CHAPTER 187: CHAPTER 187: THIS ISN’T A BLIND DATE, IS IT?

Holly Crowe’s doubts and suspicions were dispelled by Blake Sinclair’s words,

and for the next few days, he continued to pick her up and drop her off from work as usual.

After autumn began, night fell particularly early, and by six o’clock, the sky was already dark.

The streetlights below the Glynmere apartments were already on, casting circles of orange-yellow glows.

Blake Sinclair’s Rolls-Royce stopped in front of the building entrance.

Holly unbuckled her seatbelt, ready to get out of the car, but saw the man next to her doing the same.

"Hmm?" She turned her head questioningly.

Blake Sinclair got out of the car, walked to the trunk, and opened it.

He pulled out two large bags, filled to the brim with various ingredients.

"What’s this?" Holly looked at his apparent intention to go up with her, feeling a bit dazed.

Blake Sinclair walked over to her side, the evening breeze tousling the hair on his forehead, obscuring the emotion in his eyes.

He weighed the bags in his hands, "At lunch, I heard you scrolling through short videos saying you wanted to eat braised abalone and pork. Shall I make it for you tonight?"

Holly was slightly taken aback and raised an eyebrow.

Was it just a casual remark that she hadn’t realized she’d even remembered?

A warm sensation surged in her heart, but it was quickly suppressed.

"It’s not necessary," Holly’s eyes dodged slightly.

But Blake Sinclair didn’t listen, carrying the bags towards the building entrance, "It’s no hassle."

Holly quickly stepped forward to stop him, "My parents are coming back today."

Blake Sinclair glanced at the bags in his hands and shook them, "No worries, these ingredients are enough for four people."

Holly’s brows furrowed even tighter.

Director Lennon had recently advised her to "think it through now while there are no kids."

If he came over to cook today, who knows what might be said.

Looking at the man in front of her, stubborn due to his amnesia, she felt a headache coming on.

"It’s not about the ingredients, they don’t like braised abalone and pork."

The air fell silent for a moment at those words.

Holly felt guilty as soon as she spoke, her gaze drifting towards the greenery, not daring to meet Blake Sinclair’s eyes.

Even if Blake Sinclair was oblivious, he could hear the underlying meaning in her words.

His grip on the bags tightened, the veins on the back of his hand prominent, but his facial expression didn’t change much.

Only his eyes, looking at Holly, dimmed a little.

"I said I would wait for you."

He paused, then offered the bags forward, "Shall I take these upstairs for you?"

"No need," Holly refused almost immediately, "Take them back and eat them yourself."

Blake Sinclair’s arm fell down, his voice carrying a hint of dejection, "I can’t eat so much alone."

The tone was plain, yet Holly inexplicably heard a sense of being wronged, as if abandoned.

But she ultimately hardened her heart and didn’t relent.

Blake Sinclair didn’t insist, escorting her to the elevator, then placing the two bags in the corner of the elevator.

"Goodbye."

He said softly, turning and walking towards the outside of the building.

His upright figure appeared somewhat lonely in the twilight, soon blending into the dim light.

The elevator doors slowly closed, shutting out the outside world and the man leaving with a sense of grievance.

Holly looked at the two large bags of ingredients in the corner, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

Just then, an urgent male voice rang out, "Hold on!"

Holly instinctively pressed the door open button.

A man in a black trench coat hurried inside, carrying a touch of chilly autumn air with him.

"Thank you."

He nodded slightly at Holly, his voice clear and gentle.

The man was tall and slender, with refined features, wearing gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, adding an air of elegance and sophistication.

After entering, he glanced at the elevator buttons but made no further moves.

Glynmere has three apartments per floor.

Seeing that he didn’t press a button, Holly assumed he was either a neighbor or visiting someone, and didn’t think much of it.

However, when the man followed her out of the elevator and stopped at her door, Holly finally realized something was off.

Who is this person?

She couldn’t help but scrutinize him a few more times; he was indeed unfamiliar, someone she had never met.

A ridiculous thought crossed her mind.

Could Director Lennon and Teacher Crowe have sold the house while she was away?

Even giving up on their own daughter?

And when the man saw Holly standing at the door ready to input a password, he also displayed a look of confusion.

They looked at each other, the atmosphere awkward.

At that moment, the door was opened from the inside.

Director Lennon stood at the door wearing an apron.

"Back already!"

His eyes lit up upon seeing the man next to Holly, "Leon’s here! Come in, we were just waiting for you! It’s fate that you two bumped into each other."

The man politely smiled and stepped inside, giving Holly a puzzled glance as he passed by.

Holly followed him inside, realizing there was also a middle-aged couple in the living room, the woman elegantly dressed, the man in a casual suit, exuding a refined air.

Director Lennon took her hand, leading her to the middle-aged couple, "This is my daughter, Holly Crowe, she studies pottery."

She then pointed to the couple, "These are my elementary school classmates, Uncle Chapman and Auntie Lewis, they live in the neighboring community. We happened to meet during an autumn group outing, and since we all returned today, we invited them over for dinner."

Holly smiled and greeted them.

"This is our Leon, Leon Chapman, he works as an orthopedic doctor at Beldon First Hospital," Auntie Lewis said, holding Leon Chapman’s hand, her face full of pride.

Suddenly, she shifted the topic with a bit of probing, "He just got divorced half a month ago and is living alone now."

Divorced?

Holly’s hand shook, almost spilling her water.

She looked up at Director Lennon but saw that Director Lennon was engrossed in conversation with Auntie Lewis.

This must be a matchmaking attempt!

She tried signaling to Director Lennon with her eyes, blinking them almost to soreness, yet Director Lennon ignored her, instead giving a look saying "this young man is quite nice."

"You and Leon are both young, with common topics, so chat more."

Holly’s face almost froze.

During dinner, she nearly buried her face in her bowl, not daring to meet Leon Chapman’s eyes for even a second.

All she could think about was that bigamy is illegal.

Fortunately, shortly after dinner, Leon Chapman’s phone rang — a call from the hospital.

He apologized politely, saying he needed to return immediately.

Director Lennon quickly said, "So sudden? Holly, come on, escort Leon downstairs."

Holly had no choice but to follow Leon Chapman out of the house.

At the building entrance, the night breeze swept over, carrying the chill of late autumn.

Leon Chapman halted and turned to look at Holly.

The streetlight cast a glow on his face, his glasses reflecting a faint light, making him appear much softer.

"Sorry,"

Leon Chapman began, his voice carrying a touch of apology, "After work today, my mom suddenly called saying there was an urgent matter, I really didn’t expect this situation."

Holly was stunned, not expecting Leon Chapman to be unaware as well.

The awkwardness in her heart lessened somewhat, "It’s alright, I didn’t know my mom would arrange this either."

Leon Chapman looked at her, his lips curling into a smile, the tension in his eyes lessening, "The earlier incident was indeed a bit abrupt."

"There were some words I couldn’t express at the dinner table. The family may have misunderstood my wife’s and my situation. We’ve been married for five years, recently just having some disagreements, living separately for now, in a cooling-off period. Somehow, it got to the parents as a divorce."

He paused, his tone growing more serious, "I’ll explain this to them when I get back. Sorry for the trouble this caused you."

Holly was even more surprised; turned out it was all a misunderstanding.

Seeing Leon Chapman’s sincere eyes, she felt she couldn’t hide her situation either, "Actually, I’m not divorced either, just having some quarrels with my husband."