Chapter 15

"What did you tell my dad?" "I haven't even asked you yet. What exactly did you tell your dad about me that made him ask you to apologize to me?" Grace's head was pressed down, and she was unable to lift it. She was still pinching Oliver's wrist tightly in retaliation. Neither of them was comfortable. Neither of them said anything for a while, so Grace decided to speak first. "If you agree to my two requests from this morning, I promise not to call you an old geezer or grandpa anymore. Let's each mind our own business. You go your way, and I'll go mine. Do we have a deal?" Oliver remained silent. To show her sincerity, she was the first to let go of him. "I'll stop pinching you now. If you release me, that means you agree." Oliver squinted at Grace and sneered. "You're quite clever." She was trying to get him to agree indirectly. She knew that he couldn't pin her down like this forever. Once he let go, it meant that he agreed to her terms. Oliver didn't expect a 20-year-old woman to outsmart him. He rubbed his wrist after he let her go. This also meant that he had agreed to her requests. Grace had finally achieved her goal. As she straightened up and stretched her neck, she glanced at his wrist and realized that the fingernail marks were quite prominent. Grace put one hand behind her and massaged her own neck. Out of friendly advice, she said, "Your wrist should scab over by tomorrow. You might want to wear your watch on the other wrist to cover up the marks for now." It was finally the day Grace would be going home to her family. Grace woke up early in the morning on the couch. She had gotten ready early and was just waiting for Oliver to appear. As soon as they met, Grace couldn't help but remind him, "Remember what you've promised me." Ignoring her, Oliver simply loaded all the family's gifts into the trunk of his Rolls-Royce Ghost. The Gulliver family lived in Majestic Citadel Vistas, a villa district in Zenith City. It was not close to the Jefferson residence, and it took more than an hour to drive there. On their way there, Grace tried her best to behave well, hoping to please Oliver more and to avoid disappointment later. Oliver glanced sideways at Grace sitting beside him as he drove. Now that she was quiet, she actually seemed like a decent and tolerable person. "Oliver, why are you glaring at me?" Grace asked. "You make me sick," Oliver replied. Grace forced a smile, thinking to herself that she would endure it. An hour later, the Rolls-Royce Ghost pulled into Majestic Citadel Vistas. Driving straight along the main road, they soon saw the Gulliver residence. With her good eyesight, Grace immediately spotted her parents waiting at the door to greet them. Grace suddenly became nervous. She looked at the man beside her, wondering if he would put on a show in front of her parents and then treat her differently behind their backs. After the car stopped, Oliver unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for the door handle, eager to get the gifts from the trunk. Grace's reflexes were lightning fast. She lunged for Oliver's clothes but accidentally grabbed his hand instead. "Oliver, you need to remember our agreement," Grace said. Oliver pretended not to feel the small, cold hand that materialized in his palm. Turning his head, he met her lively eyes and asked, "Am I that untrustworthy?" This was the first time in his life that he was being doubted. While he didn't like her at home, he wouldn't cause trouble for her in public. After all, they had an agreement, and he was a man of his word. Grace bit her lower lip as she made an excuse. "I'm just afraid you'll forget." Oliver couldn't be bothered to call her out on it. It was then that he finally noticed her hand in his palm. Grace's hands were like soft marshmallows, but they were a bit cold. Grace also realized that her hand was in his palm. She wanted to pull her hand away, but Oliver subconsciously tightened his grip for a moment, then released it. A sense of confusion washed over Grace at his strange actions as she stepped out of the car.