Forced to Marry the Sickly Billionaire-Chapter 348: Your Vinegar Jar Spilled Over

Adrian Holt gazed down at Serena Summers, his sexy Adam’s apple bobbing slightly, darkening his gaze.

"Alright."

As he spoke, he reached out to adjust his tie, feeling a wave of heat rise within him, as if the air temperature around him had increased several degrees.

This was the first time he had seen Serena so proactive, and a secret joy sprouted in his heart.

"Come with me." Serena took his hand, pulling him up from the couch, and walked towards the door.

Adrian’s hand paused while unbuttoning his shirt, his expression stiffening for a moment, "Where are we going?"

"You’ll know when we get there."

"These kind of things... wouldn’t we be seen by people outside?"

"Then we’ll be sneaky, and not let them see us."

Adrian pressed his thin lips together, feigning calm, "It’s not exactly impossible. Since you really want this, I’ll make an exception and go along with you this time."

In reality, his mind was exploding with fireworks, and his heart was pounding wildly.

Serena and Adrian walked hand in hand towards the storage room, oblivious to her words being misunderstood.

She walked briskly to the door of the storage room, turned the door handle, and slowly opened it.

With a "click", the light in the storage room turned on, instantly illuminating every corner of the room.

Adrian’s gaze swept around the room, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.

The storage room was quite large, with a big shelf filled with various items that were not needed on a regular basis.

Although regularly cleaned, there were inevitably some dust in the corners.

The gifts Serena had received for her birthday a few days ago were specially placed on a shelf, packed from one end to the other.

Adrian’s first reaction was one of disdain; he was a neat freak and felt repulsed by the idea of getting intimate in such a place.

"What are you standing there for? Come on over." Serena waved at Adrian.

Adrian met Serena’s clear and brilliant eyes, swallowed back his refusal, and casually closed the door.

Locking it considerately as well.

As long as it made her happy, he supposed it wasn’t unbearable.

Serena stopped in front of a shelf, looking up at him, "Ready? Let’s start."

Adrian’s voice was husky as he responded, "Hmm," taking a step forward, ready to reach out and pull Serena into his arms.

However, at that moment, Serena suddenly turned around, tiptoed, and took down all the birthday gifts previously received from the shelf and placed them on the floor.

Adrian was stunned, "What are you doing?"

"Of course, I’m opening my birthday presents. What did you think I was doing?" Serena looked puzzledly at Adrian.

Meeting those innocent and guileless eyes, Adrian realized he had misunderstood.

He clenched his fist, covering a cough with his hand, his eyes darting away, "I wasn’t thinking anything, weren’t we going to open presents? Go ahead and open them."

"Oh." Serena didn’t think much, squatting down to pick up a gift box, ready to unwrap it.

Those attending Serena’s birthday dinner were either wealthy or influential, many attending simply out of respect for Master Shaw.

Thus, the gifts were also quite expensive.

But mostly were quite similar, either jewelry or some treasured paintings, and almost nothing creative.

Claire Lane had been straightforward and blunt, gifting Serena a villa in the Imperial Capital.

However, the gift from her eldest senior brother this time was quite different from previous years.

He gave her a necklace with a ruby embedded in the center, which was exquisite and beautiful, simple in design, yet bright and conspicuous.

When Adrian saw this necklace, his expression instantly darkened, "Who sent this? No sense of propriety at all. Can necklaces just be given away like this?"

His tone dripping with jealousy.

Serena Summers glanced at him and said lightly, "It was a gift from my senior brother."

Adrian Holt: "...Then never mind, pretend I didn’t say anything."

Serena Summers couldn’t help but chuckle, "Why do you back down so quickly?"

Adrian Holt sighed helplessly, "What can I do? He is your senior brother, after all."

Serena’s lips curled slightly as she picked up the necklace for a closer look. The bright red ruby reflected a dazzling light under the cold light, looking moist and crystal clear.

It seems the senior brother put a lot of thought into it.

Seeing Serena continuously staring at the necklace, Adrian couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy.

"It’s not as nice as the one I personally made. The design is too simple."

Serena shifted her gaze to him, swinging her hand through the air, "Wow, who spilled the vinegar? Why is it so sour?"

"Yours."

He straightforwardly admitted that he was jealous.

Serena chuckled lightly and held his hand, slowly pulling closer, meticulously examining his face.

Adrian Holt, not understanding, let her stare at him.

The next second, he saw Serena nod and say solemnly, "Indeed, it’s from my home."

After speaking, she leaned in and kissed his lips softly.

Adrian Holt was stunned, touching his lips with his finger, his mind filled with the phrase Serena just said: "From my home."

He belongs to Serena, he is hers.

"What? Did the kiss stun you?" Serena laughed watching him, holding her stomach with laughter.

Adrian Holt came back to his senses, looking at her helplessly, "Is it that funny?"

"Yes, you look very cute right now." Serena felt that Adrian Holt seemed more relaxed now compared to two years ago.

Previously, he always carried many heavy burdens, whether it was the illness in his body, his biological mother wishing for his death, or shouldering the responsibility of the Shaw Group.

The weight he had to bear is unimaginable for many people in their entire lives.

This caused him, despite being only in his twenties, to always seem to have an old soul worn by the hardships of life.

Now, he seems livelier, with less pain and struggle.

Adrian Holt couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Since when was "cute" used to describe a grown man?

"Huh? Who sent this? Why isn’t the name written?"

Suddenly, Serena noticed a very delicate and beautiful pink box in the corner, and slowly opened it to find a palm-sized glass bottle inside.

The glass bottle contained many neatly folded stars, with various colors mixed together, looking very beautiful.

A small bow was tied out of nowhere, hanging a small cardholder.

The front featured the Little Prince and the fox sitting on a star, roaming space, creating a beautiful scene.

Serena opened the back and found a line of words: Happy Birthday.

A very brief phrase, with nothing else added.

"There are two more with no names written."

Typically, at a banquet, a gift either contains something that represents the giver’s identity or the host records it. freewёbnoνel.com

But these three gift boxes weren’t on the registration list.

Serena opened each one and found one of the boxes contained a handmade lily-of-the-valley night light, which Serena instantly liked.

The other box contained a beautiful music box.

All three gifts included birthday wish cards, each with different handwriting, yet as if they had agreed, none had a name written on them.

"Who sent these?" Adrian Holt frowned.