Chapter 580
Chapter 580
Winter quietly closed the message and rested her phone facedown against her chest.
For a moment, her mind went completely blank.
Beside her, Richie rolled over in his sleep. His legs kicked a few times before he settled onto his side with his back to her, one hand tucked under his cheek and the other resting loosely on the pillow.
Winter looked at the back of his head.
The soft hair near his ears curled inward slightly, making him look even cuter.
She couldn’t resist leaning closer, pressing her cheek gently against his head, and kissing the top of it.
He was so adorable when he slept.
He looked like a little angel.
Winter leaned in again and breathed in his familiar baby scent.
He still smelled soft and sweet.
The room was completely quiet except for the wind howling outside.
The forecast said the snow would continue through tomorrow.
Winter let out a quiet sigh and got out of bed.
The room was dim as she walked over to the window and lifted one corner of the curtain.
From there, she could see the side of the glass greenhouse.
But the wall facing her was completely covered in climbing roses, leaving nothing visible beyond the dusty pink flowers and green leaves.
Winter frowned.
Chris’s words seemed to echo in her mind again.
“Unless it’s necessary, I won’t show up in front of you p>
Then why was he asking her to meet him in the greenhouse?
Was he planning to prove himself wrong already?
Five minutes later, Winter stood outside the greenhouse, frowning even harder.
Forget it.
She was already here.
Chris had noticed her long before she came inside.
She had been standing at the door for a while, frowning one second and relaxing the next, as if she were talking herself into going through with it.
She had showered and changed.
Over her pajamas, she wore a white puffer coat that reached almost to her ankles. A little of her pale pink pajama pants showed beneath the hem.
Her hair was piled into a high bun.
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Chapter 580-
Without makeup, her face looked softer and younger.
And when she pressed her lips together, a faint dimple appeared in her right cheek.
There was something almost playful about it.
Winter met Chris’s dark gaze and pressed her lips together again.
Then she headed up the steps in her fuzzy slippers.
They were the same pair Mrs. Young had bought for her back when she still lived at Blackwood Manor.
Mrs. Young was gone now, but the slippers were still here, just as warm as she remembered.
There had not been a greenhouse at Blackwood Manor before Winter moved in.
She had been the one who had it built.
Back then, very few people knew she was technically Mrs. Xander.
No one at the Xander estate had addressed her that way.
But at Blackwood Manor, she had truly been the woman of the house.
Winter stepped inside and dropped into a chair with a soft throw draped over it.
She kept both hands tucked into the pockets of her puffer coat and looked up at Chris, lifting her chin slightly.
The angle made her eyes look even rounder.
For a moment, she looked almost exactly like Richie.
Then she looked away.
Her gaze wandered elsewhere as she lowered her head and tucked half her face into the collar of her coat.
“What did you want p>
Chris did not answer.
Instead, he walked over and closed the greenhouse door.
When Chris turned back toward her, he pulled a small dark red box from the pocket of his charcoal plaid coat.
Winter immediately realized what it was.
She shot to her feet and bolted for the door, cutting around the other side of the table.
She had a head start and was closer to the exit.
But she had forgotten just how fast Chris was.
Back in the military, even among highly trained soldiers, his speed and endurance had been exceptional.
Winter reached the door and grabbed the handle.
Before she could pull it open, Chris caught up with her.
One hand came down against the glass beside her, still gripping the dark red box. He was holding it so tightly that the veins stood out across the back of his hand.
His other hand closed over hers on the door handle, stopping her from opening it.
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Chapter 58Q p>
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The hand covering hers was rougher than she remembered, marked with scars of different shapes and sizes.
They were from the explosion outside the city.
When the explosives Fabian had planted went off, Chris had thrown himself over her and shielded her from the flying debris.
The fragments had ripped through the air like shrapnel.
“I don’t want it,” Winter said, her voice slightly hoarse.
Chris kept his hand over hers.
With Winter caught between him and the glass door, he lowered his gaze to her profile.
His eyes lingered for a moment before drifting to her ear.
His throat moved.
“Richie gets a birthday present p>
His voice was low.
“You’re his mom. You get one too p>
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