Chapter 230: Chapter 230: Not Sleeping in the Master Bedroom
Adrian Lancaster’s voice was low and slightly husky, sounding exceptionally soft in the quiet room.
Wren Sutton leaned against the headboard without a word, quietly watching the man’s back as he bent over the crib.
He stood barefoot on the floor, a picture of complete relaxation and intense focus.
The lamp cast a soft glow around him, illuminating the lingering, almost childlike fear that hadn’t quite faded from his profile, as well as the profound, all-consuming tenderness in his gaze as he looked at the children.
Wren Sutton’s heart felt as if it had been gently brushed by a soft feather. ’He really is a good, loving father,’ she had to admit.
Meanwhile, Adrian Lancaster snapped back to reality. He recalled how he had rushed out of bed and worried that he might have bumped Wren Sutton’s ankle.
His heart tightened. He immediately turned back toward the bed, pushing the crib along with him.
"Honey, did I scare you just now? Did I hit your foot?"
Wren Sutton shook her head. "No."
Only then did Adrian Lancaster relax. "Good. I just dreamt that the babies were crying, and I was so anxious I didn’t think about you. You’re not mad at me, are you?"
Wren Sutton shook her head again. "I’m not angry. I was just curious about your dream."
Adrian Lancaster followed her gaze to the crib and said in a low voice, "I forget what started it in the dream, but I remember the two little ones crying so hard they could barely breathe. No matter what I did, I couldn’t comfort them. It felt like my heart was being squeezed, and I was so scared and anxious."
Wren Sutton comforted him, "Dreams are the opposite of reality. Look how nicely the babies are playing. They aren’t crying at all."
Her tone was gentle, carrying a reassuring strength.
"You’re just too worried. As they say, what you think about by day, you dream of by night."
A moment later, a maid entered the master bedroom with a tray and placed the carefully prepared dinner on the over-bed table.
There were crispy beef patties, two bowls of fragrant and creamy chicken and millet congee, a few delicate, light side dishes, and a small plate of osmanthus-sugar lotus root, Wren Sutton’s favorite.
"Sir, Young Madam, please enjoy your meal. I’ll go prepare the formula for the young master and young miss."
Adrian Lancaster added worriedly, "Make sure you test the water temperature carefully. It has to be around 46 degrees Celsius. Level off the scoop of formula—not too much, not too little."
His tone wasn’t harsh—it was quite calm, in fact—but his attitude made it clear that no mistakes would be tolerated.
The maid replied respectfully, "Sir, Young Madam, please rest assured. I will follow the instructions precisely."
Wren Sutton smiled. "I trust you. Grandma told me you have a childcare certification."
The maid acknowledged with a smile and turned to prepare the babies’ formula.
Adrian Lancaster looked away from the maid and asked Wren Sutton, "Does she really have a childcare certificate?"
"Mhm," Wren Sutton nodded, patiently explaining, "When the children and I were staying at the old family house, she was the one who helped me take care of them. Her professional skills are on par with Mr. Morgan’s. Don’t worry."
Adrian Lancaster nodded. "Okay. As long as she’s certified, I feel better about her making the formula."
...
The dinner was delicious. Adrian Lancaster and Wren Sutton were both hungry and ate with gusto, just as the two babies drank their formula with gusto.
In the soft glow of the bedroom at night, the family of four shared a very warm and cozy moment.
As they were finishing dinner, Adrian Lancaster happened to glance at the nightstand and noticed a book.
"You’ve been reading *Azure History*."
"Yes," Wren replied.
"What part are you on?" Adrian also enjoyed *Azure History*.
"Roric."
Adrian Lancaster slowly stirred the congee in his bowl with a spoon. "I sometimes wonder if that sort of extreme integrity was a blessing or a curse for Roric."
Wren Sutton picked up a small, crisp slice of lotus root. Hearing him, she turned her head to look at him.
In the lamplight, the lines of his profile were sharp, his expression earnest.
Her interest was piqued by the mention of Roric.
"He’s immortalized in the history books, admired for all time. Is that considered a blessing? But I remember he wrote in a memorial in his later years that he owned nothing but himself, to the point he needed others’ charity just to hold a funeral for his mother. That kind of destitute, lonely uprightness... from a purely human standpoint, it seems too harsh."
"It is harsh," Adrian Lancaster affirmed, his gaze fixed on some point in the empty air, as if piercing through the mists of history to scrutinize that stubborn, unyielding soul.
"Roric was like a ruler that would snap before it bent. He used himself to measure his era, but that era had no place for such a ruler. He was too rigid—so rigid he was at odds with the entire world, and so rigid he left himself no room to maneuver."
"Yes," Wren Sutton agreed. "That era couldn’t accommodate someone like Roric. He was too uncompromising."
Adrian Lancaster set down his spoon, his voice tinged with a complex sigh. "I respect Roric, but I wouldn’t be like him. Or rather, I couldn’t be."
He paused, his gaze finally returning from the void to land on Wren Sutton’s face, before shifting to the nearby crib.
"Because I can’t let go of you and the children. You are my attachments, my vulnerabilities."
Wren Sutton’s heart trembled slightly. She understood what Adrian Lancaster meant.
’Roric could carry his own coffin to court in protest, backing the emperor into a corner, because he was utterly alone, fearless, with nothing left to lose. But Adrian Lancaster is different. He has a vast family business to run, the trust of his partners to maintain, a family, children, friends—so many things he could never let go of.’
"Still waters run deep," Adrian Lancaster repeated in a low voice, as if savoring the strength within those words.
"A river too pure has no fish, but if the water is murky, the fish can’t thrive either. Perhaps my job isn’t to make the water perfectly clear, without a single impurity, but to do my best to defend the bottom line—so that the fish that deserve to live can swim a little more freely in relatively clear water."
It seemed he was saying it as much for Wren Sutton’s benefit as for his own.
Wren Sutton said no more, and they continued to eat in silence.
The hour hand quietly slipped past ten.
The cozy post-dinner time drew to a close as the babies’ eyes grew heavy and hazy.
Their big brother was the first to let out a small yawn, and their little sister stopped waving her tiny hands, her eyes growing drowsy.
Adrian Lancaster settled the two babies, placing their crib right next to the main bed.
Even though the nursery was connected to the master bedroom, he couldn’t bear to have the babies sleep over there. He wanted them closer.
Once he was sure the babies were fast asleep, Adrian Lancaster went to the walk-in closet to get his pajamas. He turned to Wren Sutton and said, "Honey, you can go to sleep first. I’m going to take a shower."
Wren Sutton said nothing.
Soon, the sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Wren Sutton sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers curling together unconsciously. An indescribable feeling welled up inside her.
The master bedroom was warm and the children were sleeping peacefully. Everything should have been perfectly cozy. But when she thought of the long night ahead, of sharing a bed with Adrian Lancaster until morning, a secret feeling of unease quietly spread through her.
’Earlier today, I’m pretty sure I told him he could have the master bedroom and I’d sleep in the guest room. He must have heard me. He should have understood what I meant.’
「Ten minutes later.」
When Adrian Lancaster emerged from the bathroom, enveloped in damp steam and a fresh scent, toweling his hair dry, he saw Wren Sutton preparing to get out of bed.
He immediately dropped the towel, hurried over, and moved to pick her up. "Going to the bathroom?"
Wren Sutton shook her head. "No."
Her expression was calm, but a flicker of something unreadable passed through her eyes. She spoke slowly, "I’m going to sleep in the guest room next door tonight."
