Her tear-filled eyes were caught by Shane.
She quickly wiped away her tears and forced a smile.
If Shane hadn't seen it himself, he would have thought he was imagining things.
She had cried. But why?
Was it because Belinda Ayers had pulled her hair today and she felt wronged?
Shane walked in. "Do you want me to find a martial arts school for you?"
Callie was speechless. What was he talking about?
"Weren't you upset because Belinda hit you today?" Shane sat down on the sofa, draping one arm over the backrest while unbuttoning his suit with the other.
Callie replied, "She's not worth it."
Shane asked, "Then why were you crying?"
Callie stubbornly denied, "When did I cry?"
Shane frowned so deeply that his brows nearly knitted together.
This woman—seriously!
He had clearly seen it.
Would it kill her to show a bit of vulnerability in front of him?
Constantly putting up a facade was truly annoying! He got up and walked upstairs.
He didn't bother looking at her. She was just too annoying to look at!
Mrs. Ford nudged Callie Norris with her elbow. "Young Mistress, can you do me a favor?"
Callie didn't even ask what it was before agreeing. "What is it? Just tell me."
Mrs. Ford had always been kind to her.
So, whatever Mrs. Ford asked for, Callie wouldn't refuse.
However, she didn't know that Mrs. Ford had her own little schemes.
"I forgot to put the bathrobe and towels in the Master's bathroom. He has a bad temper, and if I go up now, he'll definitely scold me. Can you take them up for me?"
Shane usually took a shower first thing when he got home, changing out of his suit into something more comfortable.
Callie looked at Mrs. Ford. "You forgot?" Why did it feel like Mrs. Ford did it on purpose?
"Yes, I forgot. You don't want to help me, do you? Fine, I'll do it myself. If I get scolded, so be it!" Mrs. Ford made herself look pitiful.
Callie sighed. "Alright, I'll go!"
Mrs. Ford immediately smiled, happily handing over the neatly folded towels and bathrobe. "Thank you so much for taking them up."
Callie Norris could easily see through Mrs. Ford's intentions.
Wasn't she just trying to set her up with Shane?
She smiled, finding Mrs. Ford's efforts quite endearing.
Doing a favor for someone who asked for it was always a good thing.
Holding the items in her hands, she walked upstairs and knocked on Shane's door, but no one answered.
She tried turning the doorknob. The door wasn't locked from the inside. It opened with a gentle push.
The room was empty.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Was Shane already in the shower?
Looking at the items in her hands, she decided to walk over and knock on the bathroom door.
It seemed like the person inside noticed the noise outside.
The sound of running water stopped.
Callie took a deep breath. "Mrs. Ford forgot to leave the towels and a robe in the bathroom. I brought them for you. Should I hang them on the door?"
There was no response from inside. Maybe he didn't hear?
Callie asked again, "Should I hang them on the doorknob?"
Still, no answer.
She made a decision on her own and was about to hang the towel and robe on the door when the bathroom door suddenly opened from the inside.
A fresh scent of body wash filled the air as the door swung open. Shane stood there, his black hair wet and messy, his deep eyes carrying a hint of amusement. "Bringing me a robe?"
Callie's eyes fell on him. The white bathrobe wrapped around his tall, lean frame, the collar slightly open, revealing glimpses of his honey-colored skin and firm chest muscles, exuding an undeniable masculine charm.
Realizing she been staring for too long, she quickly averted her gaze.
A bathrobe in the bathroom? And Mrs. Ford sent her to deliver it? Even if she wanted to play matchmaker, she could have come up with a better excuse! This was really embarrassing!
Shane would definitely think she came here on purpose to flirt with him. But she really didn't.
"You already have one, so I'll just take these back." She turned to leave immediately, but Shane grabbed her arm.
Without turning around, Callie explained, "Mrs. Ford said she forgot to put these in your bathroom, so I came to deliver them. She must have forgotten that she already put them here."
She gave an awkward smile, "Am I bothering you?"
Shane's deep gaze fixed on her.
