"Mom, what happened?" Evelyn asked anxiously.

As she answered the phone, she had already grabbed her bag and rushed to the door. Kicking away the slippers on her feet, she roughly stuffed her feet into her own shoes.

A confused Wendy also followed tightly, her face full of concern.

On the other end, Dana sobbed into the phone as she interrogated, "Where are you right now? It's almost six o' clock! Why are you not back yet?"

"I'm at Wendy's house. I was just about to go home right now. Mom, what exactly happened?"

"You didn't get home on time and didn't tell anyone. Young Master Kingsley is not happy because of that."

"Huh?" Evelyn stopped in her tracks. "Did he..."

She caught the sight of Wendy and did not want her good friend to figure anything out, so she stopped herself from saying the words 'threaten you?' and adjusted. "Mom, are you crying because of this?"

"An unhappy Young Master Kingsley means severe consequences!" Dana sniffed, her tone full of worry. "Evelyn, your parents' well being in the future depend on one command from him."

At this, a deep sigh sounded from the speaker.

It was her dad.

Evelyn felt her heart ache as she choked out, "Don't be that way. As long as I'm here I will not let anything happen to you guys."

This Theodore was too cruel. She was just a bit late coming home, but he took that as an excuse to call her parents and threaten them!

Was that necessary?

"Then you should hurry back and be obedient to Young Master Kingsley. Try to please him and don't make him angry again."

The urgency in her mother's voice caused Evelyn to feel even worse and she hurriedly replied, "I'm heading back to explain right now, don't worry."

"Alright, okay. Go back quickly and deal with Young Master Kingsley, then call me so that I can at least not worry as much."

"Okay."

Evelyn hung up the phone and bent over to tie her shoelaces.

"Are your parents alright?" Wendy asked worriedly.

She could not hear the other side of the phone, but seeing Evelyn's serious expression made her anxious.

"Nothing major, just the two of them bickering as usual," Evelyn said, trying to downplay the situation.

She could never let Wendy know about the unspeakable agreement made between her and Theodore.

"Let me walk you downstairs. My motorcycle is just there."

"No, there's no need," Evelyn stopped her friend, "It is not safe to ride so late. I'll just call a cab. Let's talk again later at night."

After that, she turned around quickly to leave, only to slam right into a man carrying a large stack of books.

"Oh no!"

Crash!

The books dropped all over the floor.

"I'm so sorry, please forgive me." Evelyn apologized repeatedly as she knelt down to pick up the books.

The man who got bumped into was a bespectacled middle aged man. After staying shocked for a few seconds, he said a soft "It's alright," before bending down and picking up the fallen books as well.

Wendy pulled Evelyn up and said, "Don't worry, he's my neighbour. I will help him. The elevator is here. You should go back and talk to your parents."

As she spoke, the elevator doors opened.

Evelyn didn't argue and passed the books she had picked up to Wendy. After showing an apologetic smile toward the middle-aged man, she turned and ran into the elevator.

After exiting the elevator, she quickly ran to the main road in front of the street to hail a taxi. As she tiptoed to look around, a car suddenly stopped beside her.

She quickly leaped onto the flowerbed next to her, looking at the car on high alert.

Suddenly, the car window rolled down and Theodore's expressionless face appeared.

"Get in."

"How did you know I was here?"

Theodore glanced at her before silently rolling the window back up.

Thinking back to her mother sobbing and her father sighing, she glared fiercely at Theodore through the glass before crossing to the other side of the car to get on.

Since he knew she was at Happy Garden, why had he still called her parents deliberately?

After getting in the car and seeing him close his eyes, acting as if nothing had happened, Evelyn got even angrier. She soothed her anger before saying, "Next time if you want to look for me, can you call me directly and not my parents? It really scares them."

A few seconds passed and Theodore still didn't reply. Evelyn lost her patience and changed her negotiating tone to a harsh one as she warned word by word, "My parents are already living their days full of fear and worry, so please do not add to their stress! If anything happens to them because of you, I will stop playing your little acting game."

Theodore opened his eyes in a flash, and the gaze he pierced her with was sharp and fierce.

Before this, Evelyn would probably have backed down. But at the moment, she was so worried for her parents that she straightened her posture and met his eyes. "I agreed to marry you and go along with all the acting you wanted just for one thing: making sure my parents are safe and healthy. If you cannot guarantee that, then I will never follow your wishes again even if you hold a knife to my neck!"

Theodore scoffed and stopped glaring at her.

Evelyn did not know what he meant by that and panicked a little, her stance immediately deflating as she tugged his elbow, asking, "Did you understand what I said?"

She just wanted to remind him to not stress her parents out in the future, instead of aggravating him.

Theodore did not spare her a glance and just pulled away from her grip, saying lightly, "Let's each do what is necessary for our roles."

"But I did do what was asked of me!"

"If you don't want to worry your parents in the future, then come home on time."

Seeing that he was still feeling petty about this matter, Evelyn decided to hold onto the opportunity. She explained, "I actually went to Happy Garden after work to investigate the case, the Forest in West City murder case that had to do with SkyForge Group—"

Theodore interrupted rudely, "If a little forensic doctor like you can solve the case then what do we still need the police for?"

"Don't underestimate me. I actually studied it in university—"

"Huh."

The complete disregard in his tone caused Evelyn to flush with anger and she suppressed her annoyance before saying, "I checked into this case to help you since the victim was in SkyForge Group. I heard that her son brought someone to the company—"

"Busybody."

