Chapter 262

Chapter 262

Soothing jazz music played in the car. Victoria turned her face toward the window, watching Varellia's night scenery slide backward across the glass. Her shoulders and back, which had been tense, gradually relaxed.

Anne's honest conversation in the studio earlier had lifted the weight that had been pressing on Victoria's chest. Victoria could finally admit that the guilt she felt toward Anne and that unresolvable knot shouldn't be hers alone to bear. It wasn't her fault.

Victoria no longer needed to deliberately avoid Edward because of some unclear moral burden or because of their "sisterly" relationship.

But she wouldn't agree easily because of this.

She needed time. She needed to see clearly whether Edward's feelings were just a passing infatuation or a love that could stand firm.

She didn't want to be easily hurt by anyone again.

The private dining room was full of people. Evan raised his glass, smiling as he wished Edward a happy birthday. Anne also graciously offered her wishes.

This dinner had none of the scheming and power plays between wealthy families, and instead felt particularly warm on this foreign night. The dinner ended with relaxed conversation, and everyone gradually got up to leave.

After walking out the restaurant door, Evan naturally picked up Anne's coat and made a suggestion, "I'll take Anne back to her hotel. It's not safe for her to be alone in a foreign country."

After speaking, Evan gave Edward a meaningful look and casually arranged things, "Edward, you take Victoria back to her school dorm."

Anne winked at Victoria and followed Evan into another car.

The early winter streets of Varellia were bitterly cold. On the tree-lined path from the parking lot to the school gate, only Edward and Victoria walked side by side.

Edward kept his hands in his coat pockets, his gaze fixed firmly on Victoria's profile. After a few steps, he suddenly stopped, tugged at the corner of his mouth, and boldly extended his hand.

"Where's my birthday present?" He raised an eyebrow, his voice hiding a hint of not-so-obvious expectation.

Victoria also stopped. Looking at his matter-of-fact expression, she recalled his past coldness and distance toward her. She lifted her chin and deliberately responded with a cool, slightly sarcastic tone.

"Mr. Russell, if I remember correctly, we're not close. Why would I prepare a birthday present for someone as insignificant as you?"

These words hit Edward's sore spot. "Not close" and "insignificant" made his displeasure rise almost immediately, and jealousy followed.

Edward's expression darkened, his outstretched hand frozen in mid-air. He abruptly pulled his hand back, said nothing more, and turned to continue walking forward. An icy demeanor surrounded him, as if lowering the temperature of the surrounding air by several degrees.

He walked on with pursed lips, sulking. That tall, upright figure looked awkward under the streetlights, even a bit childish.

Victoria followed behind and finally couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Come on, Edward. Why are you throwing such a tantrum?"

She called out to him and quickened her pace to stand in front of him. Victoria opened her evening clutch and took out an exquisite black velvet box.

When the lid opened, a pair of sapphire cufflinks lay quietly inside. The cutting was intricate yet clean, reflecting deep, cold blue light under the dim streetlamps.

"I designed and carved these myself." Victoria placed the cufflinks in her palm and held them out to Edward. Her eyes were serious, "Happy birthday, Edward."

Edward looked down at the cufflinks, joy and shock surging through him together, his throat tightening.

She had made these for him with her own hands.

But the stubborn pride in his bones wouldn't let him soften immediately. He snorted lightly, still finding fault, "Just cufflinks? For a genius designer, that's a pretty ordinary gift."

That's what he said, but his actions betrayed him. He didn't hesitate to unfasten the expensive buttons on his shirt cuffs and extended his wrist directly to Victoria. Edward's gaze deepened, as if giving an order.

"Help me put them on."

Victoria gave him a speechless glance, but she didn't refuse. She lowered her head slightly, using her cool fingertips to pick up the sapphire cufflink and thread it through the buttonhole of his handmade shirt.

They were very close. Her breath fell on the inside of Edward's wrist, and the tremor from the skin contact traveled up along his pulse, throwing his heartbeat off rhythm.

"Done." Victoria straightened his cuff and then stepped back.

In the distance, the school gate was already in sight.

Before parting, Victoria looked up at him. The wind tousled her long hair, and her smile was bright, carrying a kind of relief from finally letting go.

"I had a great time tonight. Once again, happy birthday, Edward."

She left those words gently and didn't linger. Victoria turned around, lifted her skirt hem, and jogged into campus, quickly swallowed by the night.

Edward didn't chase after her.

He stood there for a long time. The dim streetlight stretched his shadow long, clearly illuminating that loneliness. His gaze still followed the direction where she disappeared, while his other hand lifted to repeatedly stroke the new sapphire cufflink on his cuff with his rough fingertips.

The cufflink was cool, but his heart felt like something was slowly warming it.

In the cold foreign night, Edward felt a sustained and intense flutter in his chest, both tender and aching, that didn't subside for a long time.

A week later, Eastbrook Skyport.

Evan and Anne were leaving one after another, with Anne departing first. The departure hall was crowded with people, and Evan made a special trip to the airport to see her off.

The two stood side by side in the crowd, but the surrounding noise seemed separated by a layer of glass. Evan's usually calm and gentle eyes were now filled with restrained yet intense reluctance. He quietly looked at Anne, his Adam's apple rolling gently, but he swallowed back all the words he wanted to say.

When the conversation turned to Evan's chronic heart condition, Anne's eyes immediately reddened.

"Evan, you must promise me..." Her voice trembled uncontrollably, tears welling up in her eyes, "You must take care of yourself and cooperate with the doctor's treatment on time. Don't tough it out, okay?"

When Anne cried, Evan's heart felt like it was being wrung. He looked at her gently, the love in his eyes almost impossible to hide, "Okay, I promise you."

Evan knew his own body better than anyone. His condition was uncertain, he couldn't give her a future that could land, much less any definite promises.

At this moment, he wanted so much to hold her, but he gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed the urge to get closer to her.

He couldn't become a stumbling block in her life. He couldn't drag her into a future he couldn't guarantee.