He Wouldn't Claim Me — Another Man Did

Chapter 178 - 164: Reporting In

After that day, sleeping together seemed to become a natural progression for them.

Although Silas’s things were still in the guest room, he slept in the master bedroom three to four days a week.

He and Luna had no emotional attachment, yet their life as a married couple was surprisingly harmonious. Every time they found release in each other’s arms, it came with a cathartic pleasure, as if all their worries and stress had been purged.

Silas wasn’t a man driven by carnal desire, but he truly enjoyed being with Luna, to the point that he found it almost addictive.

He once believed that their marriage, a union for mutual benefit, would bring nothing but endless misery. Now, it seemed to hold its own unexpected pleasures.

Just as Silas was starting to enjoy his new married life, Luna suddenly left for a business trip abroad.

Just as before, it was Aunt Sinclair who told Silas the news.

"The young miss flew to Valtria today. Her assistant came by the house this afternoon to pick up her luggage. She said she’ll be gone for a week."

Business trips were perfectly normal—Silas went on them often himself—but for some reason, he felt an inexplicable pang of disappointment upon hearing the news.

Back upstairs, Silas went straight into the study.

After mulling it over for a while, he couldn’t resist texting Luna.

"I think it would be better if we kept each other updated on our schedules from now on."

Luna replied quickly. "If you want to, I’m okay with that."

"I do."

"I’m in Valtria now. I’ll be back in two weeks."

’She really did it, just like that.’

Silas stared at the message for a long time, finally coming to one conclusion: ’Two weeks is a long time.’

--

In her office in Sternberg, Luna stared for a long time at Silas’s message about keeping each other updated on their schedules.

"President Langley, is something wrong?" her assistant, Aki, couldn’t help but ask when she noticed Luna had been lost in thought for a long time. "Did something happen?"

"Aki, you have a boyfriend, right?"

"I do."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Three months."

"Just three months? I remember you saying you had a boyfriend when you started here three years ago."

"Oh, him? That was, like, three ex-boyfriends ago."

Luna’s eyes lit up. "You’ve dated that many? You must have a lot of experience with relationships, then."

"I guess you could say that. If you’re running into any problems, President Langley, I can help you figure things out."

"Well... if someone suddenly starts caring about your whereabouts, what do you think that means?"

Aki grinned. "That means President Lockwood likes you."

Luna looked away. "I didn’t say it was him."

"Who else could it be?"

"Forget it. Never mind. Go on, get back to work. Let’s try to finish up here early so we can head back ahead of schedule."

Aki nodded. She took the signed documents and was at the door when she suddenly remembered something. "President Langley, if we get back early, does that mean we don’t have to postpone the charity event for the Meritopia Community Shelter?"

When Luna’s father was alive, he had been passionate about charity work. Every year before the Mid-Autumn Festival, he would visit the children at the Meritopia Community Shelter, bringing them gifts and clothes for the occasion. After he passed away, Luna continued the tradition.

"Alright. Call the director and tell them I’ll be there, schedule permitting."

"Yes, President Langley."

--

Ten days later, Luna’s trip in Valtria wrapped up ahead of schedule.

As soon as her plane landed, she headed straight for the community shelter.

Having visited several times before, the children at the shelter recognized her instantly. The moment they spotted her car, they all scrambled out to greet her.

"Luna! Luna!"

"Luna’s here!"

"Luna..."

Luna knew the little ones would be waiting for her, so she had brought back plenty of chocolates and small gifts from her trip abroad.

"Sweethearts, I brought lots of yummy treats and little gifts for everyone! But first, I need to do a little survey. Who’s been eating all their meals, and who’s been studying hard?" Luna scanned the crowd like a kindergarten teacher. "Now, I’m going to count to three. When I say three, if you ate all your food, raise your left hand. If you studied hard, raise your right hand. Okay?"

"Okay!"

"Alright, one... two... three!"

The little rascals were sharp; every single one of them raised both hands.

"I ate all my food and studied hard!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"And me!"

"..."

Luna laughed. "Alright, alright. Since you’ve all been so good, then everyone gets a gift."

She brought out the chocolates and small gifts and began to hand them out to the nearest children. They swarmed her like fish in a pond rushing toward bait, each one scrambling for their turn. She could barely keep up.

When Silas stepped out of the shelter’s main hall, the first thing he saw was Luna handing out gifts.

Luna was wearing a white suit dress today, looking as elegant and capable as always, but the smile on her face had a purity and gentleness that Silas had never seen before.

He stared, momentarily captivated.

The shelter’s director followed Silas’s gaze and immediately understood. "That’s President Langley from the Langley Group. She’s a generous benefactor to our shelter. She visits the children often, bringing them books, warm clothing, and other supplies. The kids all adore her."

Silas nodded. The way Luna looked as she handed out the gifts, she was like an angel. ’And who wouldn’t love an angel?’ he thought.

As he was watching, Luna suddenly seemed to sense his gaze and turned her head, looking in his direction.

Their eyes met from a distance. Luna smiled at him first, and Silas smiled back.

"President Lockwood, you know President Langley?" the shelter’s director asked.

"She’s my wife."

The director was both surprised and delighted. "President Langley is as kind as she is beautiful. You’re a very lucky man, President Lockwood."

"Thank you."

After the charity event at the shelter ended, Luna and Silas left together in the same car.

"You’re back early?" Silas asked, looking at Luna beside him. "Didn’t you say it would be two weeks? It’s only been ten days."

Luna was surprised that Silas had actually kept track of how many days she’d been away; she herself had lost count.

"I finished my work ahead of schedule, so I came back."

"Looks like you still haven’t gotten the hang of updating me on your schedule," Silas said.

"I... I just thought that after the event at the shelter was over, I’d see you when I got home. Isn’t it better to update you in person?"

"Did you want to update me in person? Or did you just forget?"

Luna lowered her gaze. "Okay, I’m sorry. I admit it, I forgot."

Seeing her look like a child who had done something wrong, Silas chuckled. "You don’t have to apologize. I’m not going to punish you. I just would’ve liked to know you were coming back ahead of time."

"And if you had known in advance, then what?" Luna asked.

’Right, then what?’

’She was back now anyway. What difference would it have made if he had known beforehand?’

Silas couldn’t come up with an answer.

Fortunately, they arrived at Sutton Gardens just then, and the driver interrupted their conversation.

Silas and Luna got out of the car together. As they walked into the foyer, Silas finally thought of an answer to justify himself.

"If I had known you were coming back early, I could have asked Aunt Sinclair to prepare your favorite dishes. But since you didn’t say anything, she didn’t know you’d be back today. She took the day off, so we’ll have to get takeout tonight."

"Takeout is fine with me. I don’t mind."

"Okay. Think about what you’re in the mood for, and I’ll order."

Luna watched him quietly, unmoving for a long moment.

Silas grew a little flustered. "Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t tell me... you want to eat me instead?"