No Wife, No Life Chapter 36

Caden still had that laid-back, playboy vibe, looking all relaxed and casual.

He was holding a bunch of flowers too. A big bunch of red roses.

He walked right over, passing her mom's grave, then three more, before stopping in front of another one.

He placed the bouquet of red roses in front of the headstone, his expression turned serious as he paid his respects.

"Gloria Moore loved red roses, so I always bring her red roses."

Harper was taken aback. Who was Gloria to him?

He bent down, split the roses into two bunches, then walked over to her, glancing at the headstone in front of her. He smiled and said, "I never thought our moms would be neighbors."

His tone was light, like the deceased were still alive.

With that, he placed the roses in front of the headstone, bowing respectfully.

"Ms. Taylor, I hope you like red roses too. May you be as beautiful as a rose in heaven."

Harper watched him, the coldness in her eyes slowly melting away.

"Ms. Orsini, don't you think it's fate? Both of our moms seem to want us to be together."

He winked, his eyes full of amusement. "Look, even their death anniversaries are on the same day."

He paused, then continued, "If I had known their anniversaries were the same, I would have paid my respects to both of them together in the past."

Then, he pulled her over to his mom's grave, smiling brightly. "Mom, I brought someone special today. Her name is Harper Orsini, and she's the woman I like. I think you'll like her too. I hope you can tell Ms. Taylor in heaven that I want to marry her daughter."

Harper's cheeks turned bright red, as if they were burning.

She shook off his arm, angrily shouting, "You're crazy!"

She stormed off, but after a few steps, she turned back and respectfully bowed in front of the headstone.

Caden's smile grew even more satisfied, as if he had expected her to do that.

He chased after her down the hill, still teasing, "I already asked Ms. Taylor, and she said she's happy to entrust her daughter to me. I promised her I'd take good care of you."

Harper was both angry and annoyed, ignoring him as she walked out of the cemetery.

At the bottom of the hill, there was no one around.

She opened her phone app, ready to call a ride back to The Orsini Villa.

She had promised Alex she would attend Emily's birthday party today.

It was just past nine, so the guests were probably just arriving at The Orsini Villa.

"Where are you going? I'll give you a ride."

Caden had already come down the hill, standing next to her, raising his left arm to shield her from the sun, smiling. "What if your beautiful face gets sunburned? I'll block the sun for you."

"Mr. Elikin, don't you have anything better to do?"

He pretended to be annoyed. "Of course I'm busy, but I'll always have time for you."

Harper ignored him, her eyes fixed on the phone app.

She waited for a while, but there were no cars nearby.

After all, it was a cemetery, and it wasn't a day for mourning, so there were few cars around.

Caden grabbed her, opened the passenger door, and pushed her inside.

"Come on, I'm not going to eat you. What are you afraid of?"

Once in the car, Caden glanced at her. "Where to?"

Harper looked out the window and gave the address of The Orsini Villa.

Caden knew the area well. It was a swanky neighborhood, not quite as posh as his, but still pretty high-end.

"Today is Emily's birthday," Harper said casually, with a light smile.

Caden was about to start the car, but his hand froze for a moment. Then he grinned and said, "Awesome, free cake! Ms. Orsini, you'll take me, right? I can be your companion."

He added, still in a teasing tone, "I won't let you go alone. I'm your protector."

Harper stayed quiet, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She just watched the scenery flash by outside the window, her expression even.

Surprisingly, Caden was unusually quiet on the way.

Harper leaned her head against the window, seemingly asleep.

Soon, they arrived at The Orsini Villa.

Harper opened her eyes and looked at him, saying calmly, "I'll return that hairpin to you."

She wouldn't accept such an expensive gift from him for no reason.

Caden put on a deliberately sad expression. "I'm trying to court you. That was my first gift to you. If you refuse, what am I supposed to do? My heart will break."

Harper rolled her eyes, then opened the door and got out.

Caden quickly jumped out too, urgently declaring, "I'm serious."

By now, the villa's entrance was filled with cars. Brad must have invited a ton of people.

Harper glanced at the black Maybach, recognizing it as Alex's car.

He was already here.

Caden walked over and took her hand.

Harper stiffened, instinctively wanting to pull away.

He leaned in, whispering, "You don't want to lose to Emily, right? I'll help you win."

Harper thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.

She didn't necessarily want to win, but she didn't want to go in alone.

Just like he said, he really was a good partner.

Caden smiled triumphantly, tightening his grip on her hand.

"Let's go in."

They pushed open the doors to the hall, and the villa was indeed packed with guests, mostly business associates of the Orsini Group.

These people surrounded Alex, showering him with flattery.

Indeed, while they were wealthy, they couldn't compare to the Lavien Group and couldn't enter such high society.

Brad was beaming, clearly pleased.

Many people now knew that the Orsini family had connected with the powerful Lavien family, and their future looked bright.

At that moment, Harper and Caden walked in together. All eyes turned to them.

Some familiar faces recognized him, exclaiming, "Isn't that Mr. Elikin from the Elikin Group?"

"Oh my God, it really is Mr. Elikin."

The guests couldn't help but flatter Brad.

The Orsini family's eldest daughter was close to the Elikin Group's CEO, Caden.

The Orsini family's second daughter was deeply in love with the Lavien Group's CEO, Alex.

The Orsini family was on the rise.

Brad and Emily hadn't expected Harper to bring Caden, and their faces showed surprise.

At that moment, seeing Caden and Harper walk in together, Alex's face darkened.

He strode over, coldly questioning, "What are you doing here?"

This was a private party, and the Orsini family hadn't invited him. He wasn't a friend or relative of the Orsini family. What right did he have to be here?

Caden looked at Harper, smiling, and said, "Ms. Orsini invited me. We're already at the 'meet the parents' stage."