"Really?" Aurelia lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes casting a shadow beneath them.

"Really, I promise!" Mason said each word deliberately, his voice deep, "From now on, this will never happen again."

"Mason, you’re so good to me."

Mason kissed the top of her head, speaking indulgently, "Do you want to sleep? If you’re tired, just go to sleep. It’s windy and cold outside."

In the past, when she sleepwalked, she always liked to sneak outside in a playful manner.

She would either drag him to various stores to eat all sorts of things, or they would disguise themselves and sneak into the midnight cinema to watch movies all night long. When dawn was about to break, he’d carry her back asleep.

"Okay."

Aurelia agreed, and Mason pulled her into his arms, gently patting the back of her hand, "Sleep, I’ll tell you a story."

Every night before sleep, Mason would tell her stories to lull her into slumber.

"Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess in a castle..."

Aurelia nestled in Mason’s arms, her long eyelashes covering her deep eyes, which were dark and somber.

...

After the big commotion yesterday, Aurelia hadn’t expected Jovana Shaw to still hold her engagement banquet today.

Moreover, it was extremely high-profile.

Televised and live-streamed online.

"Buzz buzz!" Aurelia’s phone rang.

Amanda Fuller’s voice came through from the other side, "Aurelia, Jovana is holding her engagement banquet today, and everyone from the crew is going. Director Fan asked me to check, are you going with the crew or by yourself?"

In theory, Aurelia, being Jovana Shaw’s elder sister, would certainly have a separately invited wedding car, but they still asked anyway.

"Come pick me up," Aurelia said calmly.

Amanda was momentarily surprised but didn’t ask why and readily agreed, "Okay."

...

A few minutes later, Amanda’s car stopped at the gates of the Nightshade Residence.

Today, Aurelia was wearing a black, floor-length evening gown, her makeup exquisite and lips a striking red, resembling a proud fairy. She stepped into the car.

Amanda, while driving, glanced back at her, noticing the dark circles under her eyes that even foundation couldn’t cover, "Didn’t you sleep well last night?"

"Yesterday, Jovana lured me to a secluded spot, intending to harm me, but got hurt herself instead. Later, there was quite a commotion at home," Aurelia said simply, her tone light as if it hadn’t affected her at all.

Amanda gaped in shock.

She had thought Aurelia went home early but didn’t realize it was all Jovana’s doing!

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked with concern.

Aurelia shook her head.

"Did your dad get fooled by that mother-daughter pair again?" Amanda was immediately filled with rage, "He’s completely blind, how could he be so easily deceived? With just a little investigation, their dirty deeds would come to light! And yet he still doubts you."

At this point, Amanda hesitated, looking at Aurelia, "Aurelia, are you... very hurt by this?"

"My heart has long died for him," Aurelia said calmly.

"Then why...?"

Aurelia knew what Amanda wanted to ask, "Back when I was in M Nation, I was kidnapped once."

Amanda was astonished.

Aurelia continued, "The kidnappers demanded fifty million ransom from him. To save me, he went to M Nation alone, and took a stab to the abdomen. He was resuscitated for five or six hours before he was brought back from the brink of death.

My feelings for this father are complicated. He may feel the same towards me. There’s no traditional father-daughter bond, but he did save my life and make sacrifices for me."