Chapter 118 Five Years Later
Five years later.
A small town in Iceland.
In front of a flower shop called "The Potting Shed," a cute little boy sat cross-legged on the wooden steps at the entrance. Cupping his small hands around his mouth like a megaphone, he tilted up his round face—soft and plump as a freshly steamed custard bun—and called out crisply to passersby, "Come take a look, fresh roses—"
When the wind blew, the little daisy tucked in his hair swayed gently. His eyes, bright as black grapes, sparkled even more brilliantly than the baby's breath inside the shop.
In no time at all, that little round face had drawn quite a crowd around the shop entrance.
Passersby were drawn by the boy's sweet yet surprisingly loud calls, their feet stopping involuntarily. The shop instantly became packed with customers coming and going in an endless stream.
"Hey kid, wrap me up a bouquet of nine hundred ninety-nine roses."
The little boy's eyes lit up immediately at these words. He looked up at the customer and responded, "Sure thing... Lance?!"
The boy's expression changed instantly. Looking a bit huffy, he put his hands on his hips and shouted toward the shop, "Mom, Lance is here causing trouble again!"
Hearing this, the man burst out laughing. He reached out somewhat helplessly and tapped the boy on the head before stepping inside.
When he entered, several employees were busy attending to customers. His gaze swept around the room before settling on a particular spot. With a smile playing on his lips, he walked over.
"Aria."
That's right—this flower shop belonged to Aria.
Five years ago, Aria had come to Iceland while pregnant. She'd lived in various places around Iceland, but when she arrived at this small town, the environment immediately captivated her. It was perfect for her pregnancy.
So she made a quick decision and bought a small house here to settle down.
The house was by the sea. When she had free time, she'd stay on the top floor, enjoying the sea breeze—utterly pleasant.
Lance had come looking for her after she'd settled in. When he saw her pregnant with a big belly, some things that hadn't made sense suddenly clicked into place.
No wonder—no wonder when Arthur had approached him back then, he'd said those things. So this was the issue.
But Lance didn't say anything about it. He acted completely calm and shamelessly bought a small house next door to Aria's, claiming he wanted a vacation spot.
After that, Lance would fly over from time to time to stay for a while. When Aria was close to her due date, he stayed in Iceland for over three months.
These years, he'd been flying here more often than Summer.
Lance had also gotten along well with Aria's child...
"Lance, what brings you here? Aren't you busy?"
When Aria saw Lance, she smiled lightly and greeted him.
If she remembered correctly, this was already his second visit this month. Wasn't he supposed to be running Gray Corporation now? Was this CEO position really this relaxed?
"Company team-building trip, scheduled here. I'm traveling on the company dime."
Lance said this matter-of-factly. Aria couldn't help but smile at his words—this boss certainly spoke with confidence.
"Business should be pretty good, right?"
Lance glanced around at the bustling shop and raised an eyebrow.
Aria nodded. "Yeah, not bad."
She'd opened this flower shop recently. Flower arranging was something she'd always loved, but before, because she had to take care of her child, she hadn't had much time. Now that she'd sent the kid to kindergarten, she had time to do what she enjoyed.
Opening a flower shop was the first thing on her list.
Though she hadn't gone back these years, Lucy had been running the studio quite well, so she hadn't worried much about it.
"How's Jasper adjusting to school?"
Jasper was Aria's child's name—full name Jasper Hall.
A soft light flickered in Aria's eyes, and a maternal glow radiated from her as she smiled. "Him? He's doing fine at school. He's quite the social butterfly, actually—gets along great with all the other kids."
Over these years, every time Aria looked at Jasper, she felt grateful she hadn't terminated the pregnancy but had kept him instead.
This child had been healing her throughout these years, making her feel that life was fulfilling.
Lance's lips curved slightly as he nodded. "Sounds like he's adjusting really well."
Aria nodded. "Yes."
Seeing more and more people in the shop and the staff getting overwhelmed, Lance stepped in to help. He might not know how to do other things, but he certainly knew how to handle the register.
Seeing Lance naturally make his way to the cash register to help, Aria didn't say anything, just smiled and continued attending to customers.
Jasper continued drumming up business at the entrance, and everyone was busy and happy.
Compared to this harmonious scene, certain people back home weren't quite so harmonious.
--
Back home.
Five years had passed, and Arthur's patience had been worn down by time until only a surface pretense remained.
He accompanied Sophie shopping, walking faster than anyone else, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the strap of her bag, his brow slightly furrowed, even his breathing heavier than usual—his impatience seeping out from every subtle movement.
But Sophie acted as if she couldn't see his impatience, pulling him into clothing stores to try on clothes.
Arthur sat to the side waiting for her to try things on. Watching her enthusiastic manner, the irritation in his heart grew stronger.
Although Sophie had said that report back then was real, that she had been properly taking care of her health which was why she recovered so quickly, Arthur's trust in her words had greatly diminished.
After all, those events back then...
Aria had essentially been forced away by Sophie's schemes.
When he'd later discovered the truth, he'd thought about confronting her, but reason told him he couldn't do that, because she was his savior. He couldn't wrong her.
He didn't want to be bound by these trivial matters, yet he had no choice but to be trapped in this sense of responsibility. Over these years, even he couldn't tell whether it was habit or something he couldn't let go of.
"Mr. Grant?"
A clear voice called out with a familiar greeting.
Arthur's fingers suddenly froze. He slowly looked up, his gaze focusing. After seeing who it was, he pulled at the corner of his mouth. The sharpness returned to his eyes, and when he spoke, his tone was steady, though it couldn't hide his surprise. "Mrs. Bennett, long time no see."
"It really is you! I saw you from far away and thought it looked like you. Are you here shopping with Miss Smith?"
Mrs. Bennett spoke to him with a beaming smile.
Arthur nodded faintly. "Yes."
"You know, seeing you just now reminded me—when I was traveling abroad recently, there was this little boy handing out flowers at a flower shop entrance. I thought he looked so much like you, so I took a video of him."
As Mrs. Bennett spoke, she eagerly pulled out her phone and opened the video, holding it up to Arthur. "Look, this kid looks just like you!"