Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1276

Chapter 1276: Happy Birthday, Grace
[PRESENT TIME]

Grace chuckled as she hugged herself in the tub, thinking about how she had just stolen an hour of Haines’ time. Who would have thought her regular romantic advances would distract him so much that he wouldn’t even notice they had just driven around the city?

“No wonder Penny is always energetic,” she whispered, tilting her head back. “That was fun.”

The corner of her mouth lifted into a soft smile. “And I… survived cancer,” she murmured, laughing again before reaching for the glass of wine she had been enjoying as a final indulgence for the night.

“Happy Birthday to me,” she whispered, her eyes softening. “Cheers to that.”

Hopefully, this year wouldn’t be as hard as the last.

******

Meanwhile…

Max parked outside a convenience store, his fingers tapping impatiently against his phone as he dialed number after number.

“Why isn’t she answering? That crazy woman!” he gritted out, glaring at his phone when Lily didn’t pick up. When he tried again, it went straight to voicemail. She had turned it off. “That damn—”

He tensed when Ginnie stirred beside him, letting out a faint hum in her sleep.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. Taking a deep breath to clear his thoughts, he refocused on his phone and tried calling Hugo instead. But Hugo’s phone didn’t even ring. It was dead.

“The hell?” he whispered. “How did I forget that guy’s phone is basically just an accessory?”

After years of bantering with Hugo, Max should have known better. Hugo wasn’t a tech-savvy guy—he only used his phone when absolutely necessary. In fact, he’d go days without charging it simply because he didn’t use it enough. Sometimes, he even went out without it.

So, really, why was Max even surprised?

“Ugh…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply. “No, this is my fault. I shouldn’t have trusted that woman. And I should’ve known Hugo doesn’t use his damn phone.”

And, as expected, Lily had intentionally turned off her phone, while Hugo was currently snoring in the passenger seat of Atlas’s car. Even though Hugo had managed to send Penny a message from Atlas’s phone and asked Atlas to wake him up when she replied, Atlas didn’t care enough to follow through.

Atlas had tried—very halfheartedly—to wake Hugo up, but after a weak attempt, he had immediately given up.

“Tch.” Max clicked his tongue in frustration before finally giving up. He leaned back against his seat, closing his eyes for a moment.

Then, after a beat, he turned his head slightly to glance at Ginnie.

His gaze softened as he quietly observed her sleeping form. Another slow breath left his lips, his heart unexpectedly steady. Maybe it was because she was asleep—because for once, he could look at her without fear of being caught.

“She shouldn’t have drunk so much,” he muttered to himself, looking away. “I’ve known her for years. I didn’t think she was a lightweight.”

Back on the island, she hadn’t seemed like one.

Tapping his fingers absently on the steering wheel, Max debated what to do next. He weighed his options—should he take her to his place or book her a hotel room? Taking her home with him might seem suspicious, and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. A hotel seemed like the safer choice.

Still…

He glanced at her again, exhaling quietly. “It’s the first time I’ve seen her sleep,” he murmured. “And I never realized how long I could watch her like this.”

He ended up staring at her longer than he should have. Maybe it was because when she was awake, he never got to look at her for more than a few seconds before she noticed. She always had a sharp sense for when someone was watching her.

“I hope she doesn’t drink like this when she’s alone,” he muttered, finally deciding to take her to a nearby hotel.

If it were solely up to him, he would have taken her to his place. He had plenty of rooms. But he didn’t want her to wake up thinking he had taken advantage of her vulnerability. Their friendship—whatever complicated thing it had become—was something he respected.

As he started reversing out of the parking spot, Ginnie let out another faint hum.

Glancing at her, Max stiffened when he realized she was looking at him. Her eyes were only half-open, but she was staring right at him.

“Ahem!” He cleared his throat. “You’re awake? Good! Why don’t you tell me your home address so I can drop you off?”

Ginnie didn’t answer, only blinking sluggishly.

“Hey, Ginnie,” he tried again, driving even slower to steal another glance at her. “Did you hear me?”

“…”

Ginnie let out another quiet breath and closed her eyes again.

“Hey, don’t sleep yet! Tell me your home address first!”

This time, she opened her eyes, gazing at him sleepily. “Am I drunk?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Haha.” She chuckled, lightly slapping her leg.

Max huffed, shaking his head. “Just tell me where you live. I’ll take you there.”

“Where’s Lily?”

“She’s drunk—” he answered automatically before biting his tongue. Damn it. Why had he answered that so instinctively? Had Lily put him under some kind of spell? Why was he covering for her?

“Haha…” Ginnie chuckled again, though weakly this time, her eyes drifting shut once more. “She’s not drunk, is she?”

“…”

Max cursed internally. Just when he was wondering why he had covered for Lily, Ginnie had already figured it out! And now, he was stuck in a tricky situation.

“It’s okay,” Ginnie murmured, giving him a faint but reassuring smile. “I might be drunk, but I’m still her friend.”

She stretched slightly, shifting into a more comfortable position in her seat. Her gaze then flickered to the window, a soft smile playing on her lips.

“I’m sure she’s doing this on purpose,” she whispered, her eyelids growing heavier. She wasn’t exactly sober—otherwise, she probably would have reacted differently upon realizing Max was the one driving her home. She had only just woken up, and now she was fighting to stay awake.

“I told her not to worry about it…” she continued quietly, her voice barely above a breath. But in the silence of the car, it still reached Max’s ears. “Yet she always worries about my love life.”

At that, Max’s jaw tensed. His grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly as his gaze flickered toward her.

“Love… life?” he echoed.

“Mhm.” Ginnie hummed in response, her drowsy gaze fixed on the passing city lights. “She knows I like someone, after all.”