Howard understood his father’s silent plea. He took the rose and placed it in Caitlin’s hands, clapping his little hands with excitement.
Seeing her son so happy, Caitlin leaned down and kissed his little face.
“Thank you, my son!” she said.
Sebastian widened his eyes in disbelief. “Hey, the flowers are from me! Don’t I get a reward?”
“Dream on!” Caitlin shot him a glance.
“…”
Sebastian watched as his son proudly shook his little head, clearly siding with his mother.
He was defeated! It was clear: his son was always more popular than him!
Sebastian felt a pang of jealousy-how dare his son go behind his back to support his mother?
Dinner resumed, and soon, Connor’s grand 999 red roses were wheeled over to their table.
The flowers were met with enthusiastic admiration from Yasmin’s friends.
“Wow, 999 roses! Yasmin, you’re so lucky!” one of them exclaimed.
“Connor really went all out!” another chimed in.
Yasmin glanced at Caitlin, feeling somewhat balanced. Caitlin received flowers, and now she was receiving hers-hmph, hers were red roses!
At that moment, Connor, seizing the opportunity, started his own confession. “Yasmin, do you know how I feel right now? It’s like these fiery red roses! I… I…”
Connor abruptly stopped, forgetting his words. He hurriedly pulled out a small cheat sheet from his pocket. The people around him burst into laughter.
While Mr. Vanderbilt was playing romantic, Connor was playing the fool!
Yasmin’s face reddened with embarrassment. Couldn’t Connor get it together? Why did he have to make such a spectacle of himself?
Meanwhile, across the street at a hotel opposite the restaurant, Bruce and Arthur were using binoculars to spy on the revolving restaurant.
“Dad is sending 999 roses to Mom!” Arthur shouted. “Quick, Bruce! Don’t let him succeed!”
“Okay!” Bruce swiftly typed on his laptop and blacked out the entire building’s power system.
Immediately, the entire building, including the revolving restaurant, plunged into darkness.
“Haha, it’s blacked out! Let’s see how he delivers those flowers now!” Arthur laughed with glee. If their dad knew they were messing things up, he’d be furious.
At that moment, in the revolving restaurant, Connor was about to continue his confession when all the lights went out. The entire restaurant was plunged into darkness, but the building outside remained lit up.
“Hey, hey, hey! What’s going on? Who turned off the lights? I haven’t even finished my speech, and the cake hasn’t arrived yet. Why are the lights off?” Connor shouted, bewildered.
The guests were also confused and unsure of what had happened.
“It’s a power outage!” Caitlin said softly.
“That’s right! It’s a power outage!” Sebastian added.
Just as everyone’s eyes were adjusting to the darkness, Caitlin suddenly felt someone cupping her face and planting a rough kiss on her lips.
She had been kissed!
The kiss was forceful and domineering.
By the time she realized it, the person had already pulled away.
After figuring out that the man opposite her had stolen a kiss, Caitlin was furious.
She swung her fist toward his face, but it was caught by his large hand before it could land.
Soon, the restaurant was lit by candlelight as the waiters quickly lit candles on each table.
The soft, flickering candlelight pushed away the darkness and illuminated the faces of those nearby.
Caitlin saw Sebastian, his hand still wrapped around her fist, a smug grin on his face.
Pulling her hand back, she turned to look at the night view outside, fuming with anger.
That shameless man-always taking advantage and getting bolder!
She would have taught him a lesson if it weren’t for their son being present.
Sebastian should thank the power outage-it gave him the opportunity to get what he wanted.
Meanwhile, across the street, the two little troublemakers had no idea their plan had backfired.
Their father’s roses were successfully delivered, and the power outage didn’t disrupt his plan. Instead, it gave him the chance to steal a kiss.
A waiter explained, “Ladies and gentlemen, please don’t panic. The restaurant experienced a power outage, and we’re investigating the cause. Please remain calm!”
The guests were no longer in a panic, and candles were placed on every table.
Through the flickering candlelight, Sebastian watched Caitlin and thought she looked even more beautiful, like a painting, radiating grace.
“Are you done eating? Let’s go,” Caitlin said, as she had received a call from Faith. She still had some matters to attend to and didn’t want to waste more time here.
“Now that the power’s back, we can’t take the elevator yet. Let’s wait until it’s fixed,” Sebastian suggested, hoping the power would be out for the entire night so that he could spend more time with her.
However, the next second, the lights came back on.
“The power’s back on. Let’s go,” Caitlin said as she stood up, taking Howard’s hand and walking toward the door.
“Caitlin…” Sebastian called out, but she didn’t stop. He quickly followed, catching up with her and their son.
Yasmin noticed they were leaving and immediately felt disappointed.
Her birthday had been ruined!
Everything had been stolen by Caitlin-her favorite man was all focused on her. How annoying!
As Connor watched them leave, Yasmin felt defeated.
“Come on, let’s go,” Connor said, trying to cheer her up. “It’s your birthday, and I have a surprise for you. Let’s go.”
Yasmin had lost interest in the birthday celebration. But with Connor around, she felt a bit better.
She had to show Sebastian that there were many men pursuing her-if he didn’t accept her, it would be his loss!
And now that Caitlin was there, she needed to outshine her tonight.
“I can’t lose to Caitlin!” Yasmin declared.
“No problem! I’ll make sure you’re the center of attention tonight,” Connor promised.
Yasmin felt better after hearing that. As long as she stood out, Caitlin would be reduced to a mere backdrop.
The elevator descended to the first floor, and Caitlin, with Howard in tow, stepped out.
Sebastian followed, and their car was waiting outside.
Xavi opened the door for them. “Caitlin, please get in!”
“No, take Howard upstairs. I have my own car,” Caitlin replied, guiding Howard into the vehicle. Howard held onto her hand tightly.
“Get in, I’ll have someone take you home!” Sebastian said, standing behind Caitlin.
He flashed a “thumbs up” at Howard, silently thanking him for keeping Caitlin from leaving.
“No, I have other matters to attend to. Howard, be a good boy, and Mommy will see you often,” Caitlin said, trying to comfort her son.
Howard, reluctantly, released her hand.
Caitlin turned and hurriedly walked away.
“Hey, Caitlin!” Sebastian tried to call her back, but she didn’t stop. When she got farther away, he hurried to follow.
He saw her get into a luxury car, and as the car drove off, he briefly saw a small face-one that looked just like Howard’s. The child even waved at him.
What was going on?
Was he seeing things?
Howard was in his car, wasn’t he?