On the leisurely walk home, Cohen Phillips swung Baldur Morgan's hand.
"Aren't you going to work?"
Baldur Morgan squeezed his palm.
"I'll go to the company later. I'm having dinner at Morgan Manor tonight. Do you want to come with me to the office?"
"No, I need to work on my draft."
"So you'll have to eat lunch by yourself?"
He looked up with a smile.
"It's not like I can't feed myself."
Baldur Morgan put an arm around his shoulder.
"Poor little thing."
"Where's the 'poor' in that..."
After seeing him upstairs, Baldur Morgan didn't go in.
"I'll have someone bring you lunch at noon. I'll call you tonight."
"Okay."
Cohen Phillips tugged at the hem of Baldur Morgan's coat, his eyes bright.
"Baby, want to kiss me before you go?"
Baldur Morgan pressed their foreheads together.
"You really know how to be tempting."
He tilted his head up slightly, gently brushing against Baldur's cool, thin lips.
"Kiss me before you go, baby..."
Baldur Morgan swallowed, his gaze burning.
"Open your mouth."
"Mmph... mmm..."
Only after kissing him until tears welled in the corners of his eyes did Baldur Morgan pull back reluctantly.
He used his thumb to wipe away the silvery strand at the corner of Cohen's mouth, his fingers stroking the crimson lips, his eyes dark and restrained.
"So seductive, yet your endurance is so poor... what are we going to do later?"
Cohen Phillips's eyelashes fluttered.
"You... you should go to the company. I'm going inside."
With that, he pulled away the hand on his waist, slipped inside, and slammed the door shut with a bang, somewhat like a hasty retreat.
Baldur Morgan smiled, turned, and left.
After calming his restless, heated heart, Cohen Phillips took out his tablet and continued working on the illustrations.
At 11:30 a.m., the phone ringtone pulled Cohen Phillips out of his creative focus.
He checked the time on his tablet, thinking it was Baldur Morgan.
Picking up the phone, he found it was an unknown number.
Answering with some puzzlement, he said, "Hello?"
"Cohen, it's Ona Reed."
Ona Reed's voice came through.
His expression didn't change.
"What do you want?"
"Let's have lunch together."
"No, I'm very busy."
A hint of threat tinged Ona Reed's tone.
"I'm outside your and your brother's house. I want to talk to you about something. Regarding you and Baldur Morgan."
Cohen Phillips laughed lightly.
"Fine. I'll come down now."
After hanging up, he got up, put on his coat, went out, and texted Baldur Morgan.
[Cohen Phillips: I'm going out for lunch. No need to have food delivered.]
Baldur Morgan was probably busy; there was no reply.
He pocketed his phone and saw the Rolls-Royce parked by the roadside.
Ona Reed sat in the back seat, the window half down, her makeup opulent and dignified.
Cohen Phillips walked over.
She produced a smile.
"Get in."
The ride to an upscale Western restaurant was silent.
After sitting down, Ona Reed took the menu from the waiter, didn't bother asking Cohen Phillips across from her, ordered on her own, and then dismissed the waiter.
Cohen Phillips took a sip of water, keeping his eyes downcast, and said nothing.
"You're nothing like you were as a child."
Ona Reed began, a smile on her lips but no warmth in her eyes.
"I remember you used to be very timid, didn't talk to anyone, always curled up in a corner alone. Now you're quite sharp-tongued."
Cohen Phillips looked up.
"Auntie, is that all you wanted to say?"
She sneered.
"Have you thought about studying abroad?"
Cohen Phillips raised an eyebrow.
"I believe I clearly refused?"
"Climbing into Baldur Morgan's favor is temporary. What you learn will always be your own."
He leaned back in his chair, his tone flat.
"We're not that close. You don't need to be so concerned about me."
Ona Reed dropped the smiling pretense and got straight to the point.
"Even if Baldur Morgan is interested in you now, you're still not presentable. With your status, you can't enter the Morgan family. The Morgan family won't allow their sole heir to be with a man."
"So?"
"I advise you to take my suggestion, go study abroad. Don't end up becoming a laughingstock in B City. After all, you are still the Second Young Master of the Phillips family. Don't let the Phillips family be mocked along with you."
A smile touched Cohen Phillips's lips, impervious to her words.
"I don't care about the future. Right now, I just want to be with Baldur Morgan. Let whoever wants to laugh, laugh."
"You!"
Ona Reed was furious.
"Do you think by latching onto Baldur Morgan, you can borrow the influence of the Morgan family?"
He tilted his head.
"Is that your plan?"
Ona Reed let out a series of cold laughs, pulled an envelope from the bag beside her, and threw it over.
Her words were full of sharpness and disgust.
"Stop pretending to be aloof and innocent with that face of yours. I know exactly what kind of goods you are."
Cohen Phillips picked up the envelope, opened it.
Inside were a stack of photos showing him, from two or three years ago in Y City, smoking, playing cards, drinking, and having fun with a bunch of rich second-generation heirs.
They were quite clear.
He looked through them for a while, then laughed.
"You're certainly very concerned about me."
"Ha! A frivolous playboy who only knows how to eat, drink, and be merry! No amount of good looks can hide the rot and filth underneath!"
Ona Reed spat out venomous words, then threatened coldly, "If you don't follow my advice and leave B City, I will make all your behavior in Y City public. Then, do you think Baldur Morgan will still want you? Do you think the Morgan family will allow you to keep clinging to Baldur Morgan?"
Cohen Phillips tossed the photos down, looking completely unconcerned.
"Whatever."
"Cohen Phillips!"
Ona Reed felt like she had punched cotton.
Her face twisted with anger.
"If your father finds out you were wasting your time in Y City, indulging in every vice – eating, drinking, whoring, gambling – he will break your legs and throw you out of the Phillips family! All your and your brother's little schemes will come to nothing!"
Cohen Phillips's eyes cooled slightly.
He smiled.
"No whoring, no gambling. Just normal fun with friends. If you want to take things out of context, fabricate rumors, and smear me, there's nothing I can do."
"Heh heh heh, am I smearing you? I'm going to tear off your mask, let everyone see the disgraceful private life beneath your glamorous exterior! Cohen Phillips, you wouldn't want to affect your brother because of you, would you? YS Pharmaceuticals hasn't firmly established itself in B City yet!"
He shrugged.
"Suit yourself."
Ona Reed clenched her palms tightly, stood up angrily.
"I gave you a chance!"
Cohen Phillips nodded, looking at her meaningfully.
"Instead of spending so much effort eyeing your two stepsons like a tiger watches its prey, maybe you should be concerned about your own biological son."
Her chest heaved even more violently.
She pulled out a ferocious smile.
"Are you trying to threaten me with Cade? See if you have the capability!"
"Heh heh heh, what threat? I just want to remind you, don't let the things you cursed me with today end up reflecting on your own son."
Ona Reed pointed at him.
"What do you mean? Cade is nothing like you!"
"Mhm."
He smiled, said no more.
"The food hasn't even arrived yet, and you're leaving already?"
"Humph! The future head of Phillips Corp. will definitely be Cade!"
Ona Reed hurled this last sentence viciously, picked up her bag, and left in a rage.
Cohen Phillips blinked, picked up the photos from the table again, and looked through them while waiting for the food to arrive.