Secretly Married for 4 Years, He Regrets to Tears After the Divorce

Chapter 264: Chapter 264: Rainy Night Recollections

Wren Sutton’s body stiffened in Adrian Lancaster’s arms.

She could clearly feel the warmth of his body behind her, and the steady, slightly quickened beat of his heart in his chest.

The longing and tenderness in his low voice was like a feather brushing against her ear, gently plucking a taut string deep inside her heart.

The bedroom was quiet, with only the soft breathing of the children and the faint whisper of the wind outside.

A warm, yellow glow enveloped their little world, making the air feel soft and thick.

Wren lowered her eyes, her thick lashes casting a trembling shadow on her eyelids. Her heart was far from calm.

The estrangement, distance, and confusion of the past hadn’t completely vanished. They were just temporarily muddled, washed away by their recent peaceful days, by the tenderness Adrian unknowingly revealed with the children, and now, by this pleading embrace.

She needed space, and she needed time to sort things out.

The children’s sleeping faces were just inches away. The warmth of his embrace was a real comfort against her back. That careful question still hung in the air.

’Saying yes would mean getting closer.’

’But refusing...’

’A small part of her heart seemed to soften, yearning for this fleeting moment of warmth, especially on this quiet night in the mountains.’

Time trickled by in the silence.

Adrian didn’t rush her. He maintained the embrace, his chin resting lightly on the crown of Wren’s head, waiting patiently.

His breath, warm and steady, brushed against her hair.

After a long moment, Wren took a very light breath and slowly exhaled.

The subtle tension in her body began to release, bit by bit.

She didn’t turn around, but simply nodded. Her voice was so soft it nearly vanished into the air.

"Mm."

It was just a simple syllable, but it made Adrian’s arms tighten around her for a second before he immediately relaxed them, afraid of hurting her.

Adrian lowered his head and his lips brushed gently against Wren’s hair—a kiss of utmost restraint.

"I promise," he said. His voice was lower and deeper now, carrying the weight of a solemn vow that rang clearly in her ear.

"I’ll just stay with you and the kids. I won’t do anything out of line."

He spoke with sincerity and earnestness, explicitly restraining and suppressing that male, instinctual desire that might make Wren uneasy, leaving only the pure intention of companionship.

Wren said nothing more. She shifted slightly, signaling for him to let go.

Adrian released his arms but remained standing by her side, very close.

Wren bent down, picked up the dress that had slipped to the floor, folded it, and placed it on the back of a nearby chair.

Then she turned, walked over to the small, side-by-side beds, and leaned down to check if Owen and Nina’s blankets were properly covering them. Her fingertips gently brushed across the children’s warm cheeks.

After doing all this, she walked to the side of the large bed, pulled back the covers on her side, and sat down, leaning against the headboard without immediately lying down.

Her calm gaze fell upon the sleeping children not far away. In the lamplight, her profile looked serene and soft.

Adrian silently watched her do all this before walking to the other side of the large bed.

He took off his jacket, undid the top two buttons of his shirt, then lifted the covers and slipped in.

He didn’t move closer to Wren right away, instead leaving a perfectly measured distance between them.

A distance where they could feel each other’s presence, but not so close as to make her feel pressured.

The mattress dipped slightly under his weight.

Wren could feel the warmth and presence beside her. Unlike the embrace from behind earlier, this was a more direct and enduring presence.

Her body was still a little stiff. Her gaze didn’t waver from the direction of the children.

Adrian followed her gaze to the tranquil little faces of the sleeping Owen and Nina. It felt as if the hardest part of his heart had been filled with something gentle.

He took the initiative and reached across the distance, gently taking hold of Wren’s hand which rested at her side.

Wren’s fingers trembled slightly, but she didn’t pull away.

Adrian’s palm was broad and warm, enveloping her hand completely. His grip was gentle yet firm.

"Rest easy and sleep," he said in a low voice. In the quiet of the night, his voice had a soothing power. He reached over and turned off the table lamp.

"I’m here to watch over you and the children."

A wave of drowsiness washed over her. Wren finally closed her eyes slowly. The stiffness in her body gradually faded, and the fingers of her captured hand began to relax.

In the dim light, Adrian quietly watched Wren’s sleeping face for a long, long time...

Only when he was sure she was sound asleep, her breathing long and steady, did he shift his position slightly, tighten his grip on their joined hands, and close his own eyes.

Adrian kept his promise, quietly watching over and accompanying her, building a new, soft bridge between himself and Wren.

...

In the latter half of the night, a blinding bolt of lightning suddenly split the night sky.

It was immediately followed by a low rumble of thunder that rolled in from the distant mountains, exploding in the dead of night.

BOOM—!

Wren startled awake. Her heart clenched, and she instinctively sat up, looking toward the small beds beside them.

In the momentary flash of lightning that illuminated the room, she saw that Owen and Nina were still sleeping soundly, not startled awake.

Her taut nerves relaxed. She let out a soft sigh of relief and lay back down.

However, her racing heart from the rude awakening was not so quick to calm down.

Outside, the thunder faded into the distance, replaced by the pitter-patter of rain against the windowpane.

She lay motionless, her eyes open, staring at the blurry, shifting reflections cast on the ceiling by the rain outside.

Beside her, Adrian had woken up the moment Wren sat up. He had been sleeping very lightly.

Sensing her prolonged stillness and faint sigh after she lay back down, he slowly opened his eyes in the darkness.

Adrian didn’t move right away, waiting quietly for a moment.

Then he spoke slowly, his voice hoarse with sleep. "Can’t get back to sleep?"

Wren was slightly startled, not expecting Adrian to be awake too. "Why are you awake?"

Adrian said, "The thunder was loud. It woke me up. I was about to get up to check on the children, but you beat me to it."

Wren listened to the sound of the rain outside, and the occasional rumble of thunder.

"Owen and Nina are sleeping soundly."

"Mm," Adrian replied. "The two of them are brave. They aren’t afraid of thunder."

Wren didn’t say anything.

Adrian asked directly, "Is something on your mind?"

Wren replied, "Rainy nights do tend to make one think about the past."

Adrian didn’t respond immediately.

The mattress shifted slightly as he moved into a more relaxed position, but he still maintained that safe distance between them.

The sound of the rain became the only background noise.

"The past," he repeated in a low voice. His tone was unreadable, a simple statement. "I remembered some things too."

Wren instinctively turned her head, looking at Adrian’s blurry silhouette in the dim light.

He was lying flat on his back, seemingly staring at the ceiling.

"What did you remember?"

"I remembered that you used to be very afraid of thunder," Adrian’s voice was calm, as if recounting a distant memory.

"That summer, on a stormy night just like this one, you were curled up in the corner of the living room sofa, hugging your knees. You were clearly terrified, but you stubbornly insisted you weren’t scared."

Wren’s heart skipped a beat. She had almost forgotten about that.

It was not long after she and Adrian had gotten married. One night, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and fierce winds raged.

She was all alone in the vast villa, sitting on the living room sofa waiting for Adrian to come home. She waited for a long, long time.

Adrian recalled the scene, the image appearing clearly in his mind.

"That night, I came back late. You had already fallen asleep on the sofa. I sat down next to you and listened to the rain with you. I didn’t say anything, I just sat there with you."

"Later, the thunder woke you up. I asked if you were scared. There were tears in your eyes, but you stubbornly shook your head and said you weren’t."

"Looking back now, I realize how stupid I was back then. You were so scared you were crying, yet I actually believed what you said. I thought you really weren’t afraid. I was so unbelievably wrong."