Her explanation only made things worse.
What he wanted was her initiative not just a words.
But this woman kept on explaining. He understood.
If it weren't for Mrs. Ford, she wouldn't have entered his room.
"Why are you still here?" Shane released his grip and stepped out of the bathroom with a cold demeanor. As he passed by her, whether intentionally or not, his body brushed against hers.
Callie stumbled slightly, almost losing her balance.
Right in front of her, Shane dropped his robe, revealing his well-built physique. With his back to Callie, he said, "Aren't you going to leave? or are you planning to watch me change?"
Callie quickly lowered her head and hurried out of the room.
Once the door was closed, she stood there, looking at the robe and towels in her hands, and sighed helplessly.
But since it was Mrs. Ford's request, she couldn't say anything. She just placed the items in the cabinet.
During dinner, Mrs. Ford said, "Call Mr. Robinson to join us."
Callie glanced at Mrs. Ford, she really never missed an opportunity to match-make them.
Callie wanted to tell Mrs. Ford, "Please stop trying to set us up."
But she couldn't bring herself to say it. So, she just nodded, "I'll go get him."
Callie went upstairs and knocked on Shane's door. "Dinner's ready," she said, then turned and left.
This time, she was smart. Before Shane could even open the door, she had already gone downstairs.
During dinner, she kept her head down, quickly shoveling food into her mouth.
Mrs. Ford couldn't stand it anymore and said while serving the dishes, "Young Mistress, didn't you say you wanted to see the lanterns? Why don't you go with Mr. Robinson later? I still need to water the flowers outside."
Callie couldn't hold back and looked up from her bowl. "Mrs. Ford, didn't you just water them?"
"They dried up again," Mrs. Ford replied.
Callie was speechless, "..."
She looked up at Shane. "You're very busy, right? You probably don't have time."
"I'm not busy today," Shane said as he stood up.
She didn't understand what Shane meant. He was so smart; he should have realized that Mrs. Ford was deliberately trying to set them up.
Callie asked, "You don't really like looking at lanterns, do you?"
Shane replied, "I think it's nice to relax once in a while."
"..."
"You know Mrs. Ford is doing this on purpose. Why didn't you refuse?" Callie asked.
"I can see you're not thrilled to be with me. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not exactly jumping for joy either," Shane said with a smirk.
Callie just sighed, "..."
And so, they headed out together, to see the lanterns.
The breeze by the river was a bit chilly, messing up her hair. She tucked it behind her ears, which were filled with the innocent voices of children. "Mommy, this lantern is shaped like a panda, it's so cute!"
"Mommy, this one is a giraffe." "And this one is a lion."
Callie couldn't help but admire the lanterns. Suddenly, a child running too fast didn't see where he was going and bumped into Callie's leg. The child, holding a candied hawthorn stick, looked up and called out, "Mommy..."
Callie froze.
Shane's expression changed in an instant.
"Mark, you got the wrong person, your mom is over there."
An elderly lady quickly picked up the child and apologized to Callie, "I'm sorry, the child didn't see clearly and mistook you for someone else. Your clothes..."
Callie looked down and saw sticky sugar from a candy apple smeared on her pants. She smiled and said, "It's okay."
Tonight, there were many people, all bringing their children to see the lanterns.
It was understandable that the child made a mistake.
Just now, Callie had clearly noticed Shane's reaction and asked, "Do you really dislike children?" It wasn't that he disliked children.
Shane replied casually, "I don't like the idea of you having children."
Callie thought of the child in her womb, lowered her eyes, and let her hair fall to cover her face. "What if I do have a child?"
"How could I ever let you give birth to a bastard to disgust me?"
After saying that, Shane turned around. "Let's go back."
There was nothing worth seeing here.
The place was crowded and noisy, filled with people.
He didn't like such crowded and noisy environments.
Callie wasn't surprised.
He wouldn't allow her to give birth to another man's child.
He wouldn't allow her to give birth to another man's child.
