Chapter 450: However You Want to Steal, It's Up to You (Part 1)

Her gaze fell directly on Dylan Heston. He had always been in great shape. He was wearing a white dress shirt, and she was the one who had his jacket.

“Sneaking around the doorway like that. Are you trying to steal something?” Dylan Heston was still holding a coffee cup; he must have just come from the breakroom.

“I… I wasn’t trying to steal anything!” Falsely accused, her face immediately turned red, and her explanation came out in a stammer.

“Oh? So you were trying to get a look at me?”

“…” ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, can someone please grab a stick and knock either me or this man in front of me unconscious?’

That wasn’t what she meant, but it was exactly as Dylan Heston had said. She suddenly felt completely unable to defend herself.

Having lost the ability to form a coherent sentence, she just stared at him blankly. This seemed to be the first time they had been alone together since reuniting.

“What’s wrong? Your face is so red. Are you shy?” Though his words were clearly meant to tease her, he delivered them in a deadpan tone.

Nancy Hughes decisively lowered her head. “No. I’m leaving for the day!”

She turned, wanting to make a quick escape, but the moment she did, her elbow was grabbed forcefully.

With a hard pull, she was spun back around. Cranking her neck back to look up at him, she demanded, “What are you doing!”

Her voice was sharp, and the man’s handsome face was reflected in her trembling pupils.

Dylan Heston forcefully pressed her head against his chest. He didn’t want to see the terrified look in her eyes, as if she were witnessing something dreadful.

Nancy Hughes’s face was pressed against his chest, and her heart, once encased in ice, instantly warmed. “You can steal me.”

“…”

‘What does he mean by that?!’

His actions made her heart pound violently in her chest. Hearing the beat of his heart against her ear, a buzzing started in her head.

In that instant, memories of the past flooded her mind. He always seemed to like holding her just like this.

It used to feel so warm and reassuring, but now, it just felt deeply ironic.

Using both hands, she forcefully pushed him away. “Mr. Heston, please behave yourself!”

“I can’t!”

Her beautiful dark eyes glared at him, too angry to speak. “You…”

“I’m telling the truth. Steal from me however you want—it’s all up to you!”

“Who wants to steal you!” She covered her lips, pushed him away, and ran out.

This time, Dylan Heston didn’t stop her. Instead, he laughed out loud.

‘She was always this shy. Just like the first time he kissed her, she’d even convinced herself she was just drunk.’

‘Only he knew whether he was clear-headed or not. Perhaps in the moment he kissed her, he wasn’t thinking clearly either.’

She still had a habit of fleeing in a panic. Even after she’d burst out of the company building, her heart was still pounding relentlessly.

A recent shower had made the air even cooler. She stood under the shelter of the bus stop, feeling a little dejected.

‘I was so flustered earlier, I forgot to give him back his suit jacket.’ And so, she had inexplicably carried it out of the office with her.

‘A rich man like him probably isn’t missing one suit jacket.’

Dylan Heston’s unpredictable move had sent ripples across the calm lake of her heart, making it throb painfully.

She reached up to touch her forehead. ‘What on earth is wrong with me!’

As she was packing for her seven-day trip to Sylva, Zachary Stone happened to call.

He asked if she had any plans for the National Day holiday. Nancy Hughes replied apologetically, “I’m going on a trip with my younger brother.”

“A trip? Well, that sounds nice,” Zachary Stone said, his tone full of regret. “I was hoping you’d be free during the holiday. I wanted to ask you to visit an old town with me, but I guess that’s that!”

‘Zachary Stone wanted to ask me out, too?’

She rarely went out with men. Kneeling on her bed, she said, “Sorry, my brother has been pestering me, so…”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I was just a step too slow. I should have called you sooner.” Zachary Stone was a very considerate person; he had never once gotten angry with her.

“Um, we can go on a trip next time!”

“Okay!”

After chatting a bit more with Zachary Stone, he said, “Alright, you should get to sleep. Don’t you have to catch a flight tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, bye!”

She hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief. A few seconds later, a text from Zachary Stone came in: “Have a great trip. I’ll be waiting for you to come back!”

She looked down at her half-packed suitcase and replied with a single word: “Okay.”

‘Truthfully, when Zachary Stone suggested they go to the old town, for a moment she was grateful she’d already agreed to go to Sylva with Riley Caldwell.’

‘She found it really hard to imagine their relationship developing any further. For her, the way things were between them now was enough.’

‘But she couldn’t just avoid him for the rest of her life, either.’

「The next day, she met up with Riley Caldwell and the others at the airport.」

Riley Caldwell and Cecilia Lynch were in matching couple’s outfits, making her feel like a total third wheel no matter how she looked at it.

The flight to Sylva was a little over two hours. She took a nap, and by the time she woke up, they had arrived.

The weather in Sylva was scorching. The moment she stepped out of the airport, a wave of hot air hit her, and it felt like she had been instantly transported back to summer.

“It’s so hot! The sun is so strong!” Nancy Hughes raised a hand to shield her eyes from the blinding sun above. The heat always drained her of all her strength.

Walking ahead of her, Riley Caldwell turned back. “Sis, hurry up! Let’s go to the hotel first!”

“I know, don’t rush me!” Nancy Hughes roared. ‘This kid is completely clueless.’

