Alder Locke had just finished speaking when he realized he had blurted out his words, hastily trying to explain, "That’s not what I meant, actually..."
"No need to explain, I’m not interested in knowing." Before Alder Locke could finish his words, Titus Zane coldly interrupted him, truly uninterested in Alder Locke’s hobbies.
Glancing at Titus Zane, Alder Locke pursed his lips, the smile on his face disappearing as he turned back to look ahead with furrowed brows. A man, frivolous by habit, once serious, appeared quite intimidating with his tightly drawn handsome face.
Stopping the car a kilometer away from the city tower, Alder Locke got out of the driver’s seat. Before he could walk around to the passenger side to open the door, Titus Zane had already gotten out on her own.
Adjusting her scarf, she put her hands into the pockets of her casual overcoat, her lightly made-up face still expressionless.
Alder Locke’s brow subtly furrowed, a fleeting shadow of gloom crossed his handsome face, unseen by Titus Zane, who continued to look straight ahead.
"Let’s go, we’ll walk from here." This update ıs available on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩
Approaching Titus Zane, Alder Locke had regained his composure. He intended to put his arm around her, raising his arm hesitantly but eventually choosing not to place it on her.
At the onset of early winter, the weather in Capital City was bitterly cold. Titus Zane’s cream-colored cashmere coat was unbuttoned, with both large buttons undone.
Alder Locke, who was about to drape his arm around Titus Zane’s shoulders, moved his hand to the front instead and buttoned up those two buttons without her noticing, the gesture natural and unforced.
"It’s cold weather; girls should take care not to catch a chill."
Looking at her quietly, Titus Zane still murmured a "Thank you," indifferent though she was, his caring gesture was indeed heartwarming.
The two walked side by side towards the city tower, maintaining a safe distance between them.
The silence along the way made them seem much more awkward compared to other couples.
Titus Zane hadn’t wanted to come out with Alder Locke, so she didn’t initiate any conversation. It was Alder Locke who couldn’t help but break the silence first, looking ahead with a slight curve of his thin lips.
"Do you dislike me that much?"
This sudden question caught Titus Zane off guard. She stopped walking and turned her head around, coinciding with Alder Locke turning his handsome face. Their eyes met, Alder Locke’s filled with an emotion Titus Zane couldn’t decipher.
Seeing her silent, Alder Locke asked again, "Do you really dislike me so much that you don’t even want to speak a word to me?"
Alder Locke put his hands in the pockets of his overcoat, the formally dressed man standing against the wind, his expression adding a desolate air.
Having it put so bluntly made Titus Zane slightly uncomfortable, she was not an unrefined person, though indifferent; she still maintained basic politeness.
Lips twitching, just as she was about to say something, she felt a tight squeeze on her arm, as Alder Locke steadied her, "Come on, if you don’t want to talk, just walk with me."
After speaking, Alder Locke continued walking forward, arm in arm with her.
It wasn’t an overbearing gesture and was quite natural; Titus Zane cast her eyes downward to where her arm was held and did not resist.
Looking at Alder Locke again, the mischievous man with a serious face looked somewhat stern, his handsome face sharply chiseled and distinct.
Alder Locke’s demeanor was nothing like Nathan Moore’s, who was a graceful and elegant gentleman, though his brows hinted at shrewdness.
Whereas Alder Locke, his brows conveyed a spirited air, devil-may-care as a carefree scion when not serious yet bearing a strong resemblance to his father, Finnian Xenos, when he was.
It was an aura of firm authority that seeped through his very bones.
Titus Zane lowered her eyes, speaking softly, "I’m sorry, I’m not accustomed to talking with strange men."