Indeed, leaving was the best decision she could have made.
She touched her belly, thinking to herself, Baby, Mommy will protect you no matter what.
"Let's go."
Shane turned around, seeing her still standing there, and urged her to move.
Callie quickly caught up.
Thinking of Rafael, she couldn't help but ask Shane, "Hasn't the car accident matter been settled? Why won't you let Myron go?"
Shane found her question absurd.
Without responding, he continued striding forward.
He walked so fast that Callie had to jog to keep up, grumbling internally, Just because you have longer legs, do you have to walk so fast?
"Belinda was faking her pregnancy, right? Since she didn't actually miscarry, why don't you just let Myron go?"
Callie couldn't help but feel soft-hearted.
She pleaded for Myron.
She wasn't sure if it was because of Rafael or simply because of Myron himself.
In any case, she had spoken up.
Shane suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at Callie, saying nothing. His gaze was cold and distant, staring right at her. Callie felt a shiver run down her spine under his intense stare.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked. Shane Robinson replied, "I didn't touch him."
At first, he did have someone teach Myron a lesson. After that, Myron was jailed and fined for hit-and-run, which he deserved.
He had to face the consequences because Henry was still in the hospital.
"My dad came to see me today," Callie said. "He said someone beat Myron up in there. If it wasn't your people, then who else could it be?" Callie could only think of Shane.
Shane frowned. Without any evidence, she just assumed it was him? What did this woman really think of him? "Don't accuse me without proof," Shane said sternly.
Callie retorted, "If it wasn't you, then who was it?" Shane didn't know either.
He pulled out his phone and called his secretary. "Find out who laid a hand on Myron in there."
The person on the other end responded, and he hung up the phone.
"Was it really not you?" Callie felt ashamed of her rashness.
She had wronged him again.
Shane Robinson couldn't be bothered to explain anymore.
When they got home, Callie still followed him to apologize.
"I shouldn't have doubted you without any evidence. Um, I'm sorry."
"If you're truly sorry, get me a glass of water," Shane said, lounging on the couch.
Callie agreed.
She poured a glass of water and handed it to Shane.
He took it, drank half, and then set it down.
...
The atmosphere was strangely quiet.
Callie picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
She had to admit, rich people really knew how to enjoy life. Even at home, they could experience a cinema-like visual treat.
She flipped through the channels but couldn't find anything interesting, so she randomly stopped on a Korean drama.
Regardless of the plot, at least the show featured handsome men and beautiful women, which was quite pleasing to the eyes.
As the show played on, it reached a scene where the main characters were getting intimate.
Kissing, undressing...
Callie instinctively looked away. This didn't seem appropriate to watch with Shane. This is so freaking awkward.
Callie bent down to grab the remote, hoping to change the channel. But just as she reached out, Shane got to it first.
She looked up. Shane stared at her, "Don't you like watching this?"
Callie was speechless.
Who likes watching this? She had just randomly picked a channel. She had no idea it would show something like this.
"You watch it. I'm going to bed."
Callie stood up, not wanting to stay in this awkward atmosphere and continue watching the embarrassing show.
Shane grabbed her arm, his deep voice carrying a hint of allure, "Stay and watch with me."
Callie was stunned. Shane likes watching cheesy Korean dramas? She turned back, "You..."
But before she could finish her sentence, Shane pulled her with force, causing her to fall into his arms.
In an extremely suggestive position, she ended up sitting on his lap.
Callie quickly tried to get up.
But Shane wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her tightly in his embrace.
Callie frowned. Why did he want to watch TV while holding her like this? Besides, she didn't like watching it anyway.
She struggled a bit, but Shane only tightened his hold on her. "Be good, don't move."
Being so close to him, Callie could clearly feel his intense aura and the heat radiating from his body.
Her heart started to beat uncontrollably. For a moment, it skipped a beat. She tried hard to calm herself down.
"Callie Norris." Shane's hand slid to her waist, rubbing her through the fabric. "Forget about that man."