"You—hmph."

Evelyn sat with a huff at the other side of the car and muttered, "You don't even appreciate my good intentions."

Theodore's ears automatically turned out to the last sentence and continued to close his eyes to get some rest.

They sat in silence for the rest of their journey.

When the two of them reached home, it was already almost seven in the evening. Evelyn—who knew she had missed dinnertime, and was thinking of the scolding and chilly gaze that she would get from Ethan—shuddered with anxiousness and her footsteps slowed with her nerves.

"Don't worry."

Theodore's gentle voice rang next to her ear and in a second, his hand was holding hers. She met his soft, loving gaze once she lifted her head and she smiled to match him. She couldn't resist feeling touched by him.

This guy got into character really fast.

"Young Master, young mistress! You have returned." George, who had been waiting at the doorway, came to greet them excitedly before saying in a low tone. "Senior Master is waiting for you in the dining room."

"He hasn't eaten?"

Apart from Evelyn, Theodore was surprised too. Usually, mealtimes in the household were very punctual and were never pushed back because of anyone coming late.

"Not yet. He has been waiting for you all to come home. I will go get food for you both," George said as he walked toward the dining room.

After Theodore exchanged glances with Evelyn, they walked into the dining room with their fingers still intertwined.

Ethan was listening to a drama with his eyes closed. When he heard George say that the couple had returned, he immediately ordered for someone to turn off the speakers and for food to be served. Once the food was served, he glanced at them before eating, then started eating without giving them a second look, seemingly ignoring them like before.

At first she was still a bit nervous, but after seeing him behave this way, she calmed down slightly. She held the dish that Theodore passed over and started to eat.

After the fiasco with the edited pictures, she clearly felt that Ethan's attitude toward her softened a little. Even though he had not apologized, at least he had stopped targeting her and trying to provoke her like before. With him not causing any trouble, Evelyn was also much more at ease.

To her, this was better than an apology.

After dinner, Theodore said that the night scenery was nice, and suggested that they take a walk in the garden.

Wanting to continue their act of being lovey-dovey in front of Ethan, Evelyn had to smile and agree.

The couple held hands as they walked into the garden. The scent of osmanthus flowers wafted by in the light breeze, and they strolled casually along the moonlit path.

It was a very beautiful situation, but what a pity that the person next to her was not him.

Evelyn suddenly felt a little helpless but did not dare to show it. She just silently followed the rhythm of his footsteps.

"Do you like osmanthus cake?"

In the silence, Theodore's voice stood out loud and clear.

"Huh?" After she came to her senses, Evelyn shook her head. "I prefer osmanthus rice cake."

"Ah. I will get some for you tomorrow then."

Evelyn thought of Fred's special homemade osmanthus rice cake, and as she raised her head to look at the osmanthus flowers nearby, she said absentmindedly, "Actually, it is quite easy to make them at home too."

"You know how to make them?"

"Yes. There were a lot of osmanthus trees in our neighbourhood. Around this time every year, I would go with my mother to collect flowers to soak with sugar and then leave in the freezer. That way, they can last for a long time, and we could just take some out to fry some rice cakes whenever we craved them."

As if she could smell the osmanthus rice cakes, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva hungrily at the thought of it. Temporarily, she decided to put away the dissatisfaction she felt toward Theodore.

She was not really a foodie and was not as picky as Fred. To her, being able to have osmanthus cakes to eat was already good enough.

Theodore suddenly stopped in front of her and holding onto her shoulders. He looked at her firmly and said in a soft tone, "You look so cute like this."

Unused to the close contact, Evelyn instinctively took a step back.

He did not give her a chance to step away and his hands gripped her a bit tighter as he lowered his head.

Seeing his lips coming downward toward her, Evelyn thought he was about to kiss her and quickly reached out her hand to try and cover his mouth. However she immediately took back her hand and changed her position in his embrace, her hands holding onto his waist. She knew that he was being intimate to show it to his grandpa, and she should follow his lead. But she also did not want to give him a second chance to take advantage of her.

To be fair, his chest was rather sturdy, and it really made her feel safe.

Also, that faint smell of tobacco on his collar also smelled quite nice.

Since he had taken advantage of her so many times, should she use this opportunity to exact her revenge on him too?

"Evelyn?"

Evelyn was still contemplating on whether to feel him up, and when she heard that soft call for her she did not raise her head, only humming shortly in response.

She did not realize the lure behind that little sound she made.

Theodore's ears felt strangely comfortable at that. He did not speak any further; he just held her more tightly and gave her hands more room to move. It was rare that she answered him so naturally, so how could he not use the chance to match her pace? To be honest, they had not even passed his grandpa's test.

It was just that this silly woman seemed to be a bit unsatisfied. Was she doing this to challenge him?

She had the enthusiasm to tease him, but he might not have enough willpower to control himself.

He forced himself to push her away and then held her by her shoulders, leading her back into the house.

Evelyn—who had been lost in his embrace—suddenly realized her loss of composure. When she thought of the 'spy' in the corner, she became so embarrassed that she hurriedly buried her small face into his arm. Her eyes fell as she followed his footsteps.

"Evelyn."

Once they entered the room, Theodore suddenly hugged her.

Evelyn lifted her head and wanted to warn him seriously, "We are already in our room, there's no need to keep pretending,". But the word 'we' had barely left her mouth before her lips were captured in a kiss.

Lord! What was he about to do?!

Was he punishing her again?!

She got startled and instantly lost her composure.