Together Apart: Her White Moonlight Has Returned Too-Chapter 22: Four-Person Date

Vera Yves had no intention of attending. She went into the villa’s small kitchen and cooked a bowl of plain noodle soup. Halfway through her meal, she heard the servant in the front hall call out, "Mr. Valentine."

The noodles in her mouth suddenly lost their flavor.

The man changed his shoes and went upstairs.

Vera exhaled a sigh of relief and continued eating her noodles quietly.

After finishing her meal, she went upstairs. Winston Valentine was sitting on the edge of the bed, his upper body bare, with clear red swelling on his back.

Vera wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen it, but Winston coldly instructed, "Come over and apply the medicine."

Vera hesitated for a moment, then went over to pick up the ointment. She applied it to the red marks on his back; even after a few days, it was still swollen, indicating a great force was used at the time.

"The feud between The Yves Family and Cecilia ends here." Winston suddenly spoke with a commanding tone, "Stop treating Cecilia as your rival. I won’t always tolerate you."

Vera’s hand paused.

So he thought she wanted to take revenge on Cecilia Vaughn.

Rival?

"Even if you divorce me, you can’t marry her. Why would I regard her as an enemy?"

Samantha Warren came from an ordinary background. She was once a popular actress before retiring to marry into The Vaughn Family. Although The Vaughn Family wasn’t as powerful as The Valentine Family, they were still a prominent family in Imperia’s upper echelons.

Later, The Vaughn Family went bankrupt. Within half a year, she married Cecilia Vaughn to the eldest widower of The Valentine Family.

Since Winston’s father, Tristan Valentine, was the head of The Valentine Group, and his mother, Melinda Shelby, had the financial backing of The Shelby Family, he had been groomed as The Valentine Family’s heir since childhood.

The Valentine Family would never allow him to bring his uncle’s stepdaughter into the house, especially when The Vaughn Family behind Cecilia had long been irrelevant in Imperia.

Winston’s face darkened. He grabbed her wrist, "So you only care if I’ll divorce you for her?"

Vera maintained a calm expression, "What else should I care about? Should I care that when there’s danger, the first person you protect is her, not me?"

Winston tightened his grip on her wrist, "Does that matter to you?"

Vera recalled the moment he shoved her aside and retorted, "Is there any woman who doesn’t want her husband to put her first?"

Winston glanced at her calm face, scoffed slightly, and released her, "Why should I prioritize you? Do you think you deserve it?"

Winston put on his shirt and left the bedroom.

Vera placed the ointment aside, her eyes stinging. She had tried for three years, never expecting him to treat her like a treasure, but why was he so stingy with even the basic respect?

Winston didn’t return to the bedroom; he spent the night in the guest room.

The next morning, Winston wanted her to go out with him.

His attitude left no room for refusal, so Vera had to change clothes and accompany him.

They sat in the backseat of the car, each occupying one side, neither acknowledging the other.

The car stopped outside an art gallery.

As they got out, before Vera realized, Winston had already taken her hand, and she couldn’t shake it off.

"Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law."

Cecilia Vaughn waved at them with a smile while clinging to a young man’s arm. Her gaze swept over their clasped hands, and her smile stiffened.

Cecilia led the man over and introduced them with a smile, "This is my boyfriend, Luke Shaw. This is my Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law."

"President Valentine, Mrs. Valentine," Luke Shaw politely shook hands with them, subtly pinching Vera’s fingertips, "I’ve heard Mrs. Valentine is a beauty, and seeing you today proves it."

Vera frowned and withdrew her hand, "Thank you."

Cecilia smiled at Vera, "Third Sister-in-law, I’m not very familiar with Luke, and it always feels awkward being alone. So I thought of a four-person date; I hope you don’t mind?"

Does it matter if she minds? They’re all here, weren’t they?

Vera shook her head.

The four of them walked into the art gallery together. Winston held her hand the entire time, while Cecilia stayed closely beside Luke Shaw, holding his arm affectionately.

The gallery was exhibiting landscape paintings.

Vera remembered that her grandfather loved landscape paintings the most and still had many collected in the clinic. Her pace unconsciously slowed.

Seeing her bright expression, Winston also slowed his pace.

Vera looked at each painting, wondering which ones her grandfather would like or dislike if he were alive.

Seeing Vera pause in front of a painting for nearly a minute, Winston moved closer, "Do you like this one?"

His warm hand, his close proximity, the faint woody scent—it all made Vera feel a bit dazed, like they were just an ordinary married couple.

She nodded, "It’s a pity the paintings here are only for display, not for sale."

Winston glanced at the painting disdainfully, "Mrs. Valentine’s taste isn’t great."

Vera wanted to pull her hand back, but he held it too tightly.

Cecilia followed beside Luke Shaw, laughing and discussing the paintings with him. Somehow, his hand had moved to her waist, sliding lower and lower as they walked.

Cecilia seemed oblivious, continuing to chat and laugh with him.

But Vera felt the air pressure around her dropping.

As they left the exhibition hall, it was near noon, and Luke Shaw had already reserved a private restaurant.

The four of them took their seats, and the food was served.

Luke Shaw cheerfully served Cecilia some food, "Their asparagus with shrimp is delicious. Try it."

Cecilia took a bite, "It is indeed good, thank you."

With Winston’s right arm still injured and inconvenient to use, he glanced at Vera. Although she didn’t want to pay him any attention, a hand kneading at her waist made her blush, so she ended up serving him food onto his plate.

Winston leaned near her ear and whispered, "Feed me."

Across from them, Luke Shaw laughed, "President Valentine and Mrs. Valentine are truly in love."

Winston glanced at Vera’s slightly flushed cheeks and chuckled, but his grip tightened a bit, "Young couples are naturally affectionate." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Vera’s cheeks reddened further, and she finally gave in, feeding him a piece of fish.

Winston slowly ate the fish, his eyes on her, "Delicious."

Resigned, Vera continued to feed him. Winston leaned casually against the chair back, his hand resting on her lower back, his slender fingers teasing her subtly, making her feel as if she were on pins and needles.

Cecilia couldn’t maintain her smile at their affectionate display any longer and suddenly got up, "I need to go to the washroom."

Vera was about to feed him a piece of beef, but Winston suddenly stood up, inadvertently bumping into Vera’s chopsticks. The beef, dripping with sauce, fell onto Vera’s white shirt, leaving a stain.

Winston didn’t care and left with long strides.

Luke Shaw brought over a napkin, "Mrs. Valentine, are you okay?"

Vera didn’t take it and instead took the napkin on her lap, turning slightly away, her voice cool, "I’ll handle it myself, thank you."

The feeling this Luke Shaw gave her wasn’t pleasant.

Vera wiped a few times, but the sauce had already soaked in, leaving a glaring stain on her chest.

Luke Shaw didn’t return to his seat and remained standing by her side. Seeing she was done wiping, he leisurely spoke, "Don’t you think we’re quite redundant, Mrs. Valentine?"