Callie felt a slight shock in her heart. That man?
The man she had a relationship with, the one who gave her a child?
Wasn't it because of the child?
How much did she even remember about that man? "You know, I'm not pure..."
also cheated during my marriage, so we're even. Let's just live together like this."
For a moment, Callie felt her heart waver. But she quickly regained her senses. She couldn't.
If there were no child, maybe she would accept Shane's proposal. But… This child was something Shane could never accept.
And she would never give up on the child. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Shane leaned closer to her ear. Callie clenched her hands. "I... um..."
Suddenly, Shane bit her earlobe, causing Callie to wince in pain.
His lips trailed from her ear down to the nape of her neck, lingering on her fair skin. "You will leave that man, won't you?"
Callie closed her eyes.
In that moment, she felt a flutter in her heart and almost said, "Yes, I will leave him."
But the truth was, that man didn't exist in her life.
The only one who existed was the child.
What she couldn't bear to leave behind was the child.
"If... if it weren't for that night, I would have gladly been your wife."
Shane seemed to catch a different meaning in her words!
Was Callie Norris regretting it? Regretting her past with that man? Otherwise, why would she have said what she just did?
"I..." Callie opened her mouth, about to speak, but Shane silenced her with a kiss.
Suddenly, the lights went out.
It was unclear whether it was a power outage or a short circuit.
In any case, the power was cut off. Everything plunged into darkness. It felt like they were back to that night.
No one could see anyone.
Yet, they were doing the most intimate thing in the world.
Callie, as if guided by some unseen force, closed her eyes and did not push Shane away. Instead, she actively responded to his kiss.
Shane, encouraged by her response, demanded even more.
They lost themselves in each other... kissing passionately.
In that moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.
It was a moment where thinking seemed impossible.
Their minds went blank, and everything was controlled by the other.
"We should break up. I don't love you..."
The power came back on suddenly, the lights flickered on, and the TV resumed playing the Korean drama, with the dialogue continuing.
The brightness and the sound of the TV pulled Callie back to reality. Her thoughts returned, and she opened her eyes.
At that moment, Shane was also looking at her.
Their eyes met, and both of them were clearly taken aback.
For a moment, things seemed oddly harmonious. Their clothes were disheveled, and it was obvious that both had been caught up in the moment.
Callie quickly averted her gaze and pushed Shane away, scrambling upstairs in a hurry.
Once she shut the door to her room, she clutched her wildly beating heart.
Just now, she had felt something familiar about Shane.
His scent... it was so similar to the man from that night.
Could it have been him?
The thought made Callie anxious. But deep down, there was a flicker of hope. She wanted to understand this inexplicable sense of familiarity.
...
Shane, after being pushed away by Callie, lay awkwardly on the couch. He seemed to be savoring what had just happened. This woman always had a way of stirring his desire without even trying.
Morning came.
Callie deliberately avoided running into Shane as she got ready for work.
She pretended to sleep in and skipped breakfast, only getting up when she saw through the window that Shane had left.
"Why are you avoiding Mr. Robinson?" Mrs. Ford saw right through her. Callie kept her head down, stuffing food into her mouth. She couldn't explain it.
If it hadn't been for the power outage last night, she might have ended up doing something with Shane.
She prided herself on not being a loose woman. She was usually very restrained in that aspect. But almost doing something with Shane Robinson… It made her feel embarrassed. That's why she had been avoiding him.
She went to work as usual. But after work, she saw Shane's car parked at the entrance of the dance studio.
Her steps hesitated. Why was he here?
The secretary walked over. "President Robinson wants to see you."
Callie glanced around. Seeing no one else, she quickly walked over and got into the car.
"I have a social event. I need you to accompany me," Shane Robinson said.
Callie nodded and said, "Okay."
The car drove for a while and then stopped in front of a high-end custom dress shop. The secretary got out and said to Callie, "This way, please."
Callie looked at Shane.
It was as if she was asking him with her eyes.
Shane said, "Go with her."
