Had he missed this place? Was the new dish up to standard? Clearly, these two were regulars here.

The woman was the first to emerge from the booth, a subtle smile playing on her lips. She was dressed in black jeans, a blue V-neck sweater, with a beige down jacket draped over her arm, seemingly ready to be worn.

Following closely behind her was a man, not only was his voice familiar to Rose, but his silhouette was also something she had known all too well. Dressed in a black suit, he too had a coat draped over his arm, and in his other hand, he was holding a woman's handbag.

Once the woman was dressed, he handed her the bag. "Thank you," the woman said, looking up at the man with a smile.

The man's usually stoic face lit up with a smile that seemed glaringly out of place.

Winston didn't recognize the woman, but upon seeing the man, he couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. Speaking of the devil.e2

For a moment, Rose felt a bitter laugh bubble up in her throat. Was her blind insistence all this time just a monumental joke? Over the past few days, she had been numbing herself, refusing to think about it, refusing to care. But now...

Morrison always had a knack for hitting where it hurt the most. She pulled a wry smile, her face etched with irony. Morrison's subtle smirk sent a shudder through her. A sudden wave of dread surged up to her head, causing her vision to darken and her strength to drain away. Instinctively, she reached for Winston's arm, her knuckles turning pale from the sheer force.

Perhaps sensing something amiss, Morrison looked up, and his smiling eyes suddenly dimmed when they landed on Rose.

It was only a moment, but in his dark eyes, she saw a drastic shift from the warmth of summer to the freezing cold of winter. His face was devoid of any expression, as cold as ice.

She let out a low chuckle; the contrast couldn't have been more stark.

Noticing Rose's change in demeanor, Winston furrowed his brows, reaching out to touch her hand only to find it shockingly cold. He leaned in closer, whispering, "Are you alright?"

Rose blinked, and slowly withdrew her hand from Winston's arm. She managed a small smile, "I'm fine."

The woman by Morrison's side seemed taken aback when she saw Rose. Her gaze lingered on Winston before finally landing on Rose. She then calmly approached Rose, her face adorned with an impeccable smile and soft-spoken words. 'Rose, it's been a while.

Rose gave her a steady look before finally breaking into a smile, 'Indeed, it's been a while." Her face bore an equally impassive smile, equally unassailable. "When did you get back?"

Rose's question seemed to catch the woman off guard, "A couple of days ago."

"I see." Rose nodded, her smile widening ever so slightly, "Had your meal?"

"Yes, we were just about to leave."

"Alright, I just got here. We'll catch O some other time.

"Sure..."

The woman had been largely passive throughout the conversation. After exchanging a nod with the woman, Rose turned to Winston and said, "Let's go,' swiftly moving past the woman standing opposite her and striding forward. The waiter, who had been waiting to guide them to their table, stood awkwardly place.

Now Rose understood why they had been looking at her so strangely.

Watching Rose act as if everything was normal, Winston raised an eyebrow and followed suit.

Morrison stood there, his expression cold as ice, his gaze fixed Rose as she moved further away. But Rose didn't spare him a glance, stopping instead by the waiter, "Aren't we going?"

"Oh... right this way, please." The waiter quickly snapped out of his daze, gesturing for Rose to follow.

The restaurant was upscale, its hallways wide enough for two people to pass by each other comfortably. The distance between her and Morrison was more than enough.

Her blatant disregard for his presence seemed to light a fire in Morrison's heart. Especially when the man following her lifted his head as he walked past Morrison, making sure he got a good look at his face, Morrison's expression darkened further.

No one had expected him to suddenly turn around and grab Rose's arm. "What are you doing here?"

In response to his angry interrogation, Rose simply smiled at him. 'This is a restaurant, Mr. Morris."

Did he think she came to the restaurant sleep?

Morrison could clearly hear the sarcasm in Rose's voice, his grip on her hand tightening involuntarily. "You really want to play this game with me?"

Rose sighed, "I came here to eat. Is that okay?"

Morrison squinted at her, "Don't forget what your status is."

Rose abruptly looked up at him, her eyes flashing with anger. 'Is this restaurant so significant that I can't come? Or are you saying that my status doesn't grant me the privilege to dine here?"

Morrison's eyes narrowed further, but Rose forcefully pulled her hand away, "Mona is waiting for you. You wouldn't want to give people something to talk about, would you?"

To talk about? Yes. To see Morrison tom between two women. One was his wife, who was pregnant not long after their marriage. The other was his one true love, widely known and dearly missed.

Noticing Morrison's gloomy expression and his obvious unwillingness to continue their argument, she knew he had made his choice. Rose let out a cold laugh, "Don't keep Mona waiting. It's not often she comes back."Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"At least you know your place." Morrison looked down at her, his gaze icy as he scrutinized the woman who was significantly shorter than him.

Rose chuckled lightly, "As one should. We all have our pride, and none of us want to make a spectacle of ourselves for no reason. It's not good for you, for me, or for the Witt family. Why bother?"

The last two words she uttered inexplicably conveyed a sense of determination to Morrison. For no apparent reason, a chill ran through his heart, and his already gloomy expression darkened once again.

Rose still wore a faint smile, 'So, take care, Mr. Morrison. I have an appointment, so I won't see you out."

With that, she turned and left, leaving Morrison standing there with a storm brewing on his handsome face. Winston breezed past him, a pair of narrow eyes glinting with amusement. "Congrats."

