Chapter 198 Preparing to Hold the Wedding

Chapter 198 Preparing to Hold the Wedding

Catherine's heart clenched. She instinctively stepped in front of Ethan.

"Great-grandma!" But Ethan was already poking his head out from behind her, his voice bright and clear.

Phaedra looked down at him. She paused, and the rigid set of her mouth softened, just slightly.

Without a glance at Catherine, she walked straight to Ethan, crouched down, and took a gift box from her attendant.

"This is for you."

Ethan looked up at Catherine first. When she didn't object, he accepted it with both hands. "Thank you."

Phaedra patted his head, then straightened and turned to Catherine. Her tone was stiff, but the hostility from before had gone out of it.

"Leo tells me you two are having a wedding."

Catherine blinked, then nodded.

"What style do you want?"

This question caught her completely off guard. She stood there, unable to find an answer.

Phaedra's brow ticked up, a flicker of impatience crossing her face, but she pressed on. "What flowers do you like? Any thoughts on the venue? These things need to be decided early—the good ones get booked fast."

Something that had been sitting heavily in Catherine's chest quietly lifted.

She smiled. "Whatever you think is best."

Phaedra gave a short nod of satisfaction. "You young people should still have a say. My taste won't be the same as yours."

The next day. Top floor of the Russell Group building. The CEO's office.

Alexander was at his desk, a screen full of wedding dress designs in front of him.

"This one, remove the lace on the shoulders and take in the waistline a bit more." He pointed at one of them, speaking to the Milan designer on the video call. "She doesn't like anything too fussy."

He ended the call. Zack came in behind him carrying a stack of folders.

"Mr. Russell, the beachfront estate is arranged. Three layout options for the flower field are ready for your review. Cartier also confirmed that the first model of the custom ring will be ready to view next week."

Alexander went through the folders one by one, making notes as he went.

The office door crept open. Ethan's small face appeared in the gap.

"Daddy."

Alexander looked up and waved him in.

Ethan ran over on his little legs, climbed up onto his lap, and immediately started looking through the albums on the desk.

"What's this? It's so pretty." He pointed at a photo of wedding favors—chocolate gift boxes.

Alexander settled him more comfortably in his arms. "What do you think—should we give guests those, or the teddy bear cookies next to them?"

Ethan's brow furrowed in deep consideration. He studied both options for a long moment, then his finger came down decisively.

"Teddy bears! All the kids will definitely love teddy bears!"

Alexander smiled and ticked the box. "Teddy bears it is. Your call."

That evening, Catherine had just finished going through her emails when Ethan grabbed her hand and hauled her out of the study.

"Mommy! Come look!"

The little guy pulled her to the living room like he was showing off a treasure, pointing at a design drawing Alexander had spread out on the coffee table.

A coastline. White sand. A glass greenhouse surrounded by an endless field of sunflowers.

Catherine's heart skipped a beat looking at it, filled with an indescribable feeling.

"Daddy says this is our secret base!" Ethan announced proudly. "This is where we're getting married!"

Catherine looked up at the man who had somehow appeared beside her, her eyes growing hot.

"When did you..."

He wrapped his arms around her from behind, rested his chin on top of her head, and spoke quietly. "I've been thinking about it for a long time."

Catherine wiped the corners of her eyes and laughed in spite of herself. . "I've been buried in work and you've been doing all of this on your own."

"Yes."

Liam had become a different person entirely, showing up at Nora's studio every single day without fail.

Seven-thirty in the morning, on the dot, pulling up in his car with coffee and fresh bread.

If Nora didn't answer the door, he'd hang the breakfast on the door handle, send her a message, park at the corner, and wait until he saw the studio lights come on before he left.

Nora told him he was out of his mind. The next morning she opened the door five minutes early, took the still-hot coffee, and muttered "fine" under her breath.

Five-thirty in the afternoon, on the dot again. If Nora was still working, he didn't rush her. He just found something to do and waited.

At first it made her skin crawl—she kept feeling his eyes on her back, and her lines came out wrong.

"Can you stop hovering behind me like that?" She finally spun around.

Liam was polishing a paint-stained pen holder with a small cloth. He looked up with a genuinely puzzled expression. "Am I bothering you?"

He managed to make her feel like she was the unreasonable one.

She turned back around, fuming quietly, and after a long pause said, "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"No." He set the pen holder down, picked up the cold coffee sitting half-drunk on her desk, and swapped it for a fresh hot cocoa. "You're the most important thing I have to do."

The heat hit Nora's face before she could stop it. She spun back toward her screen, jaw set, pretending to study it intently. The tips of her ears had gone red.

Liam said nothing more. He retreated to his corner and kept tidying up.

The studio settled into quiet—just the scratch of her stylus on the tablet, and Ethan's building blocks knocking softly together.

After a while, Nora started talking to him about work. Difficult clients. The particular frustration of sitting down to draw and finding nothing there.

Liam listened. When he said something, it was usually worth hearing.

On weekends the three of them went to amusement parks.

Liam put Ethan on his shoulders, rode the carousel with him, bought him cotton candy.

Nora walked behind them and watched them laughing without a care in the world.

"You could at least wait for me. Why are you both walking so fast?"

Ethan looked back at her, deeply unimpressed. "We'll miss our place in line."

Nora thought about it and decided he had a point. She caught up. "Fine. Let's get this over with—I have work tomorrow."

The next day, Nora finished the final illustration, stretched until her back cracked, and pushed back from her desk. Liam had already packed up the supplies and was waiting at the door with Ethan's hand in his.

"Come on, Auntie Nora! Uncle Liam's taking us for seafood!" Ethan bounced on his heels.

"Hold on, little foodie. Let me lock up." She smiled, tapped his nose, grabbed her bag, and pulled the studio door shut behind her.

They had just made it downstairs when a BMW rolled up and stopped in front of them. Nora frowned. The door opened, and a man in head-to-toe designer clothes stepped out, sunglasses on.