Unknowingly, Deanna had become slightly tipsy.
Her petite cheeks were tinged with a rosy hue, and her black eyes were moist and sparkling, making one want to hold her and cherish her.
"So nice."
Deanna held her wine glass and gave Lance a charming smile.
Lance watched, his Adam's apple bobbing, and his already dark eyes grew even deeper.
The two little ones also noticed Deanna's unusual state and blinked their eyes.
"Uncle, Mommy seems to be drunk. What should we do?"
They turned their heads to Lance for help, but if one looked closely, they could see the mischief in their eyes.
Unfortunately, Lance was entirely captivated by Deanna at the moment and didn't notice the children's sly smiles.
Old Ashley read the children's thoughts, but she decided not to intervene.
After all that had happened, she hoped her granddaughter could be with Lance.
But her granddaughter always had too many concerns, which is why she hadn't dated Lance until now.
With this in mind, Old Ashley smiled and said, "Since Deanna is drunk, could you help take her back to her room, Mr. Mercer?"
"Of course," Lance agreed immediately.
He stood up and walked toward Deanna.
Seeing him approach, Deanna hiccuped and looked at him with puzzled, watery eyes. "What are you doing?"
"You're drunk. I'm taking you back to your room."
As he spoke, Lance bent down and scooped her up in a princess carry.
Deanna struggled slightly and protested, "I'm not drunk. Put me down. I can still drink."
"Don't be silly. I'll have someone bring you more wine once we're back in the room, okay?"
Lance held her tightly and softened his voice to coax Deanna in his arms.
Deanna was inexplicably soothed. She wrapped her arms around Lance's neck and spoke softly, "You promise? No lying."
"I promise. I won't lie to you!" Lance reassured her again.
He had rarely seen Deanna so childlike.
For a moment, the tenderness and affection in his eyes were overwhelming.
Soon, they left the dining room and disappeared into the hallway.
Back in the room, Deanna was still thinking about her wine and struggled to get down from Lance's arms.
This time, Lance didn't refuse and set her down.
"My wine."
As soon as she steadied herself, Deanna eagerly stretched out her hand to Lance, asking for the wine.
Lance held her fair fingers, feeling both amused and helpless.
But he didn't want to break his promise to Deanna in front of him, even though she was already drunk.
"Wait here. I'll have someone bring it up."
"Okay, I'll wait."
Deanna sat obediently on the edge of the bed, looking at Lance expectantly.
Her gaze seemed to say, "I'm being good. Give me my wine."
The more Lance looked at her, the more adorable she seemed, making his heart soften even more.
But he restrained himself and turned to find a servant, instructing them to bring up a bottle of low-alcohol fruit wine.
Within minutes, the servant brought the fruit wine.
"Here, your wine."
Lance handed the fruit wine to Deanna.
Deanna happily took it and opened the bottle to drink.
But after just one sip, Lance took it back from her.
"What are you doing? Give me my wine back."
Deanna immediately became anxious and glared at him unhappily.
Lance didn't mind her reaction.
He tightened the bottle cap and looked at her with a smile. "No."
Hearing this, Deanna became even more upset.
"Give it back. You said if I came upstairs with you, you'd let me drink. You're a liar!"
Lance was taken aback.
He hadn't expected Deanna to say such a thing.
Realizing what she meant, he felt both amused and helpless.
He decided to reason with Deanna in front of him. "How am I a liar? Didn't I give you wine?"
"Uh... you did." Deanna hesitated but felt something was off.
But her mind was too muddled to figure out what was wrong.
Lance saw the confusion in her eyes and stifled his laughter. "Exactly. I gave you wine, so I kept my promise, right?"
"Yes..."
Deanna answered instinctively but then shook her head repeatedly. "No, no. I only had one sip. That doesn't count. I don't care. Give me my wine."
Before he knew it, the petite woman lunged straight at him under the light.
Lance hadn't expected Deanna to act so quickly.
He was startled and instinctively reached out to catch her to prevent her from falling.
But an accident happened at that moment.
As Deanna lunged forward, she tripped over her own feet and lost balance, falling sideways.
Upon seeing this, Lance's expression changed slightly. He hurried forward to catch her in his arms.
Using his strength cleverly, he spun around with Deanna in his arms, preventing them from falling to the ground. Instead, they both fell onto the bed with Deanna on top of him.