Dario followed Veronica's gaze across the street, immediately spotting Cullen and Niall walking together.
The Reid family had rarely interacted with the Dennis, meaning Dario had never actually visited Dennis Estate or realized its proximity. Observing Cullen and Niall, he couldn't help but curl his lip with disdain. "What are those two doing here?"
Veronica pulled her eyes away from the couple and responded flatly, "That's the only entrance road to Dennis Estate."
Dario froze momentarily as realization dawned on him. "Wait, so Cullen's bringing Niall to meet his family already?"
Before Veronica could answer, Dario let out a sharp, incredulous laugh. "The divorce papers aren't even finalized, and he's already parading her around the family estate? What's the rush?"
Indeed, Cullen did appear eager. But Veronica knew better—he had actually attempted to introduce Niall to the Dennis family months ago. Cook's fierce opposition combined with Douglas's serious illness at the time had forced Cullen to back down temporarily.
This introduction wasn't rushed at all but rather long delayed. With their divorce proceedings underway, Cullen clearly wasn't going to miss this opportunity when it finally presented itself.
Dario studied her face before asking, "Speaking of which, when exactly are those divorce papers getting finalized? It's been dragging on forever."
"I'm not sure," Veronica replied with practiced neutrality. "Last time I asked Cullen, he just said 'soon.'"
But weeks had passed since that conversation, and Cullen remained silent on the matter.
Dario scoffed. "Typical. He's supposedly desperate to divorce you and marry Niall, yet he hasn't bothered telling you to finalize anything. Next time you see him, remind him to hurry up and get it done. Even seeing him from a distance irritates me."
Veronica offered a slight smile. "I'll do that."
Shortly after returning to her office, Veronica's phone rang. She paused briefly upon seeing the caller ID before quickly answering, "Mr. Norman."
Ridley Norman had been a longtime friend to both Douglas and her grandfather. Throughout her childhood in the capital, whenever her grandfather met with Ridley, he insisted on bringing Veronica along. In many ways, she had grown up under Ridley's watchful eye and guidance.
Due to deteriorating health, Ridley had left the country several years ago to seek treatment abroad and hadn't returned until now.
"I've come back home," Ridley's warm voice carried through the phone with a gentle chuckle. "Veronica, why don't you join me for lunch this weekend?"
"I'd love to," Veronica replied without hesitation, genuinely pleased at the prospect.
Ridley's smile was audible in his voice as he added, "Oh, and make sure to bring Cullen along too."
Veronica's enthusiasm dimmed slightly. Before she could formulate a response, Ridley apologized that he needed to end the call—guests had arrived at his residence.
Staring at her phone, Veronica hesitated momentarily before composing a message to Cullen: "Mr. Norman has returned and wants us to visit him this weekend."
After sending it, she set her phone aside and immersed herself in work, pushing away thoughts about Cullen's potential response.
The following morning, just after settling at her desk, her phone vibrated with a notification—Cullen had finally replied with a simple, "Okay."
She had messaged him yesterday afternoon, and he was only responding now, nearly a day later.
As she was about to put her phone down, another message from Cullen appeared: "Saturday or Sunday? Morning or afternoon? Is there a specific time?"
Before she could even process this sudden interest in details, a third message arrived: "Can you call Mr. Norman to confirm?"
Veronica didn't bother responding directly. Instead, she called Ridley to verify the details and then forwarded the confirmed time to Cullen without additional comment. His sudden attentiveness after such a delayed initial response felt oddly performative, but she pushed the observation from her mind. She had more important matters requiring her attention than analyzing Cullen's inconsistent communication patterns.