Lilian scrunched up her face in protest.
"Dad, Mom, please, can you not arrange any more blind dates for now? I just got out of a relationship. I’m not ready for anything new yet—I need some time to heal."
Another excuse, carefully crafted to stall the inevitable matchmaking machine that was her parents. With any luck, she could ride the "heartbreak recovery" wave for at least a few months.
Tiffany and Daniel exchanged glances, then Tiffany gave a light sigh and waved a hand.
"Alright, alright, fine. We’ll back off. You handle your own love life then."
Then she added, as if remembering something,
"By the way, your brother called. He said you should visit A.T. for a change of scene. Take a break."
Lilian nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, I’ve never been to A.T. before. It’s the perfect chance to visit and unwind. Plus, it’s been ages since I last saw him and the others."
Tiffany started mothering again right on cue.
"Then let the driver take you. It’s too long a drive for you to go alone, and I won’t feel safe if you do."
That’s when Lilian hesitated—just a beat too long.
She thought of Morrison, who had very assertively told her earlier that he’d be going too, and she’d be going with him.
So she coughed lightly and said, almost guiltily,
"No need. Um... Mr. Morrison said he also wanted to visit my brother. He offered to give me a ride."
The room went silent.
Tiffany frowned immediately.
Daniel, ever the more diplomatic one, spoke up after a pause.
"Lilian... you just broke up with Karl. Don’t you think it’s a little... awkward to be seeing someone else from their family right now? Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?"
Lilian lit up instantly, pouncing on Daniel’s concern like a lifeline.
"You’re right, Dad! You’re absolutely right. I didn’t even think about that!"
Inwardly, though, she was sighing in relief. At least this gave her another layer of cover—and a perfectly logical reason to decline parental supervision on her trip.
What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
And Morrison... definitely didn’t mind playing the villain behind the scenes.
Lilian hadn’t really wanted to go to A.T. with Morrison in the first place.
But with him insisting so strongly that he’d give her a ride, she couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse to say no.
Then Daniel unwittingly gave her the perfect out.
She told him, "My parents don’t want me going with him. They think it’s not appropriate, since I just broke up with Karl, to have any contact with their Mo family right now."
After saying that, Lilian grabbed her phone and rushed into her bedroom to call Morrison and officially decline his offer.
The moment the call connected, his voice came through with that smug smile she could practically hear.
"Already calling me? Missing me that much?"
Lilian was speechless. Seriously—did he have to be this full of himself?
But then she thought, knowing how self-absorbed he was, he was probably going to be furious when she told him no.
That thought alone made her grin.
She told him about her parents’ refusal, and added that maybe it was best if they each went their separate ways this time.
As expected, Morrison sounded like he was about to blow a fuse.
"Your parents really said that?"
Lilian answered proudly, "Of course they did."
There was a pause on the other end.
Then she heard the unmistakable roar of a car engine starting up.
"I’m coming over to talk to them myself."
Lilian nearly dropped the phone in shock.
Did she hear that right? He was actually going to show up and talk to her parents?
Morrison’s voice was firm and serious on the phone.
"I’m going to talk to them. You’re broken up with Karl, not with me. Why can’t you be around me? Why can’t we be together for this trip?"
She was his woman now, and Morrison wasn’t about to leave her safety in anyone else’s hands—not even the veteran drivers from Burg Eltz who had been around for years.
"Hey, hey, don’t come! Is it really necessary? It’s just about not going to A.T. together. Why are you making such a big deal?"
She honestly didn’t get what he was thinking. What if he showed up out of nowhere and accidentally blew their cover?
But Morrison refused to back down.
"I don’t trust you riding with someone else. I’m only going to convince them to let you go with me. I won’t say anything else, so don’t be so scared."
He’d already read the little worries in her voice and tried to reassure her.
But no matter what, Lilian was firm.
"No way! You’re not coming. If you do, I won’t talk to you anymore. I’ve always ridden with our family’s driver growing up—why don’t you trust that?"
Lilian wasn’t the type to fake things or put on a mask like they did in the business world. If he actually came and stood with her in front of her parents, she wasn’t worried he’d slip up. She was terrified she would.
But Morrison stood his ground.
"Lilian, I have my principles too. This isn’t something you can just throw a tantrum over and have me give in. See you soon."
And with that, he hung up.
Lilian nearly lost her mind in her room.
Meanwhile, Morrison had just pulled up to the Mo family estate, ready to visit Tiffany after hearing her parents refused. But after turning the car around, he stopped again, looked down at his clothes, and then headed back inside.
Inside, Karl was cowering under Linda’s scolding, looking like a kicked dog—frustrated and helpless.
Morrison walked in just as Linda was yelling at Karl.
"What do you mean your values don’t matter? Can you eat those? Tell me—what’s wrong with Lilian? She’s such a good girl. Why are you breaking up with her?"
Karl shot Morrison an annoyed glance and jerked his chin toward Linda, saying,
"If you want to know why I broke up with her, ask him."
After being scolded for so long, Karl was about to lose it. With Morrison walking in, he shifted the blame.
Wasn’t it Morrison who pushed them apart? Why should he be the one taking the heat?
But Linda didn’t know any of these tangled backstories.
She just shouted louder,
"You broke up with Lilian, what does that have to do with your brother? Don’t try to deflect! I’m talking to you!"