young man’s expression.
And she certainly hadn’t missed what he had said earlier.
"You said ..." she slowly spoke, "... remember?"
She looked directly at him.
"Do I know you?"
Her gaze then shifted toward the blonde-haired woman standing beside him. She was undeniably beautiful. Elegant —yet there was also something unusually sharp about her demeanor.
An invisible edge.
As though beneath her graceful appearance hid someone extremely capable.
The young man, on the other hand, looked surprisingly youthful.
So youthful that, for a brief second, Adelyn almost assumed he was around her own age —or perhaps even younger.
"You still haven’t answered my question," she reminded them when neither of them spoke.
The young man looked at her for a long second. Then he slowly shook his head. "No."
That single word only deepened Adelyn’s confusion. Just as she was about to question him further, he continued,
"No ... how could you possibly know us? This should be the very first time we’ve met."
It was.
Adelyn studied both of them again. Their faces were completely unfamiliar. She was certain she had never met either of them before.
But then ...
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Eve stepped forward with a gentle smile.
"Please don’t mind him," she said, smiling apologetically. "He has a habit of saying strange things."
"... Strange things?" The young man immediately pointed at himself in disbelief. "I’m the strange one?"
Eve completely ignored his protest. Her attention remained on Adelyn.
"I’m sorry," she said politely. "We didn’t get the chance to introduce ourselves."
She gave a slight bow.
"My name is Eve Reverie." Then, lightly gesturing toward the young man beside her, she added, "And this loudmouth beside me is Emmett."
Emmett immediately frowned.
"... Loudmouth?"
Eve continued as though she hadn’t heard him. "We’re here to visit Boss."
"Boss?" Adelyn repeated curiously.
Eve nodded.
"Yes. We work under—"
Before she could finish, a familiar voice interrupted her.
"What are you all doing out here?"
All three turned toward the source.
Asher was walking down the corridor.
The moment Adelyn saw him, she recognized him immediately. She might not know him well ...
But she certainly remembered him. Especially his attitude during their last meeting.
"You ...?" she murmured unconsciously.
Asher briefly glanced toward Eve and Emmett before shifting his gaze to Adelyn.
Unlike before, he gave her a small, respectful bow. "Good evening, Ms. Grace." His tone was polite and composed —entirely different from the cold, dismissive attitude he had shown her previously.
The contrast was so obvious that Adelyn couldn’t help comparing the two encounters.
Was she simply overthinking things ...
Or ...
Was there something here that she still couldn’t see?
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