Chapter 45
The next day, I did something rare—I canceled all my non-essential meetings and left work early.
I went to the most upscale mall in the city center, carefully selected a few gifts, then drove to the Wilson Mansion.
I told myself this was just necessary socializing to maintain our business relationship, part of playing my role as his "fiancée."
But my hands gripping the steering wheel tightened slightly with an inexplicable sense of anticipation.
The car had barely stopped at the mansion entrance when Sloane came out with a beaming smile, the butler following behind her, naturally taking the gifts from my hands.
"You didn't need to bring anything; just having you here is the best gift." Sloane took my hand, affectionately looking me up and down, the fondness in her eyes completely unconcealed. "Come in quickly, it's cold outside."
The living room still had that comforting sandalwood scent burning. Quentin sat on the sofa, and seeing me enter, his usually stern face showed a hint of warmth as he nodded at me.
This feeling of being completely accepted and cherished was both strange and warm. The moment I stepped through the door, my long-tensed nerves unconsciously relaxed.
At the dinner table, Sloane's enthusiasm reached its peak. My bowl quickly piled up into a mountain of food.
"Eat more, look how thin you are, a gust of wind could blow you over." She fussed over me with concern.
I smiled and accepted, but my eyes unconsciously searched the dining room. From the moment I entered until now, I haven't seen that familiar figure.
"Looking for Benjamin?" Sloane seemed to see through my thoughts and said with a smile, "He probably won't make it back today."
My hand, cutting the steak, paused. I looked up, asking as casually as I could, "Is he on a business trip?"
"Not a business trip," Quentin put down his fork and took over, his tone becoming more serious. "There's been a problem with that major project in the west of the city. The construction team made an error. He got the news at noon and rushed over without even eating."
My heart clenched sharply.
I knew about that project in the west of the city—it was the Wilson Group's biggest investment this year, a commercial complex that Benjamin was personally overseeing.
My mind immediately flashed to that shocking scrape on his arm and how he'd casually called it a "minor accident."
An indescribable unease wrapped around my heart like vines.
"Is it serious?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
"He was vague on the phone, just said it wasn't a big problem and told us not to worry." Sloane sighed, her face showing undisguised concern. "That's just like him—only sharing good news, never bad. The more he says it's fine, the more uneasy I feel."
The worry in their eyes was like a needle, precisely piercing my heart.
I put down my fork, picked up a napkin to wipe my mouth, and put on a reassuring smile. "Grandpa, Grandma, don't worry. Benjamin always knows what he's doing. If he says it's fine, he'll definitely handle it. Besides, he has so many capable people around him—they won't let him shoulder everything alone."
I patiently chatted with them about lighter topics until I saw the clouds of worry on their faces lift somewhat, then got up to leave.
"There's an urgent meeting at the company, so I need to head back. I'll come visit again soon." I made up a clumsy excuse.
Sloane held my hand, reluctant to let go. "No matter how busy work gets, take care of yourself. Next time, have Benjamin bring you back together."
"Okay." I smiled in agreement, though my heart had already flown far away.
Getting into my car, I didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately called Luca.
The other end was noisy—wind, the roar of machinery, and voices all mixed.
"Ms. White?" Luca's voice carried a hint of surprise and fatigue.
"Where are you?" I got straight to the point, my tone brooking no argument.
Luca hesitated on the other end, as if weighing whether he should say.
"Benjamin's hand injury hasn't fully healed," my voice turned cold. "If something else happens to him, can you take that responsibility?"
This clearly worked. Luca immediately gave me an address.
I hung up, floored the accelerator, and the car shot forward like an arrow, racing toward the west of the city.
The night was deep, but the construction site in the west of the city was brightly lit, with huge floodlights turning half the sky a ghastly white.
The air was thick with dust and the smell of steel, the roar of heavy machinery deafening.
I parked my car at a distance, and across the safety barrier, I immediately spotted the center of the crowd.
Benjamin stood there.
He wasn't wearing a suit, just a dark shirt with the sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows, revealing the firm lines of his forearms.
He wasn't wearing a hard hat, his slightly disheveled hair blown by the night wind, his profile looking particularly sharp and cold under the harsh white lights.
He was listening to a report from a hard-hatted supervisor beside him, his brow furrowed, his expression focused and commanding. He occasionally raised his hand to point into the distance, issuing orders in a low voice.
The surrounding chaos and noise seemed unable to disturb him at all. He was like an anchor in this chaotic place, radiating a powerful, convincing presence.
But all I could see were his tightly pressed lips and the undisguised fatigue in his eyes.
He stood straight as a rod, like a lone pine standing firm in wind and rain, shouldering all the burden alone.
My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, sore and aching.
Reason told me I should turn around and leave immediately, that I shouldn't be here, shouldn't cross that unspoken boundary between us.
But my feet seemed to have a mind of their own. I opened the car door and walked straight toward those bright lights, toward that solitary figure standing in the wind, step by step.
My heels clicked on the uneven, muddy ground, making sounds completely out of place in this chaos.
Luca noticed me first. Surprise flashed across his face, then he quickly walked over, wanting to say something.
I ignored him and walked straight through the noisy crowd until I stood in front of Benjamin.
Perhaps my appearance was too sudden—the supervisor, reporting to him, unconsciously stopped talking.
Benjamin turned his head following everyone's gaze. When he saw clearly that it was me, a heavy wave of surprise clearly crossed his usually unfathomable eyes.
"What are you doing here?" He frowned slightly, his voice carrying a hoarseness scattered by the wind.