Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1668

Chapter 1668: A long day
The day was long. It felt especially long for some people, and yet, none of them could say if there was even any progress.

All they could hold on to was that the end would be worth it.

—

Accepting a case as huge as Cassandra, Grace thought she was mentally prepared for it. However, she was wrong.

By the time night approached, Grace found herself slumped on the couch, stomach first. Her head was turned to the side, eyeing the papers scattered on the table.

“Man… I’m tired,” she muttered, scrunching up her nose.

The entire day, Grace made it look so easy, as if she had everything under control. However, that didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t using her brain at top speed. After all, she needed to pay attention to everything.

Silence weighed on her like a boulder, her lips curving downward.

“I think… I’m getting used to having him here,” she whispered. “It’s only been days since he started staying here, but…”

Grace pressed her lips into a thin line, feeling a little emotional with the silence in her place. It wasn’t like Haines was a loud person. If anything, he was quiet — very quiet. That’s why it was strange for her, since this silence felt different; she could feel it deep in her bones.

“I guess he won’t be coming over tonight,” she murmured, sighing heavily. “This place feels so empty and bigger than it should be.”

She closed her eyes to rest them for a bit, mentally convincing herself that she had lived alone for a long time. Since Grace moved out, she had always been alone… and she had always been fine with that. She never saw it as a problem, even when she was diagnosed with cancer and survived it.

But now…

Another heavy sigh escaped her for the umpteenth time as she opened her eyes.

“I guess I miss him already.” Grace mustered the energy to sit up and perhaps arrange the papers. “I should’ve told them to arrange them, instead of telling them to leave the papers as they are.”

A minute later, she finally sat up and reached for the paper. Since she expected Haines to not spend the night together, she thought of doing some extra reading. It wasn’t like she wasn’t doing that whenever he was around. It was just that she would be studying without snuggling with him.

As silence slowly took over while she picked up the section where she left off, Grace paused.

Toot… toot… click…

She perked up, hearing someone unlocking her door before she finally heard it click open. Without thinking twice, she jumped from her seat and rushed to the front door.

The moment she reached the entryway, her breath hitched.

There, walking in, was Haines. He barely had his foot in the door with one hand holding it, and the other holding a bouquet of sunflowers.

When he sniffed her faint scent, he raised his head and saw her already there. The corner of his mouth hooked up as his eyes softened.

“I—” the rest of his words rolled back into his throat because Grace had already taken large, quick steps and threw herself at him.

Her weight pulled him down, almost causing him to lose his grip on the flowers. His eyes dilated slightly, and instinctively, he held her back.

“Welcome home,” she whispered, already squeezing herself into him. “God, I missed you. I thought you weren’t coming tonight.”

The surprise on his face gradually shifted to a subtle smile as he hugged her back gently.

“I’m home,” he whispered, lowering his head and immediately catching a whiff of her floral shampoo. He smiled, planting a soft kiss on top of her head. “It’s only been just a couple of hours.”

“I know.” Grace frowned, looking up at him. “But I still missed you. I was already planning to sleep myself to sleep, you know?”

He chuckled. “Then, it’s a good thing I hurried back. Otherwise, I’d have to expect to see your swollen eyes in the morning.”

“I’ll ask the security guard to ban Hugo,” she huffed. “How dare he snatch you just like that?”

“Haha. Don’t worry about him anymore,” he laughed, pinching her cheek mildly. “There are plenty of ways to bribe him.”

“That’s…”

“Illegal?”

Grace slid her eyes to the corner before meeting his eyes.

“Necessary,” she corrected playfully, leaning closer to him. “Just keep this between us, but I can win that case if he ever presses charges. He’ll be broke for life.”

Haines laughed more, shaking his head. Grace, on the other hand, giggled while biting her lips.

“I bought us dinner,” he said after a while. “Have you eaten?”

“No.” Her answer was quick, locking her hands around his back. She leaned her head on his chest, smiling in satisfaction while closing her eyes. “Haines, let’s stay like this forever.”

Haines stroked her back gently, letting her just rest on his chest until she gave up. “Was today tiring?”

“Mhm. My brain’s drained,” she murmured, eyes still closed. “How about you? Is everything fine?”

“Somehow,” he muttered, making her look up at him. He smiled. “Everything worked out in the end.”

Thanks to you.

Grace tilted her head a little to the side, only for him to pull her closer. She pouted a little as he held her tight, but eventually, she just happily hugged him back.

Now, they felt a lot better.

How nice it was to have someone waiting for him, and for her to have company in the silence.

—

Meanwhile…

DING!

Zoren glanced at the elevator door that was parting open. Carrying a stoic and dark look on his face, he stepped out of it and walked toward the parking space. However, instead of a car waiting for him, there was a motorbike.

Deep lines appeared between his brows as he caught sight of Penny.

Penny was leaning against the motorbike, her hand on the helmet on the seat. She kept the other between her arm and torso.

Slipping her arm into the open visor, she spread her arms open. Her lips stretched from ear to ear, her eyes gleaming.

The dark look on Zoren’s face gradually disappeared, replaced by a smile. A shallow breath escaped him, resuming his steps straight to her. But instead of stopping, he quickly wrapped his arms around her.

“Hehe.” Penny giggled as his body blanketed over her, and she hugged him back. She looked up, her chin resting on his chest.

“Today’s been a long day,” she said. “So, I thought you might need me to recharge, but now that I think about it… it’s me who needs to recharge.”

Zoren gazed down at her, smiling. “No, it’s me.”

She giggled as they squeezed each other, giving themselves a brief moment of reward after a long day.