She was engrossed in reading a medical book when Franklin called, “What are you doing?”
“Reading at your villa,” Sylvia replied, flipping open another book about ancient architectural techniques used to build palaces.
Although these techniques were from a thousand years ago, they were still applicable today because the principles were almost the same.
Many ancient buildings still stood today, like Prince Javon’s mansion, which was now a tourist attraction.
The palace was also well-preserved, thanks to the efforts of ancient architects.
“Why do you sound distracted?” Franklin asked, sensing her inattentive tone.
“Oh, I got absorbed in the book. It’s fascinating,” Sylvia said, amused by his slightly jealous tone. “It’s about architecture. Do you know anything about it?”
Franklin raised an eyebrow, “What’s so hard about architecture?”
“Wow, sounds like someone is an expert,” Sylvia teased, recognizing his confident tone.
“I’m not telling you,” Franklin changed the subject. “Look out the window.”
“What’s there to see?” Sylvia put down her book, yawned, and walked to the window.
His voice continued with a hint of allure, “Do you see it?”
Sylvia couldn’t believe her eyes as she looked outside, frowning slightly. “What are you up to?”
Outside was a giant hot air balloon with a colorful exterior and a blazing bonfire in the basket’s center.
Franklin stood in the middle of the balloon, waving his phone at her.
Sylvia: “…”
The hot air balloon floated closer to the villa’s window. Franklin reached out his hand, “Come on up.”
Sylvia hung up and was pulled into the balloon by Franklin. The balloon slowly began to ascend.
Standing at the edge of the basket, she looked out at the clear blue sky and fluffy white clouds-a rare beautiful winter day.
To her surprise, Franklin had set up a small, exquisite dining table inside the balloon.
The table was set with steak, red wine, and salad.
“May I have the honor of inviting Miss Andrews to lunch?” Franklin wore a navy blue coat with shiny buttons that exuded elegance.
He was handsome and had a model-like figure that made any outfit look good.
Sylvia glanced down at her hastily wrapped down jacket. “You should have told me earlier. My jacket doesn’t match your coat.”
“The weather is cooler up here. I’m glad you’re wearing a down jacket; otherwise, if you caught a cold, it would be my fault.” Franklin began to carefully cut the steak. “The steak is freshly cooked and still hot.”
Sylvia smiled as she watched him. “Alright.”
She couldn’t deny that she was in a great mood.
Breathing in the fresh air with the blue sky above her, she had never ridden in a hot air balloon before-this was her first time.
A gentle breeze lifted her hair, bringing a touch of winter chill.
Franklin set up an iron frame and tied up the surrounding drapes, creating a cozy world inside the balloon.
“This should block some wind and keep it from being too cold.”
Sylvia was surprised by his thoughtfulness. “It’s fine; I’m dressed warmly.”
Franklin placed the cut steak in front of her and smiled. “Try it.”
Sylvia’s cheeks were rosy as she picked up a fork and tasted a piece of steak. Her expression changed slightly after the first bite.
Franklin looked at her curiously. “How is it? Tasty?”
“The steak… tastes strange,” Sylvia said, looking down at the steak. It seemed fine-cooked well and seasoned with black pepper-but it tasted bland, very bland.
“Uh-” Franklin tasted it and immediately felt embarrassed. He had never cooked steak before and was only familiar with making simple dishes like porridge or fried rice.
This was his final attempt after ruining several steaks that morning.
He realized he had forgotten to marinate it and had just cooked it with butter.
Sylvia eyed him suspiciously. “Did you make this steak yourself?”
Franklin quickly denied it. “How could I? No wonder the president always wants to eat at your place; the palace chef must be terrible.”
Even I criticize myself!
“Really not your cooking?” Sylvia laughed at his words.
“Really not,” Franklin insisted, unwilling to admit it. He needed more practice to make a proper meal for her someday.
After all these years, Sylvia had always cooked for him…
Despite the steak’s poor taste, Sylvia graciously ate several pieces.
She also had some salad, which thankfully tasted fine.
“I hope this chef improves their skills in the future.”
She elegantly wiped her lips with a napkin, not exposing Franklin’s lie.
This man was too proud to admit he made the steak.
No chef would make such a bad dish; the president would fire them immediately if they did.
As the hot air balloon drifted through the sky, Franklin couldn’t help but hold her close. “Honey, thank you for always being by my side.”
A few white clouds floated above them in the blue sky, and below were beautiful sunlit mountains.
The endless forest stretched far into the distance.
In their small world within the drifting balloon, Franklin’s lips met hers.
In this rare moment alone together, the hot air balloon felt like an isolated paradise.
After a long while, Franklin released her.
Sylvia leaned weakly against him, gazing into his eyes. Franklin felt a sudden ache in his heart under her intense gaze.
“Sylvia, we’ve rarely used contraception. Why haven’t we conceived? How can we remove Love Parasite’s effect on your body?”
Sylvia was stunned; she hadn’t expected Franklin to ask this now.
The blue sky and white clouds drifted by as the balloon floated to another part of the valley.
Her eyes flickered before she finally said, “I don’t know.”
She truly didn’t know.
“Does its presence mean we’ll never have our own baby?” Franklin held her shoulders, his dark eyes filled with sorrow.
He dreamed of having a baby-a child that belonged to him and Sylvia.
“Someday… there will be a way. Maybe the person who created Puppet Dust can help,” Sylvia said, knowing no one else could match that person’s expertise. She felt inadequate compared to them.
Franklin’s eyes lit up. “I’ll find them no matter what it takes and make them help you.”
“But… we don’t even know who they are or where they are,” Sylvia sighed. “It’s too elusive. If you really want a baby, we can adopt one like Mr. Howlett and Evie.”
“If we adopt one, I’d rather just have our world for two,” Franklin kissed her forehead. “Don’t feel pressured. We don’t need a baby.”
The hot air balloon drifted slowly through the sky.
After about half an hour, Franklin maneuvered it back to the villa.
Sylvia didn’t change clothes and went straight to meet Brock at a cafe as planned.
The cafe was quiet with soft music playing overhead.
Being a weekday, there were only a few customers inside.
Brock had arrived early and was sitting by the window reviewing some documents.
When the doorbell rang as Sylvia entered, he looked up to see her tall and slender figure wrapped in a white down jacket.
“Miss Andrews.”
He stood up and waved at Sylvia. “Over here.”
Sylvia nodded and walked over quickly, sitting across from him.
“So? Are you interested in filming Princess Sharon?”
“Princess Sharon’s life is legendary; even today, her abilities are remarkable,” Brock smiled, pushing some documents toward Sylvia. “These are some related materials about Princess Sharon and budget estimates for funding. Take a look.”
“So many investors?” Sylvia saw the list of investors on the first page, including their projected amounts. “$900 million? A big-budget TV series? This includes Darius? And Isabelle? Even Brayden? What are they all up to behind my back?”
She hadn’t expected Brayden to get involved too-not to mention the Gibson family and Mollie’s brothers-and Logan…
“They’re all conspiring against me?” Sylvia threw the investment proposal back at Brock in frustration.
“No, Miss Andrews. There are other investors too! Look at Simeon… he’s an award-winning actor! And Eden-they’re both investing and competing for Prince’s role…”
Brock couldn’t help but laugh. “So everyone is optimistic about Princess Sharon. Do you want to make it a movie or TV series?”