Callie finally got out of the car and followed the secretary into the store. The secretary said, "My last name is Ortiz. I made a reservation over the phone."
The clerk checked the reservation list and found her name. "You reserved this year's limited edition, the 'Starry Night' high-end gown. Please follow me." They were led upstairs by the clerk.
"Please wait here for a moment. Our staff will bring it out shortly."
Soon, three staff members came over, carefully carrying the gown together.
"Go try it on," the secretary said to Callie. She stood up and walked over.
There were professional staff members who helped Callie put on the gown and also provided matching makeup and accessories.
Callie said, "Please don't put too much on my face." She didn't like using makeup much to begin with, and now that she was pregnant, she avoided it even more.
She was worried that the chemicals in them might affect the baby's development.
The makeup artist smiled, "Don't worry, we won't give you heavy makeup. It's not suitable for you anyway."
"Thank you," Callie said.
An hour later, Callie came downstairs. The secretary opened the car door for her. She bent down and got in.
It was her first time attending such a grand and formal event, and she felt a bit uneasy, appearing somewhat restrained.
Shane watched her.
Her dress had a fitted bodice with spaghetti straps, designed to accentuate a well-proportioned figure. If someone didn't have the right body shape, the chest wouldn't fill out, and the waist would show bulges. But she was slender and curvy in all the right places, with the dress hugging her body perfectly.
The skirt was a gradient, transitioning from light to dark, adorned with layers of sheer fabric and tiny sparkling rhinestones. With each step she took, the dress shimmered like twinkling stars.
Shane seemed very familiar with her figure, and he was quite pleased with how the dress looked on her.
Callie bit her lip gently. "I'm just a doctor. I'm not very good at socializing. Is there anything I should be aware of?" No matter what, she didn't want to embarrass Shane.
Shane smiled. "Just stick with me. You don't need to worry about anything." Callie nodded. "Okay."
...
This was a high-end cocktail party, attended by prominent figures.
Of course, ordinary people wouldn't receive an invitation.
The venue was filled with intersecting lights. The men were all dressed in formal suits, looking meticulous and polished. They engaged in conversations, seemingly using this event to meet more people and expand their networks.
Women are often seen as a man's facade, meticulously dressed to impress.
Shane Robinson, though young, was a standout among his peers. Naturally, he became a figure many people admired and supported.
As soon as he entered, he drew everyone's attention.
"Shane, you've always attended events solo, never bringing a date. This time is quite an exception," remarked Jenson Ford, the chairman and president of Majestic Group, who was hosting today's event.
A hint of surprise flashed in Jenson's eyes. Because today, Shane had brought a woman with him. Shane smiled, "Everyone else brings a date, why should i be the exception."
A waiter passed by, and Jenson Ford took two glasses of wine, handing one to Shane. "I'm truly delighted you could make it today."
"An invitation from President Ford is one I couldn't refuse."
The business small talks continued, back and forth.
Callie Norris, who was by Shane Robinson's side, knew her role well. Today's women were just decorations, and she was no exception. She stuck to her role, not drawing attention, not speaking much, just being obedient.
However, being by Shane Robinson's side inevitably drew attention to her.
"Miss, I don't believe we've met before. Which family are you from?" Jenson Ford asked with a smile.
Callie's family didn't quite fit in with the elite circle in this event. Although her father, Rafael, ran a small company, their assets were modest.
However, she didn't back down. Instead, she responded gracefully, "My last name is Norris. I'm not from a wealthy family, but I'm honored to be here today."
Jenson Ford was momentarily taken aback, then burst into hearty laughter. "Such eloquence at a young age! Shane must have taught you well, right?"
Callie smiled gently and gracefully, choosing not to respond further. Instead, she elegantly moved closer to Shane, making it clear without words that she was with him.
Jenson Ford said, "Feel free to enjoy yourself. I need to greet President Khan."
Shane replied, "Go ahead."
"Who was that woman, Dad?" Jenson Ford's daughter asked immediately as he returned to the lounge.