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Vista Town was feeling the full swing of winter.
The hallway window was cracked just enough to let in some fresh air, creating a chilly draft that made it feel like there were two separate worlds: one cold outside and one warm inside.
But Dailey wasn''t cold; in fact, he was on fire.
He had only opened the door a crack, wary of Christine catching a chill, but then he swung it wide open.
And just as quickly, it mmed shut again.
Dailey walked over and tenderly held Christine''s face, kissing her.
She even felt a bit scorched by the heat of his palm.
"Why are you so hot...?" she asked, trying to push him away slightly.
Without answering, Dailey scooped her up, kicked off his shoes, and strode towards the bedroom.
His kissnded as he finally replied, "Isn''t it obvious? You''re the one who lit the fire."Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.
Christine couldn''t hide her affection for Dailey, and he was well aware of it.
But for some reason, hearing those words from her seemed to have an overwhelming impact.
Christine, caught betweenughter and tears, pleaded, "Stop messing around, go take care of what you need to."
But Dailey was already undressing.
Christine was close to losing her patience, "Get lost, will you?"
Dailey leaned in closer, "It''ll be quick."
"Get out!"
...
Over at the rkson''s.
Normand had been home for a while.
He kept checking his watch, asking Jayne, "Are you sure he said he''d be back?"
It had been two hours since Jayne called Dailey.
Their home was a fair distance from Christine''s, but surely it shouldn''t take two hours to drive back. The whole family was waiting to have dinner together, thinking Dailey would have returned by then. But they had ended up waiting much longer than expected.
"Let''s eat," Normand suggested, standing up. "Mom, Dad, we''ll eat now and wait for him afterward."
Just then, they heard a car pull up outside.
Normand quickly sat back down.
Before anyone else could react, Dailey walked in. The housekeeper moved to take his coat, but he waved her off and came straight in.
As the family resettled on the couch, Dailey casually took a seat across them, his legs crossed, waiting for someone to break the silence.
Normand was the first to speak, "Do
you have any idea we''ve been
ne
waiting to have dinner? I could det it slide, but making grandpa and
Sait?"
grandma
Dailey responded without much expression, "It''s just past six, isn''t that the perfect time for dinner?"
He had cooked dinner early at Christine''s, nning to let her rest a bit before eating.
He had been watching the clock.
Either he would arrive at the rkson''s now or a bitter, after they had finished dinner.
He had wanted toeter, but Christine had sent him away.
"You could have started without me," he said, clearly not in the mood for dinner now.
But it wasn''t toote, so Normand shared the news, "Nelly''s pregnant."
He wasn''t fond of Christine.
He hadn''t expected Nelly to be carrying Dailey''s child.
It was exactly what he didn''t want to happen.
Butpared to Dailey insisting on marrying Christine, Nelly''s pregnancy seemed like a lesser evil.
It could even be a way to separate Dailey from Christine.
Dailey, hearing the news, showed no reaction.
Normand, trying to keep his cool, continued, "Aren''t you going to say something?"
Dailey simply nodded, "Well, I guess I should celebrate bing an uncle. I''ll write a check."
Normand was fuming inside.
But no matter how angry he was,
Dailey was his only son, the focus of
all his Ropes and efforts since
childhood. He didn''t want to drive a wedge between them.
I
"The rkson bloodline must be preserved," Normand said after a nce at Nelly, pausing before adding, "We''re not asking you to marry Nelly, but you have to take responsibility for her and the child."
Nelly expected this oue.
swnt
It didn''t matter to her; what mattered was that Dailey would have to distance himself from Christine.