The word floated to Morrison's ears.

Congrats? His usually composed face finally cracked. Was he congratulating him, or himself?

Mona stood still, watching every change on Morrison's face. She pursed her lips and said softly, "I'm sorry, Morrison.

It was my idea to come to this restaurant. I didn't know we would run into Rose."

Morrison cast her a fleeting glance, "What have you done that you need to apologize for?"

Mona's expression stiffened. His words suggested he was brushing off the matter, yet Mona could sense that he was distancing himself from her.

They were just having a meal. Her apology seemed a bit too overblown.

Mona felt a twinge of embarrassment, "I noticed that Rose seemed upset, I was afraid she might misunderstand something."

Morrison frowned, 'Let's go."

"Okay."

As Rose and Winston settled into a private booth, Winston didn't hesitate to start ordering from the menu. "Get one of each of your signature dishes, and all of the new items well

Rose's eyes flickered. Morrison had just been singing praises about the new dishes here.

Winston closed the menu and put it on the table, "And some hot tea.

"Of course, please wait a moment."

As the waiter tumed to leave, Winston added, "Be careful with the food. She's pregnant."

The waiter glanced at Rose and smiled, "Don't worry, sir."

After the waiter left, Winston looked at Rose, one leg casually crossed over the other, and swayed leisurely. "Want a drink?"

Rose looked at him, 'Do you have short-term memory loss?"

He had just ordered hot tea for her and instructed the waiter, and now he was offering her alcohol. Was he looking for trouble?

Winston raised an eyebrow, "A good drink can drown all sorrows, right?"

Rose paused, then chuckled, "Am I upset?"

Winston held up a hand, imitating a pair of eyes with his fingers, meaning both of his eyes saw it.

Rose's smile didn't fade, 'Even if I weren't pregnant, I wouldn't get drunk and make a fool of myself today."

"Heh." Winston chuckled, "Rose, don't you think you're contradicting yourself? You chose to bind a man to you with a baby, so in front of Morrison, you've lost your dignity. Now you're acting like this, so why did you insist on marrying him in the first place?"

Rose's face paled. Everyone said the same thing.

But she couldn't refute it. Things were indeed like that. So what was she still proud of?

The smile on her lips was bitter, "Maybe I made a mistake.'

Winston shook his head, picking up a fork and idly twirling it. "I don't advocate that people must be kind, generous, benevolent, and noble. In the past, these were virtues, but now it's all bullshit. It's just the other party conveniently creating a cage for you.

"There's nothing wrong with doing whatever it takes for love, for what you want, as long as it doesn't involve illegal activities. After all, the outcome is your own business, and what does it have to do with anyone else? People have a common problem. They don't turn back until they hit a wall. So do you feel like you've hit a wall?"

Rose's eyes trembled, and she stared blankly at Winston.

He looked at Rose and snorted with laughter. "Who do you think is your wall? That woman? Or your husband?" Rose stared at his fork for a long while before she finally said, "Neither. My wall can only be myself." Only when she surrendered to herself would she truly lose.

Winston raised an eyebrow, "So..."

"So I don't want to deal with that couple of jerks right now. Feeding myself and my son is the priority. They should get as far away as possible and stop ruining my mood."

Winston: 'You're something."

God, she really had a different way of thinking. No wonder she and Chloe were best friends.

Soon, the dishes were served one by one. The waiter also kindly introduced each dish.

Rose tried a bit of everything. The dishes were mostly light, which was Morrison's preference. His words were not meant to flatter Mona, but their tastes did align.

However, for Rose now, these dishes did not suit her taste. Luckily, there was a variety of dishes. She had a little bit

of each and then ordered a bowl of soup. After all, she was treating Winston to a meal. It wouldn't look good if she didn't eat. More importantly, she needed to feed herself and her son.

Rose asked the waiter for another bowl of soup, and Winston glanced at her.

"Turning your grief into appetite?"

'Turning my grief into shit." Winston's face darkened, and he lost his appetite looking at the spread of dishes before him. "I never realized you were this disgusting."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at his reaction, "Don't overthink it, Winston. Don't you know? Food is love. These are some of the finest dishes you'll ever have. You'll miss out if you don't try them."

'I'm not a foodie."

Rose took a bite and looked at him casually, "Not foodie... Don't you love love then? Is that why I haven't heard any rumors about you?"

Winston lifted his gaze and looked at her casually. "Hasn't the leading lady in my rumors always been you?"

Rose's gossipy expression froze. That was true; there were rumors about them when they were investigating the shopping mall in the P City.

But it seemed to have died down, probably overshadowed by Chloe's affair. As for what they were rumored to be later, she hadn't really paid attention.

With that thought, she suddenly covered her mouth, "I remember we did have a rumor, but what happened after?"

"To explain is to cover up, but not to explain is to admit."

Rose's mouth fell open in surprise, 'So, your visit to the R City this time, there won't be any paparazzi catching us, right?"

Winston chuckled, "Don't you know everyone's a reporter these days?"

Ever since social networking platforms took off, with citizen journalism on the rise and smartphones in every pocket, how could anyone resist capturing and sharing every moment of their lives, especially if it could potentially go viral?

Rose understood Winston's point but tried to comfort herself, 'Don't worry. Your disguise is so convincing, I doubt anyone could recognize you."

"Who knows?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the abrupt opening of the private dining room door. They had been expecting the waiter to deliver their meal.