CHAPTER 230: CHAPTER 230: WHEN IT COMES TO PATIENCE, SHE ALWAYS WINS

Inside the car, Declan Pierce’s face was shrouded in shadow, his brow pressing down on his eye sockets, and his dark eyes shooting a chilling cold glare toward Vincent Hawthorne holding Tanya Sinclair at the shop entrance.

So, the urgent thing she mentioned was to meet Vincent Hawthorne?

Tanya Sinclair forcefully tried to shake off Vincent Hawthorne’s hand but failed, her eyes cold: "Let go. My friend is here to pick me up!"

"Friend?" Vincent Hawthorne gripped her tighter, blurting out, "What kind of friend can afford a car like that?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Vincent Hawthorne realized he’d misspoken.

Tanya Sinclair sneered, "You really haven’t changed a bit."

Looking at Tanya Sinclair’s mocking eyes, Vincent Hawthorne showed a rare hint of panic, awkwardly explaining, "Tanya, that’s not what I meant. I..."

"If you don’t let go, I’ll call the police!"

"Tanya..."

"She asked you to let go, don’t you understand human language?" Declan Pierce’s voice, filled with menace, cut through like a guillotine.

The air seemed to freeze.

Vincent Hawthorne looked at Declan Pierce approaching against the light, his brow furrowed, "It’s you?"

Tanya Sinclair took the opportunity to free herself from Vincent Hawthorne’s hand and quickly walked toward Declan Pierce. Perhaps the car lights were too bright, but in her eyes, Declan Pierce faintly saw a trace of joy.

Not for Vincent Hawthorne, but for him...

Declan Pierce’s eyes deepened.

"Declan..." Tanya Sinclair wanted to say something else,

Declan Pierce asked her first, "Do you want to come with me, or stay?"

His tone was so indifferent that emotion couldn’t be discerned, yet unbeknownst to anyone, as he spoke those words, Declan Pierce felt his heart held over the edge of a cliff by an invisible hand.

He became a prisoner waiting for judgment.

She was his high judge, her one word dictating his life or death.

"I’ll come with you!" Tanya Sinclair didn’t hesitate at all.

The heart hanging over the cliff was caught firmly, and those clamoring desires for destruction subsided peacefully.

She didn’t know she’d saved him with one sentence.

"Get in the car and wait for me." Declan Pierce opened the car door with his backhand, his dark eyes coldly fixed on Vincent Hawthorne, who had stepped forward, full of warning.

Tanya Sinclair cooperatively sat in the car, and Declan Pierce closed the car door.

He walked toward Vincent Hawthorne, exuding an aura of ruthless authority, overpowering Vincent Hawthorne.

Vincent Hawthorne stared chillingly at Declan Pierce.

"I know who you are; in college, you were persistently infatuated with Tanya Sinclair, right?" He mocked with a cold smile, "Too bad, she never even looked at you!"

Declan Pierce scoffed lightly; Vincent Hawthorne’s words were zero attack to him.

"Anything else? Tell me something I don’t know."

Vincent Hawthorne frowned, surprised at Declan Pierce’s candidness. He really was infatuated with Tanya Sinclair.

"Do you know what Tanya said to me about you? She thinks you’re annoying..."

Declan Pierce grinned, raising an eyebrow, "So she even mentioned me to you."

"..." Vincent Hawthorne was speechless.

Can’t he tell he’s being mocked?

"Even though Tanya and I are already divorced, I’m still the only man she truly loves! Mr. Pierce, I advise you not to waste your time."

Declan Pierce corrected him, "That’s the man she once loved."

He deliberately emphasized the word ’once,’ staring at Vincent Hawthorne’s slightly pale face, Declan Pierce sneered, "Tanya Sinclair’s remaining life is none of your concern anymore, Mr. Hawthorne. We have things to do tonight, goodbye."

With that, Declan Pierce turned and walked away.

Vincent Hawthorne stared intensely at the man’s back, clenching his fist, anger surging.

He wanted to step forward, but at this moment, another phone call came in.

It was Joy calling.

Vincent Hawthorne stopped abruptly and watched as Declan Pierce got into the car. The car reversed right before his eyes, then made a stunning turn, slipping directly into the night traffic, quickly vanishing from his sight.

Vincent Hawthorne composed himself, adjusted his breathing, and answered the call, as gentle as ever.

"Joy, what’s up?"

However, the voice on the other end wasn’t his daughter Joy’s, but Cindy Lynn’s.

"Vincent, have you finished meeting Tanya Sinclair? When are you coming back?" Cindy Lynn’s voice was as gentle as ever, yet in Vincent Hawthorne’s ears, it carried a faint trace of chillingness.

She followed him home!

As for how she knew he went to see Tanya Sinclair, it must have been extracted from Joy’s mouth!

Vincent Hawthorne frowned; Cindy Lynn’s surveillance-like behavior made him uncomfortable, feeling as though he were being watched.

