CHAPTER 200: CHAPTER 200: YOU’RE THE OWNER OF THE GRANDFLORA GARDENS, AREN’T YOU?

Holly didn’t expect that her impulsive words in a moment of desperation would give him another opportunity to find a flaw.

Her eyes began to wander, "It’s about that thing last time! If it weren’t for today, I’d almost forgotten about that person, hahaha."

She tried to bluff her way through.

"Is that so?" Blake Sinclair raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her.

"Of course!" Holly forced herself to stay calm.

"So, that Leon Grant last time? Did you stay in touch afterward?"

"His name is clearly Leon Chapman!" Holly corrected instinctively.

"Oh? Didn’t you say you didn’t remember? How come you remember the name so clearly?" Blake looked at her with a vague smile.

Holly: "..."

The Rolls Royce stopped at a corner in the parking lot, with a pillar conveniently blocking most of the view.

Blake Sinclair unbuckled his seatbelt, turned his whole body around, and propped one hand on the back of the seat.

"Holly,"

He leaned in closer to her, "Why do you so naturally assume that this Lawyer Fuller is the blind date arranged by your mom? Hmm? Do you have something you’re hiding from me?"

Being so close, Holly could see her own reflection clearly in his eyes.

She pursed her lips guiltily, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, "No, I don’t."

"You’re being guilty."

Blake punctured her lie directly, grabbing the hand twisting her clothes, "Your little tricks can’t deceive me."

The distance between them grew closer, their posture becoming more and more suggestive.

Just then, the headlights of the car opposite flickered twice, indicating the owner was approaching.

If someone saw them in this position, they would be unable to explain themselves!

Holly pushed against his chest, "Someone’s coming! Get up first!"

Instead of backing away, Blake Sinclair leaned even closer, his lips almost touching hers.

His gaze was persistent, clearly not willing to give up without an answer.

Hearing the increasingly clear sounds of conversation and footsteps from beside them, Holly’s heart raced, "Yesterday, Aiden Jenson came to my house for dinner!"

The man froze instantly, and the atmosphere around them turned even more intense.

He remained silent, but Holly could feel his body tense up.

Blake sat up straight, releasing his hold on her.

The car across slowly drove away, not noticing them.

The parking lot returned to silence.

Holly looked at the man next to her, knowing the jar of jealousy had been tipped over completely.

She had no choice but to honestly recount the events of the previous night to him.

Blake Sinclair was still caught up in the jealousy over Aiden Jenson’s entrance into their lives, but as he listened, his expression gradually became serious.

He recalled that morning at Lunar Lotus Studio, when Aiden Jenson had hinted, "By seniority, shouldn’t you call me brother."

At that moment, he finally understood and felt relieved.

The unpleasantness in his heart gradually dissipated.

Seeing his face ease, Holly clung to his arm, "Blake, let’s go try on wedding dresses next week, shall we?"

She tilted her face up, her eyes sparkling.

In the dim light of the underground parking lot, Holly’s eyes seemed to capture the stars, bright and determined.

Blake Sinclair looked down at her, the last trace of gloom in his heart dissipating.

He leaned down, lightly resting his chin on the top of her head.

He tightened his arms, pulling her closer into an embrace, "Okay."

In the afternoon, Aiden Jenson indeed did not come to Lunar Lotus Studio. Holly finished the final touches on her work and closed the store early.

Blake Sinclair came to pick her up on time.

Watching her lock the store’s door, he asked casually, "Haven’t seen Celia much lately?"

"She had some family stuff and went back home for a few days." Holly fastened her seatbelt and replied.

Blake didn’t ask further and started the car.

However, when passing through an intersection, instead of turning left towards Glynmere, he drove straight ahead.

At a red light, Holly looked at him in confusion.

Blake Sinclair held the steering wheel, "Holly, didn’t you say last time you wanted to stargaze? I bought a new telescope and set it up on the terrace at The Grandflora Gardens. Do you want to check it out?"

