Chapter 274: Could it be because they had already slept together once?
Adelyn froze for a second —not quite catching his words.
Seeing her reaction, Dylan asked, "You don’t want to sit beside me?"
Adelyn blinked before quickly shaking her head. "Of course not. Sitting beside you is an honor. It’s just that ..."
She turned to glance at the little girl beside her.
"Eira is also here. She must want to sit beside you."
Looking back at him, she wore the same gentle smile she always put on whenever she was trying to convince him to believe something that wasn’t the real truth.
"Why not just let her sit beside you? I was perfectly fine sitting where I was before."
Dylan glanced at his daughter before looking back at her. "So, it’s about Eira?" he asked.
Adelyn paused before smiling again.
"Yes. She’s a child, after all, and it’s only right for her to sit between us. This way, we can both look after her. Wouldn’t that be nice?"
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he turned toward the little girl.
"Where do you want to sit?"
Adelyn instantly understood what he was trying to do.
She also looked at Eira, her eyes growing slightly pleading, hoping the little girl would somehow understand what she wanted her to say.
But Eira was far too young to understand such silent hints.
She could tell her mama wanted something. But no matter how long she looked at her, she simply couldn’t figure out what it was.
Tilting her little head, she looked back and forth between the two adults.
When her eyes met Adelyn’s again, they were filled with helpless confusion.
Seeing that expression, Adelyn suddenly realized she was only making things difficult for the little girl.
She was still just a child.
She shouldn’t have to carry the burden of understanding unspoken intentions or helping adults maintain their lies.
In the end, Adelyn simply reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"Just be honest," she said with a warm smile.
Little Eira looked at her one last time. Then, lightly clutching the hem of her dress, she answered honestly,
"Eira wants to sit with Mama and have breakfast."
Adelyn wasn’t surprised in the slightest. She had more or less expected an answer like that. That was exactly why she had tried to guide the little girl toward saying something else.
But now she realized ...
Teaching her to lie —even for something this small —wasn’t something her precious little girl needed.
Smiling at her, she turned back toward Dylan.
"It seems Little Eira doesn’t mind. I’ll sit beside you."
Dylan met her gaze calmly.
"She’s a child. You looking after her is enough," he said.
Confusion flashed across Adelyn’s face.
Seeing it, he continued,
"With you looking after her, it’s only right that I look after you as well."
His words caught her completely off guard.
So ...
He had changed the seating arrangement simply so he could look after her?
She stared at him, unable to understand why that was even necessary.
She wasn’t a child.
She didn’t need someone to look after her.
She could look after herself well.
Couldn’t she?
"You can," Dylan answered, as though reading the question she hadn’t voiced.
"But you usually don’t."
His voice remained calm and steady. "So ... let me do it for you."
Adelyn coughed awkwardly. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
Dylan didn’t press her any further.
He simply tapped the chair beside him once, silently gesturing for her to take her seat, before helping Eira climb onto hers.
Once everyone had settled down, they began having breakfast together.
Just as Dylan had said, throughout the meal he quietly made sure Adelyn was well taken care of.
Whenever something was slightly out of her reach, he would naturally move it closer.
Whenever her plate was nearly empty, he would calmly serve her more before she even realized it herself.
And gradually ...
Adelyn came to realize that sitting beside him during breakfast wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
On the contrary—
It felt unexpectedly ... comfortable.
That realization only made her more puzzled.
Why?
Why did being around him always feel so natural?
She wasn’t someone who felt uncomfortable around strangers. But she had always needed time before lowering her guard around people she barely knew.
Yet somehow ...
Since the very first day they met ...
She had never truly felt that distance with Dylan.
Outwardly, she still maintained her boundaries.
She reminded herself again and again that their relationship was merely an agreement. A careful lie she had woven just to escape.
Yet ...
Whenever Dylan stepped a little past those boundaries ...
She never found herself resisting.
Instead ...
She simply let him.
As though it was the most natural thing in the world.
Her movements gradually slowed. She quietly turned to look at him, trying to find an answer to the question that had begun lingering in her heart.
Could it be ...
... because they had already slept together once?
Was that why he was allowed so many exceptions when it came to her rules...
... her boundaries?
Just as she was about to dwell on that possibility further—
Her phone, resting on the table, suddenly buzzed.
She didn’t immediately look at it.
Instead, Dylan’s gaze naturally shifted toward the screen. His eyes paused for a brief moment as he read the name displayed there.
A faint sharpness flickered across his gaze. But it disappeared almost as quickly as it had come.
Lifting his eyes back to her, he said evenly, "It seems you’ve received an important message."
Adelyn had been too lost in her thoughts. For a brief second, she didn’t quite register what he had said.
Then she blinked.
"Oh ... did I?"
She picked up her phone and looked at the screen.
It was indeed a message from—
Lawyer Jonson.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
Without hesitation, she tapped it open.
Just as she had expected ...
It was regarding the request she had made earlier.
She quickly typed a reply, sent it, and then placed the phone back on the table.
Only after setting it down did she realize—
Dylan had been watching her the entire time.
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