?<strong>Chapter 549:</strong>


    “Why ask all of a sudden?”


    Katherine couldn’t respond. If she asked too directly, it would seem like she was pushing for marriage.


    Shawn had already moved on from the topic.


    “Open the door. I noticed you hardly ate anything at Joelle’s, so I ordered takeout for you. The delivery guy just called me.”


    “What?” Katherine muttered in mild exasperation as she reluctantly slipped out from under the covers. “Why did you order takeout for me? I’m trying to lose weight.”


    “You have no need to lose weight; you’re already slender as it is.”


    “You don’t understand at all,” Katherine retorted, only to swing the door open and find Shawn standing there, holding a barbecue from her favorite ce.


    Shawn ended the call with a smirk. “Your takeout has arrived.”


    Dressed in light attire, Katherine felt an overwhelming urge to sink into Shawn’s embrace, drawn to theforting warmth that seemed to radiate from him.


    “Why are you here?” she asked.


    Shawn shrugged. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I went home tonight. You don’t mind if I stay over, do you?”


    Without awaiting her reply, he stepped forward, gathering Katherine into a warm, all-epassing embrace.


    “Katherine, aren’t you moved by this?”


    Katherine gave him a yful, lighthearted punch. “If you wanted toe over, all you had to do was say so. Besides, my mother already knows about our rtionship.”


    Despite her words, Katherine was genuinely surprised and delighted.


    “I simply wanted to relish the exhrating thrill of ndestine encounters.”


    “You’re really pushing your luck.”


    “Katherine, why aren’t you asleep yet?” Agate, located in the first-floor bedroom, inquired upon noticing that the light continued to shine brightly.


    Katherine and Shawn froze on the staircase.


    Feigning nonchnce, Katherine replied, “I ordered some takeout!”


    “Consuming food at such ate hour is hardly conducive to good health!”


    “Only this once!”


    “Make sure to retire to bed early!”


    “Okay, you too!”


    Katherine grasped Shawn’s hand and sprinted up to the second floor. Once inside the bedroom, she secured the door behind them with a definitive click. Shawn cradled the enticingly aromatic barbecue, and as Katherine extended her hand to grab it, he deftly intercepted her wrist with yful finesse.


    “Eat itter.”


    Whatever Katherine was poised to articte was silenced by his kiss.


    The following morning, as dawn’s light began to filter through the curtains, Shawn gently eased open the bedroom door, casting a cautious nce at the corridor. The house was enveloped in a thick silence, indicating that Agate was still deep in slumber. Shawn exhaled a breath of relief, buttoning his shirt as he ventured out into the quiet.


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