Chapter 446:

Ciara's fork clinked against her plate. She'd tried to prepare herself, but clearly, it wasn't enough. After a few seconds, she exhaled shakily. "Wait...what do you mean gone? Like, dead?"

Caden hesitated. "Not exactly."

Ciara groaned. "Come on, just spit it out!"

Caden scrambled for an answer, quickly improvising to deflect blame. When she finally learned they'd simply flown away, Ciara breathed a sigh of relief. "At least they only flew away. Quick, send someone to look for them. Maybe we can still find them."

Alicia started to speak, but Caden popped a piece of meat into her mouth to silence her. "I've got it covered. Now it's just up to luck."

Ciara looked seriously worried. The more she considered it, the more irritated she became, scolding Caden for quite some time. He shrugged it off, nonchalantly. Alicia felt guilty, thinking Caden shouldn't bear all the blame. She also worried about the two birds. If anything happened to them, Ciara would be heartbroken. However, she was overthinking it. During the meal, Caden's jokes had quickly restored Ciara's good spirits. Alicia relaxed as well.

After comforting Ciara, Caden gave Alicia a meaningful look. She froze, her cheeks flushing as she busied herself. "Grandma," Caden announced, "Alicia and I are heading back now. It's been a long day, and I'm tired."

Ciara, clearly wanting them to stay, said, "If you're tired, why drive? Just stay the night."

Caden shrugged. "We have a dog at home that needs feeding."

"Just ask the housekeeper to take care of it," Ciara retorted.

Without missing a beat, Caden lied, "No, it's picky and only eats what I give it."

Just as Ciara was about to argue, she noticed Caden holding Alicia's hand, gently squeezing it. She instantly understood. "Alright, head back, but drive safely."

"Sure, you should get some sleep," Caden replied.

They left together. "I still have things to grab," Alicia mumbled. "Why the rush?"

Caden shrugged. "We have everything we need at home. We don't need that stuff."

Outside, Alicia playfully pinched him. "Seriously, why the hurry? It's not a race that resets at midnight!"

Caden laughed, ushering her into the car and quickly kissing her. Alicia muffled a protest. "Be careful, someone might see us…"

Caden restrained himself, avoiding further intimacy in the car.