Chapter 297 The Farewell Dinner
Cecilia snapped back to reality and glanced at the clock—it was already 10 PM.
She'd been sitting here all afternoon and evening without moving, and now her neck and shoulders were aching.
She stood up from the sofa, stretching her arms, and said to Augustus, "We're done for the day."
"Yes, Ms. Lockhart." Aside from in Alaric's villa, Augustus was rarely more than a step behind her.
They left the Lockhart Group together.
Exhausted, Cecilia settled into the car seat and pulled out her phone to check her messages.
Her eyes widened when she saw a message from Alaric at 5 PM, inviting her to dinner and even providing the address.
But with how busy she'd been, she hadn't even glanced at her phone.
Alaric hadn't called to follow up or checked if she'd seen his message.
She frowned and dialed his number.
"Ms. Lockhart, you finally remember me?" Alaric's voice was light and teasing.
"Why didn't you call me if you wanted to go out for dinner?" Cecilia sounded exasperated.
She had missed his message and didn't realize there was a dinner plan.
"You're so busy. Do you think a phone call would make you drop everything and come to dinner?" Alaric's tone was casual.
"At least I could've turned you down," Cecilia said firmly.
Alaric chuckled.
"It's not like the result would have been any different. I figured I'd let you work. When you're done, you can clock out.""I really can't deal with you sometimes," Cecilia admitted, feeling that she and Alaric were just on different wavelengths.
Most people would follow up if they didn't get a response, but Alaric seemed to be content just waiting. Maybe for him, asking her out was just a polite formality.
Realizing this, Cecilia felt a bit relieved.
"I'm heading home now," she said, about to hang up.
"Should I have the staff start bringing out the dishes?" Alaric asked.
Cecilia was taken aback.
She thought she must have heard wrong.
Or maybe she misunderstood.
Alaric's next words confirmed it. "I'm still at the restaurant waiting for you."
She thought, 'Is he out of his mind?
'He is actually waiting for me?'
Even though she thought he was a bit crazy, she couldn't help but feel touched.
She ended the call abruptly and told Augustus, "Head to The Fifth Season."
"Yes, Ms. Lockhart." Augustus followed orders without question.
Cecilia felt a mix of frustration and a strange need to vent. "Does Alaric have a habit of just waiting around without any notification?"
"What?" Augustus looked puzzled.
"Does he always do this—just wait around without any notice, no matter how long it takes?"
"Not really," Augustus said seriously.
Cecilia agreed; this wasn't typical Alaric behavior.
Cecilia couldn't shake the thought that if Cassius were late by even a minute to a dinner with Alaric, Alaric would probably lose his mind.
"Mr. Whitaker never initiates dinner invitations," Augustus added.
Cecilia felt a jolt, as if something had struck her deeply. Alaric's behavior toward her… was it really that different?
The car soon arrived at the destination.
Cecilia quickened her pace and entered the restaurant, only to stop in her tracks in the lobby.
The vast hall was empty except for Alaric, who was sitting alone at a table. A soft, delicate light cast a gentle glow over him.
He sat perfectly still, as though frozen in time, like a finely carved statue.
He looked so beautiful, yet so isolated.
Cecilia took a deep breath and walked over slowly.
Hearing her footsteps, Alaric turned to face her.
Seeing her approach with such determination, he smiled.
Rising gracefully from his chair, he pulled it out for her with a gentleman's courtesy, inviting her to sit.
Cecilia glanced at him, then took her seat.
With a subtle gesture from Alaric, the staff began to serve the meal.
At that moment, the waiter filled their wine glasses with a rich, expensive red.
"Is today some special occasion?" Cecilia asked, puzzled by the formality.
She thought, 'If it's an important day, why didn't he give me a heads-up? I might have set work aside for something like this.'
Alaric didn't answer.
Cecilia started to speculate. "Is it our 100-day wedding anniversary?"
Alaric shook his head.
"Your birthday?" she continued guessing.
Alaric's brow furrowed slightly.
Alright then. She honestly couldn't remember Alaric's birthday.
"My birthday is February 2nd," Alaric said.
Cecilia felt a bit embarrassed. She really hadn't paid much attention to these details.
She thought that maybe Alaric didn't know her birthday either.
But then Alaric said, "Yours is August 8th."
She thought, Could he cut me some slack?'
A smile appeared on Alaric's face.
"So, what's the occasion?" Cecilia asked, still puzzled by the elaborate setup.
"If it's not a special day, why the fuss?" Cecilia was genuinely surprised.
Nothing seemed off, but she was starting to wonder.
"I'll be leaving Serenovia City for a few days starting tomorrow," Alaric said.
She thought, 'Ah, a farewell dinner!
'Shouldn't it be me organizing this?'
"Few days?" Cecilia asked, focusing on her main concern.
"According to the schedule, about ten days," Alaric replied.
"Ten days?" Cecilia was taken aback.
The idea of him being away for that long was hard to grasp.
"The city hall has planned a series of outreach talks. I've been assigned to a more remote district. I should be back in ten days if everything goes as planned."
"What about Dominic?" Cecilia inquired.
Alaric's expression changed slightly.
"Don't read too much into it. I'm just curious about how you and he are being treated differently," Cecilia said with a serious look.
"Dominic will stay in Serenovia City for now, but he'll likely be sent to some nearby districts later on."
"So, you're being singled out," Cecilia concluded firmly.
Alaric didn't seem particularly bothered by it.
"Leaving tomorrow morning?" Cecilia knew she couldn't change the city hall's plans.
"Yes, first thing tomorrow. That's why I wanted to have dinner with you tonight. I was worried I'd miss you too much while I'm away," Alaric said, his tone casual.
His words had a way of sounding warm upon reflection.
She thought, 'So, Alaric wants to have dinner with me because he'll miss me while he is gone.
'And I have made him wait at least four hours.'
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