On Leland’s birthday, a simple bowl of noodles was prepared in the kitchen. Winifred didn’t send the painting out, feeling uneasy about it. She felt that sending it out would make it seem like she cared too much about Leland.
She placed the painting in a drawer by itself, with the words “For Leland, Happy Birthday” written on the back.
When she eventually leaves, and the room is cleaned out, Leland will see it.
Winifred didn’t prepare anything, and Leland wasn’t disappointed. This was the norm every year, and he was used to it.
At least this year he could attend her birthday banquet with her in two months.
Gregory was sick; either in the hospital or going back and forth. Winifred visited him twice, saying a few caring words before ignoring him.
The exam scores for the college entrance exam were good for both Winifred and Leland. With these scores, they could pick any university they wanted.
Leland always followed Winifred like her shadow. Wherever she went, he followed. But this time, Winifred said she would give him freedom and that he didn’t have to follow her anymore. He could study what he wanted and go to the university he liked.
It sounded wonderful.
But he felt like a kite with a broken string, aimlessly drifting, unsure of where to land, feeling lost in life for the first time.
Winifred had a substantial inheritance in her name, which she would receive when she turned eighteen
Her mother left it to her, but how she acquired the inheritance after her mother’s death was a mystery. With this money, Winifred wasn’t afraid to leave the Dawson family’s life.
Winifred was self-aware. She was lazy and liked to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor. She wouldn’t manage the Dawson family’s business, the money she earned from interest alone was more than enough.
For her eighteenth birthday, Winifred discussed with Gregory that she wanted to rent a yacht and go to an island to play with friends. Gregory would handle everything as usual.
Gregory agreed.
Winifred also saw a lawyer about her property. Everything was ready. She was only waiting for September 30th to leave.
Except for Garrison, no one knew Winifred was leaving that day, not even Leland. However, he had vaguely noticed that Winifred was preparing for something – sometimes the lights in her room would stay on all night.
He pretended not to know anything.
The Dawson family bought a three-story luxury yacht, about thirty meters in length, at the dock. It looked beautiful in white.
The yacht could accommodate fifty or sixty people. The invitations Gregory sent out were for close friends and business partners, including the Reeves family. The yacht had a limited capacity, and it wasn’t originally suitable for Leland, but Winifred promised to bring him to her eighteenth birthday celebration.
People began boarding the yacht at 8 o’clock in the morning.
It was a three-day birthday party, starting on September 29th and continuing until October 1st.
Winifred and Leland boarded the boat together as the hosts of the birthday party. Winifred was wearing a slim blue fishtail skirt, showing her slender figure. She usually wore a school uniform, so her good figure wasn’t usually noticeable. But now, in the close-fitting fishtail skirt, her curves were evident. The slit to her thighs made her legs look long and slim, her skin creamy and porcelain-like.
Seeing Winifred like this, Leland couldn’t help but be breathless. She looked like a mermaid princess from a fairy tale.
Winifred leaned against the railing, talking on the phone to Garrison, asking when he would arrive.
Despite the presence of many people, she only had Garrison in her mind. When she knew he was about to arrive, she lifted her skirt to approach him at the entrance.
The banquet began, and Gregory had planned to spend these three days with Winifred on her 18th birthday. However, he hadn’t been feeling well recently and had been experiencing dizziness. He even had to be hospitalized in the middle of the journey.
Leland had been with Winifred the whole time, feeling the scrutiny from Garrison. He didn’t hesitate to return the look.
Their gazes rubbed against each other in the air. Winifred seemed oblivious. The yacht reached an island, where they spent two nights before heading back.
Many people left in some cars when they returned. Even Garrison left early, but before he left, he said one thing to Winifred.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
In the past two days, Leland often saw Winifred talking privately with Garrison. He had an inkling of what was happening. It seemed that Winifred might not be returning after leaving this time.
There were only a dozen people left on the cruise, all of them people who often associated with the Dawson family. They had all gotten tired after these days of excursion on the yacht. After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
Winifred was also weary. Her hair, beautifully styled in the morning, was now slightly disheveled from the wind. There was a big temperature difference between day and night at sea. Even though it was chilly, she still wore a skirt during the day. In the evening, she had to wear a coat.
Leland’s gaze deepened as he looked at Winifred’s delicate neck. Just as Winifred was about to go upstairs to rest, he called out to her.
“Miss.”
Winifred held onto the handrail and turned around to face the wind. Her brows were slightly reddened by the wind, but even without makeup, she still looked beautiful.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Are you about to leave with Garrison soon?” Leland asked.
Meeting Leland’s dark eyes, she found it increasingly difficult to understand his thoughts as he got older.
She replied with a soft “Hmm.”
Leland’s expression was obscure as a bitter smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Could this be our last night together?” he continued.
Winifred said nothing.
Leland’s voice grew hoarser. “It’s a pity I didn’t even get to wish you a happy birthday.”
Everyone had been around Winifred these past two days, all from wealthy backgrounds. Leland, a servant of the Dawson family, indeed did not have the qualifications to be around her.
He had been restraining himself, waiting until tonight.
“Miss, I have prepared a birthday present for you. Could you please come with me to my room to get it?” Leland had prepared a birthday present for her, something completely unprecedented. In previous years, he only prepared a big dinner for her. It wasn’t that he didn’t buy anything; it was because anything he bought was something Winifred would look down upon and not need, so he didn’t bother. Instead, he spent on his culinary skills.