‘All he knows how to do is pull his girlfriend’s suitcase, but he can’t be bothered to help his own sister with hers.’

The hotel they were staying at wasn’t far from the beach. Her room happened to face the ocean, offering a particularly beautiful view.

Riley Caldwell had arranged everything for their Sylva trip. ‘An ocean-view room must have cost a fortune.’

‘Where did that kid get so much money?’

She didn’t have time to dwell on it before Riley Caldwell and Cecilia Lynch came knocking on her door. “Sis, are you changed yet?”

“Not yet, hold on!”

She had been lost in thought while admiring the view. She pulled some summer clothes from her suitcase and hastily changed.

“Okay, where are we going?” she asked, opening the door to the two of them.

“Let’s eat first. Cecilia said she’s hungry.”

‘Anyway, she was just here to be a third wheel on this trip, so she didn’t care what they did.’

Traveling was supposed to be a pleasant, relaxing affair.

On the first day, they just wandered around the vicinity of the hotel. Riley Caldwell had made a very detailed travel itinerary, and by the second day, he had run her so ragged her legs felt like they were about to break.

When she got back to the hotel, she felt completely spent and collapsed directly onto the bed.

The air conditioning was on, humming as it blew out cold air. She immediately fell asleep.

She woke up from her nap to a call from Riley Caldwell, asking if she wanted to go out for a late-night snack.

She felt her empty stomach. She was starving, so she agreed.

Her room wasn’t on the same floor as Riley Caldwell and Cecilia’s, so they arranged to meet in the hotel lobby on the first floor.

She waited for ten minutes, but there was no sign of the two of them coming down.

She pulled out her phone and called Riley Caldwell. “Are you coming down or what? If not, I’m going by myself!”

“Coming, coming! Sis, just wait a little longer!”

“Hurry up!”

The lobby was crowded, so she went outside the hotel. Even at this hour, there were still plenty of tourists out and about.

The sea breeze made her shiver. ‘I should’ve just had the two of them bring some food back for me.’

‘Still not here!’

Annoyed, Nancy Hughes stood by the entrance and waited for another ten minutes before the pair finally sauntered down from upstairs.

“Sorry, Sis!” Riley Caldwell flashed her a cheerful smile.

Nancy Hughes just huffed, not falling for it. “You’re paying tonight!”

They say you’re supposed to be in a good mood when you’re on vacation, but in her case, she only felt more dejected.

“Sis, you’re drinking too?!” Riley Caldwell exclaimed. A throbbing started in Nancy Hughes’s temples, and she had a bad feeling.

She looked down at the cup in her hand. There was a little beer left. ‘I really am drinking!’

Riley Caldwell knew all about her alcohol tolerance—or lack thereof. Getting knocked out by a single glass could hardly be called tolerance.

Nancy Hughes had been spacing out earlier and thought she had poured herself some juice. How could she have known it was this?

She huffed and said defensively, “What, is it so strange for me to have a drink?”

“Sis, you know your own limits!” Riley Caldwell said, giving her a look of mock disgust. “I don’t feel like carrying you back later!”

“You little brat, you’d dare not carry me!” Nancy Hughes went up and gave him a sharp knock on the forehead. “What’s wrong with me having a little drink!”

As she spoke, she poured herself another full glass and downed it in one go.

In fact, her tolerance had improved over the past year, a skill honed from having to drink with clients.

She still couldn’t drink too much, though. Any more and she’d get dizzy.

“Sis, the way you’re drinking… taking huge gulps like that. Are you in a bad mood?”

She shot him a glare. “Mind your own business!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll shut my mouth!”

She hadn’t drunk that much, but her head was starting to hurt.

“Alright, I’m heading back first!” she said, waving her hand as she stepped out of the elevator.

Annoyingly, her key card didn’t seem to be working.

She stood at the door, swiping the key card for what felt like an eternity with no response. She gave the door a hard push.

It wouldn’t budge. She cursed at the “stupid door” before turning and squatting down on the floor.

‘Phew, I’m so tired!’

She sat on the floor, and just as she was about to take out her phone to call Riley Caldwell, a dark shadow suddenly fell over her.

“What are you doing squatting in front of someone’s door?”

It was a pleasant voice, one that sounded vaguely familiar.

She dazedly lifted her head, her hazy eyes only half-open. A blurry, handsome face slowly came into focus. “Uh, you look really familiar!”

“Familiar, huh? Is this how you like to hit on people?” Dylan Heston crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with Nancy Hughes.

Nancy Hughes was even more bewildered. She didn’t like hitting on people. “Can you help me open the door?”

“Inviting me in?”

Her mind was a complete muddle. ‘Inviting him in is the same as asking him to open the door, right? It should mean the same thing.’

So, Nancy Hughes nodded affirmatively. Dylan Heston held out his hand, palm up. “Key card.”

Nancy Hughes obediently handed over the key card. Then, Dylan Heston scooped her up into his arms.

“You idiot. This isn’t your room. Of course it won’t open!”

Nancy Hughes’s alcohol tolerance had indeed improved, but after drinking, her brain became sluggish and couldn’t quite keep up.

Leaning on Dylan Heston’s shoulder, she gave a muffled “mhm,” yawned, and felt overwhelmingly sleepy.