He was about to speak when he heard his daughter Joy’s voice.

"Mrs. Lennox, is the water ready? Put my ducky in too! Will you tell me a story while I’m bathing?"

Cindy Lynn gently agreed, "Of course, darling. Daddy will be home soon. Shall we ask daddy to bring some treats back? Tell daddy what you want to eat."

Vincent Hawthorne: "..."

The phone had changed hands, and Joy’s cute, innocent voice came through.

"Daddy, you’re back! Can I have BBQ chicken wings? I haven’t had any snacks lately... Plus, brother and Mrs. Lennox want BBQ too!"

"..." Vincent Hawthorne rubbed his brow, "Have you had dinner?"

"Yes..."

"Ask Aunt Tawny to make some supper, clean and healthy."

"Okayyy."

"I’m coming back now,"

"Okay~ I’m going to take a shower first. Love you, Dad."

"Yeah, love you too, Dad."

Vincent Hawthorne put down his phone and stood still for several seconds before heading towards his car.

Meanwhile, a black Maybach sped down the road, steady and fast.

Tanya Sinclair sat in the passenger seat, unable to resist glancing at Declan Pierce several times.

Since getting in the car, Declan hadn’t said a word.

Although she didn’t know what he was thinking, judging by his face, he probably wasn’t in a good mood.

Tanya Sinclair bit her lip, fearing that speaking might upset him further, so she chose to remain silent for the moment.

Inside the car, the only sound was their breathing, filling the quiet.

Declan Pierce silently tugged at the corner of his mouth, catching a glimpse of her habitually silent profile.

Indeed, Tanya Sinclair was always like this, slow and deliberate.

When it came to patience, she always won out over him.

’Screech——’

The car suddenly turned into a quiet, tree-lined road and parked on the side.

Moonlight shone through the window, casting beautiful shadows over Declan Pierce’s chiseled face.

"Tanya Sinclair." He glanced at her sideways, his eyes deep and unfathomable. He asked, "Didn’t you say you had something to tell me?"

"Did you have dinner?" Tanya Sinclair blurted out.

Declan Pierce: "?"

He answered anyway, "No."

"Then let’s eat and talk. Otherwise, the food I packed will get cold," Tanya Sinclair suggested earnestly.

Declan Pierce: "..."

This was indeed Tanya Sinclair’s train of thought.

"Okay." He couldn’t find it in himself to refuse her.

Seeing Tanya Sinclair struggling with the food containers, Declan leaned over, intending to help her unbuckle her seatbelt.

But the moment he got close, Tanya instinctively shrank back, pressing herself stiffly against the seat as if she wanted to merge with it.

Declan couldn’t help but laugh, "What are you doing? I’m just helping you with your seatbelt."

"Oh, I know..."

Despite her stiff body language, she tried to act nonchalant and stubbornly put on a calm facade.

Mischief glinting in his eyes, Declan deliberately teased her. Pretending to miss the seatbelt button, he directly pressed the button to recline the seat, causing Tanya to lay flat without warning.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness made her instinctively grab Declan, meeting his eyes filled with playful amusement. She realized he did it on purpose!

"Declan!"

Just like in college, so childish.

"Sorry." He feigned innocence, "I accidentally pressed the wrong button."

He helped Tanya unbuckle her seatbelt and pulled her up.

Her small, cool hand almost fit entirely within his grasp.

But as soon as Tanya sat up, she withdrew her hand and got out of the car, heading straight for a bench by the roadside, just big enough for two, leaving room for the food in the middle.

Declan watched her busy herself, a faint smile spreading in his eyes.

He got out of the car and leisurely walked over.

There was a large serving of seafood rice and some snacks in the meal box, which they shared.

"Does it suit your taste?" Tanya Sinclair asked.

"Yeah."

Eating with her, the food itself didn’t really matter.

After they finished eating, Tanya packed up the meal box and tossed it into a roadside trash can.

She returned to the bench where Declan was sitting, "Declan, let’s go somewhere."

"Where to?"

"The cemetery. I want to visit my mother with you."

"..." Declan was slightly taken aback.

He sat while Tanya stood, gazing steadily at him with a smile, speaking softly, "Thank you, Declan."

The night breeze gently swept by, dragging along the unsteady fallen leaves, which landed beside Declan’s hand.

He sat there, lifting his gaze to look at her.

After a moment, a beautiful, thin smile appeared on his lips, "You’re welcome, Your Highness."

Tanya paused, uncertain, "What did you call me?"

A princess?

Declan lifted his lips slightly, offering no explanation as he got up and walked towards the car.

"Let’s go."

Tanya hurried after him, "Did you just call me a princess?"

On the ground, her shadow overlapped with his.

Declan smiled silently.

It was a secret only he knew.

His Candy Princess.

The princess herself didn’t even need to know.