24

During this peaceful period, she calmed down a lot and started thinking from Geoffrey's perspective. She even browsed posts about how couples get along on online forums.

Gradually, she understood that not all couples tell each other everything without reservation. Although he had more secrets now, she could feel that he truly cared about her.

Perhaps he had his reasons, so Aileen planned to find a suitable time to have an open and honest conversation.

The cold dew had passed, and the weather in New York was not as cold anymore, but there were several consecutive days of gloomy rain. Today was a rare sunny day, and Aileen put down her revision materials, planning to do some exercises and clean the house.

After tidying up the first floor, she brought the clothes in the garden back inside. When she opened the wardrobe on the second floor, a small card fell out from inside a black suit. She squatted down to pick it up, and it turned out to be Geoffrey's ID card.

In the picture on the ID, he was wearing a white shirt and not wearing glasses. His thick eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his black and white eyes seemed to shoot out icy shards.

Aileen chuckled softly. Even though she had seen him like this before, she hadn't expected him to look so serious in his ID photo. He must have made the staff who took the picture quite nervous.

Her index finger touched the portrait. Although she had seen Geoffrey without glasses, the photo gave him a bit of a youthful appearance, and his temperament seemed cold and melancholic, like a chilly and melancholic teenager.

Her gaze moved to the validity date. It turned out to be taken six years ago.

No wonder he looked somewhat different; he had just graduated with his master's degree back then, right?

Her eyes scanned upward.

Huh???

November 23rd.

Today is his birthday!

Ashamedly, she had just learned about this special day, unsure if there was enough time to prepare a gift. In her impression, Geoffrey didn't care much about material things. He didn't buy luxury watches or trendy sneakers; even his attire seemed like it was for convenience, always wearing the same black suit.

Instead of focusing on those things, she decided to prepare a warm dinner. She walked to the study, pen in hand, to make a shopping list. In the afternoon, while Geoffrey was at work, she quickly ordered a cake and some take-out from the supermarket.

With the ingredients ready, she felt that something was still missing. Suddenly, her eyes brightened, and she headed out to a flower shop.

At 6 o'clock in the evening, Geoffrey arrived home on time. Hearing the commotion at the door, Aileen greeted him with delight.

"You've had a hard day again."

As she opened the door and saw her smiling face, the man shed the seriousness from the workplace. "Not hard at all."

When he stepped into the foyer, Aileen smirked, raising a mini confetti cannon in her hand and pulling the string.

"Bang!"

"Geoffrey, happy birthday."

The sound of the cannon accompanied the chorus of good wishes as colorful confetti filled the air and showered down on the man.

His hair, shoulders, and even eyebrows were covered in confetti, but he remained motionless, looking at the woman's proud smile. His blue eyes gradually lit up like stars and seas.

Seeing his lack of reaction, Aileen's mischievous mood started to falter.

"You didn't forget your own birthday, did you?"

"Hmm...Yes."

He approached her, his big hand pulling her into his arms, his voice soft, "But from now on, I will remember that November 23rd is my birthday."

The first sentence made Aileen feel a little disappointed, but the second one made her heart ache. Did he never celebrate his birthday before?

"Alright, let's not dwell on this. I've prepared other surprises for you."

Struggling out of his embrace, she eagerly led him to the living room but not before adding, "Keep your eyes closed; I'll tell you when to open them."

"Okay."

A faint curve formed on Geoffrey's thin lips as he obediently closed his eyes and followed her based on instinct.

A delightful fragrance filled the air.

"You can open your eyes now."

Raising his eyelids, he saw a table set with an exquisite candlelit dinner, and the dishes and arrangement were typical of British cuisine. In the middle were two layers of a 10-inch chocolate cake, small and lovely.

His gaze focused on the champagne roses, carefully arranged in a glass vase, with candlelight shining on their pale yellow petals like golden dust.

His eyelashes flickered, and his blue eyes showed a hint of emotion.

It was the same flower he had wanted to give her but didn't.

The champagne rose's language of flowers: "Falling in love with you is the greatest happiness of my life."

"How is it? Do you like it?"

Seeing his lack of reaction again, Aileen grew anxious and sought feedback on her own.

"I love it."

"That's good. Shall we start our meal then? Oh, wait, I almost forgot. We should put candles on the cake first and sing a birthday song..."

As Aileen chattered and bustled about, Geoffrey watched her with affection in his eyes.

Later in the night, after everything was done, they sat on the balcony chairs, enjoying the breeze. Due to the approaching winter, the night sky had few stars visible.

With a glass of red wine in her hand and under Geoffrey's gaze, Aileen took a sip and wanted another, but her glass was taken away. She licked her lips, feeling unsatisfied.

"Let's chat, shall we?" They rarely had a chance to be together like this, and she faintly felt that this time he might be more willing to open up to her.

"What's your relationship with the man at the hotel last time?"

"He's Ford Chamber of Commerce President Pete. We have a business cooperation. I entrusted him to sell the new drugs I developed to Southeast Asia."

So, they only had a business relationship. Aileen breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't involved in illegal dealings.

"Do you often meet with him? You seem to be quite familiar with each other."