"So?" Byron narrowed his eyes, urging her.

"Sure, but let's make a deal first," Maeve added guiltily. "If it's not important, we can't touch each other's phones. Or we can only look with permission."

Byron sneered. "What do you take me for?" He snorted at the idea of looking through her phone. He simply wanted to be prepared.

After Archer delivered Maeve's phone, she entered Byron's fingerprint. When Byron showed no interest in her phone, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's your wallpaper?" Byron suddenly asked.

Maeve's breath caught. She choked and coughed, her phone falling onto the bed. It was a drawing of a bartender she'd done for Bonnie. She liked it and used part of it as her wallpaper. While she thought it was decent, she'd be embarrassed if Byron saw it. She quickly hid the phone under her pillow and lay on top of it. "Nothing. Are you mistaken?"

Byron narrowed his eyes, assessing her. "Hand over your phone. It was a photo of some other man."

"It's nothing," Maeve replied vaguely. "It's just a photo of my vegetables. There's nothing to see."

"I haven't eaten breakfast. I'm starving," Maeve said, changing the subject.

Byron stared at her until she felt she was about to break. Finally, he looked away and called for her breakfast. Maeve secretly sighed in relief.

While Byron washed his hands, she changed her wallpaper to a photo of her vegetables and locked several albums. Only then did she relax.

It was almost evening. Maeve needed to return to work tomorrow, so she requested discharge that night.

Byron had the doctor give her a thorough examination. After confirming she was fine, he had Archer handle the discharge. Then, he told Maeve to wait while he visited another ward. Patrick was awake. Seeing Byron, he smiled kindly. "Byron, are you done with work? It must have been hard managing such a big company."

"It's alright. It's not that tiring," Byron replied, sitting down. Seeing Patrick didn't look well, he asked warmly, "Are you still feeling ill? Do you need me to get the doctor?"

Patrick shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I just heard from Karen that you're married."

Byron nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Did your grandfather arrange it? Or is it someone you like?"

"I chose her myself."

"I see." Patrick looked troubled. He sighed. "What's her family background? If you have time, will you introduce her to me?"

Byron paused. "I'm afraid not for now. She's a little shy. I'll bring her to see you if there's a chance next time."

Patrick sensed Byron was evasive. He felt helpless but didn't press further. "Alright, I'll be waiting then."

After Byron left, Karen emerged from the bathroom.

Patrick saw Karen's unhappy expression and sighed. "Karen, forget it. Byron is married. Even if you know who his wife is, you can't do anything about it. Besides, he even kept it a secret from me."

Karen bit her lip. "I grew up with Byron. How can his wife know him as well as I do? How can she treat him as well as I do? Dad, I don't want to give up. I still have a chance."

"Why are you still being silly? He's already married. How can you say you have a chance?"

"So what if they're married? They can also..." Karen trailed off, but her ambition remained. If Byron divorced, she'd have a chance.

On the way home from the hospital, Maeve noticed the mall's Christmas decorations. It reminded her of Christmas.

"It's beautiful," she said. "One of my wishes to Santa was for a Christmas tree full of presents. But that wish never came true." Byron drove steadily, replying, "Only a fool would believe in Santa Claus."

Maeve, lost in childhood memories, was speechless.

She put away her phone and sat glumly. "Of course, I know Santa doesn't exist. But can't I fantasize about it? Don't all children hang socks hoping for gifts?"

"Not me," Byron said.

"How miserable your childhood must have been," Maeve remarked.

Byron snorted, dismissing her childishness.

Passing a supermarket, Maeve asked him to stop so she could buy groceries.

After parking, they entered the supermarket. Byron had wanted to wait in the car, but she persuaded him to come.

"Our fridge is almost empty. We need seasonings and daily necessities," Maeve listed on her fingers.

"Can't you buy these yourself?" Byron asked, walking beside her lazily. "Why must you drag me along?" He thought, Does she need to be with me every minute?

Maeve looked up. "If you don't come, how can I carry everything myself?"

Byron was speechless. He quickened his pace, leaving her behind.

The extraneous promotional text at the beginning and end has been removed. The narrative has been cleaned up for grammar, punctuation, and flow. Some minor phrasing changes were made for clarity and natural language.