The two of them got in the car, and Mia Kane finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had just started to lean down to buckle her seatbelt when Adrian Preston suddenly cupped the back of her head and pulled her forcefully toward him.

She jumped in alarm and struggled instinctively, but Adrian Preston whispered close to her ear, "Don’t move. Chase Lockwood followed us out. He’s outside staring at us."

"Is he?"

She tried to turn and look, but Adrian Preston stopped her.

"With a guy like him, the more you look at him, the more he’ll delude himself into thinking you’re not over him."

Hearing this, Mia Kane thought he had a point.

Chase Lockwood was a master of making assumptions. If she so much as glanced his way, his mind would start racing with other ideas.

’When it comes down to it, he just can’t accept it.’

’If she weren’t with Adrian Preston, if she hadn’t completely forgotten him and still held a torch for him, he wouldn’t care. If she looked at him with misery and desperation, he’d look right through her without a second thought.’

’He was only acting out now because he had lost control of the situation.’

"So what should we do now? Has he left?"

"No."

The word had barely left Adrian Preston’s lips before he pressed his own against hers.

Her eyes flew open, her breath catching in her throat. Her mind went completely blank.

’Is this... really okay?’

Adrian Preston was no longer the inexperienced young man he once was. He skillfully parted her lips and tangled his tongue with hers.

He even gave her ample opportunity to breathe, ensuring she wouldn’t become too uncomfortable from a lack of oxygen and end the kiss prematurely.

"Mmph..."

Something felt off. She lightly pounded on his chest.

"Don’t move," he murmured. "He’s really watching."

’Couldn’t we just roll up the window?’ Mia Kane thought. ’Most nice cars these days have tinted windows. No one can see in from the outside.’

But Adrian Preston gave her no chance to speak, sealing her lips again.

He kissed her until she was breathless. His hand slid from her back, slowly moving to her slender waist, which fit perfectly in his grasp. He squeezed it gently, toying with her.

’Any more of this, and things are going to get out of hand.’

Her rationality was on the verge of being completely overwhelmed, but she managed to snap herself back to reality.

Mustering her courage, she pushed him away and gasped for air.

"That’s... that’s enough."

"Alright then," Adrian Preston said reluctantly.

She couldn’t resist glancing back, but she didn’t see any sign of Chase Lockwood.

"You lied to me?"

"I didn’t. He was standing right there watching. I guess he saw us kissing, decided it was a lost cause, and left. I wasn’t paying close attention to when he took off. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask Chase Lockwood yourself."

"You..."

She shot him an exasperated glare. ’As if I would go confront Chase Lockwood about this.’

Now, she had no choice but to take Adrian Preston at his word.

Adrian Preston started the car and focused on driving, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. Mia Kane didn’t notice the faint, satisfied smile that briefly touched his lips. It was gone in an instant, and she missed it completely.

Back at the nursing home, his grandfather had such a guilty conscience that he didn’t dare speak to Adrian Preston.

Instead, he pulled Mia Kane aside to press her for details about the family dinner.

When he learned that Vivian Lynch had caused such a scene that the Lynchs were left in an awkward position and her grandmother had even fallen ill from anger, he sighed.

"I’m doing fine here. You should take something over to your grandmother’s tomorrow and spend some time talking with her. She’s been a strong-willed woman her whole life and cares a lot about her pride. Losing face in front of so many relatives... she must be absolutely devastated."

"You seem to know my grandmother very well, Grandpa."

Donovan Preston gave a couple of unnatural coughs. After all, they’d had a history back in the day.

He’d had many girlfriends in his youth. Aside from his beloved late wife, the only other one who likely still held a place in his heart was Orchie Ziegler.

But that was all in the past. Now that he was old, he didn’t like to dwell on it.

"Since she likes you, you should visit her more often. There’s no harm in it. But visiting is one thing... you need to keep your distance from that Lockwood boy. You’re my granddaughter-in-law."

"Grandpa, Adrian Preston and I are divorced. I can be anyone’s granddaughter-in-law now."

"That won’t do! I’m going to have a serious talk with Adrian Preston about marrying you again. It’ll be a chance to do it right. You just rushed to get your marriage license last time without a proper ceremony. I’ll plan your wedding to Adrian myself, and it will be as grand as possible. I absolutely won’t let you be treated unfairly."

Donovan Preston rambled on, but Mia Kane didn’t respond.

She spoke with his grandfather a little longer before heading out. As she left, she happened to see Adrian Preston on the phone. He was speaking fluent English with Charlotte.

She was too far away to hear what they were saying, but there was a smile on Adrian Preston’s face, so the conversation must have been going well.

She had planned to say goodbye to him before she left, but after waiting a few minutes, it was clear he wasn’t about to hang up. So, she turned to a nearby nurse instead.

"Could you tell Adrian Preston that I’ve left for the day? I won’t be coming tomorrow; I’m going to visit my grandmother."

With that, Mia Kane left.

When Adrian Preston hung up, he looked around but couldn’t find any sign of Mia Kane.

"President Preston, Miss Kane has already left. She said she won’t be coming in tomorrow, as she’s going to visit her grandmother."

"Why didn’t she tell me?"

"She was about to, but you were on the phone, and she didn’t want to interrupt."

"She heard me on the phone?"

Adrian Preston’s heart sank. ’Did she misunderstand something?’

His marriage alliance with Charlotte was one of mutual benefit. Her family controlled two major ports, owned hundreds of freighters, and held immense power at sea.

Although Charlotte was the eldest daughter, she couldn’t inherit the family fortune because she wasn’t a son.

She hoped to solidify her position in the family through an alliance with Adrian Preston.

With her father on his deathbed, she desperately needed a powerful ally at this critical juncture.

Adrian, for his part, wanted to wipe out the smugglers operating at sea. With Charlotte’s intelligence network and assistance, the task would be much easier.

Too many customs officers had already died...

’Every life I can save means one more family stays whole.’

’Otherwise, every death is someone’s husband, someone’s son, someone’s father.’

’If a simple marriage alliance could bring these men home alive to their families, he would do it. He’d do more than just hold an engagement party—he’d go through with the marriage for real.’

’He would do it even if it made his pursuit of Mia Kane rise to a Hell-level difficulty. He wouldn’t hesitate for a second.’

’He wanted Mia Kane.’

’But he also had to protect the lives of his teammates!’

Charlotte had just told him that suspicious figures had been spotted at sea near the Annamire region. He had been so pleased with the news that he couldn’t help asking for more details.

He never thought Mia Kane would see him.

He wanted to find Mia Kane and explain, but his operation was top secret and couldn’t be compromised.

He couldn’t risk exposing Charlotte either; they would rise or fall together.

He knew he could trust Mia Kane, that she would absolutely keep his secret.

But... his duty prevented him from breathing a single word of it.

’To hell with it. Even if I can’t explain, I have to see her.’

Adrian Preston hurried off, his thoughts already flying to Mia Kane. He didn’t expect Donovan Preston to call him into his room to ask when he was going to marry her.

"My business with Charlotte isn’t finished yet. Once it is, I’ll win her back."

"Well, you’d better be quick about it! She just told me she could be any family’s granddaughter-in-law now! If you mess this up, you’ll have me to answer to."

"Grandpa, if you’d stop trying to ’help,’ things wouldn’t be so difficult for me."