Holly looked at his attempt at being composed but couldn’t hide his anticipation, feeling both amused and a little sweet inside.

She did not answer immediately.

Blake Sinclair mistook her silence for reluctance and quickly added, "It’s okay, if you’re tired we can go home first, and stargaze another time. I’ll take you back to Glynmere."

Seeing the dimming light in his eyes, Holly softly smiled, not teasing him anymore, "How did you know that tonight, I really do want to stargaze?"

Blake Sinclair turned to her, eyes alight with surprise.

The night was deep, with stars scattered across the sky.

Holly’s interest in the telescope lasted less than ten minutes.

In contrast, Blake Sinclair’s newly bought rocking chair was far more inviting.

She kicked off her shoes and curled up in the rocking chair draped with a wool blanket, swinging her legs, gazing at the stars above, feeling at ease.

Blake Sinclair, worried she might get cold, turned up the heat on the terrace by two degrees and then lay down beside her, stretching out an arm to naturally wrap her in his embrace.

The rocking chair was big enough to comfortably accommodate them both.

Holly found a comfortable position in his arms and started scrolling on her phone.

Blake Sinclair began shelling pine nuts for her.

One by one, the small, white pine nuts were meticulously shelled and placed on a small porcelain plate.

From time to time, Holly would glance away from her phone screen, pick up a few shelled pine nuts, and munch on them.

Suddenly, she set down her phone.

Looking at the man beside her patiently shelling pine nuts, she asked, "Blake Sinclair, you’re actually the owner behind The Grandflora Gardens, aren’t you?"

Blake Sinclair paused his shelling.

"You found out?"

"It was just a suspicion at first,"

Holly set her phone aside, looking at him with clear eyes, "It’s confirmed now."

She remembered that afternoon at Lunar Lotus Studio, she accidentally caught sight of a document on his laptop screen, the title seeming related to the ’The Grandflora Gardens’ project.

Moreover, when they first decided to move here, he had been so certain, and she recalled her childhood, that naive and unrealistic dream written in her diary.

"She wants to live in a house where she can see both mountains and the sea."

That dream was shared with only one person.

The boy in a wheelchair, Yarrow.

"Did you really build The Grandflora Gardens because of that childhood dream I casually mentioned? Didn’t you think, what if the person who ended up living here wasn’t me?"

Blake Sinclair put down the pine nuts and turned to face her.

The soft terrace lights cast shifting shadows on his face, making him even more mysterious.

He gently cupped her face, "Holly, The Grandflora Gardens was built to fulfill your first dream."

"From the first line of its design to each piece of furniture, it was all meant for you. Its mistress, from start to finish, has always only been you, Holly Crowe."

Their eyes met, his deep gaze filled with emotion, like a net enveloping Holly tightly.

It was as if an invisible thread was winding tighter and tighter around them.

The amber in his eyes seemed to melt like honey.

The temperature silently rose, hot and sticky, enveloping the two people closely together.

Holly’s mind went blank for a moment, only aware of his increasingly close breath.

She didn’t know who moved first, perhaps enchanted by the deep affection in his eyes, she unconsciously tilted her face up.

Or perhaps he could no longer restrain the emotions surging within and instinctively lowered his head.

By the time Holly realized, his lips were already on hers.

Holly felt as if all her strength was drained by that kiss, her body going completely limp, leaving her unable to do anything but lean helplessly in his arms.

The rocking chair swayed gently, and someone’s arm accidentally brushed the small porcelain plate full of pine nuts beside them.

Pine nuts rolled off, scattering on the wooden floor.

One of them happened to be crushed under the swaying chair, its shell cracking crisply open, rolling a couple of times to reveal the tender white seed inside, faintly visible in the moonlight.

The stars curiously peeked at the earthly tenderness, shining brighter than ever.

But as the urgency of that sound increased, the starlight began to grow discreet, with clouds thickening and only soft halos at their edges.

The rocking chair swayed slowly, as if to keep rocking until the end of time.