Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Chapter 728

Roseanne chuckled to herself, a wry smile tugging at her lips.

Owen Reynolds found his breath catching unexpectedly at that smile. It was as if he was on the brink of missing something profoundly important.

By the time they left the factory, dusk had already settled in.

The security guard had changed shifts; the jovial, witty older man had gone home, replaced by a young guy who seemed a bit shy. He silently took their keys, put them away, and opened the gate for them.

The evening sky was a tapestry of darkening hues, with bare branches lining the road adding to the scene's quiet solitude.

Roseanne and Owen Reynolds walked side by side, an unspoken silence enveloping them.

Owen Reynolds opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, unsure of how to address the shift in her mood that he sensed but couldn't quite understand. So he kept quiet, cautious not to disturb the peace.

Suddenly, Roseanne looked up with a smile, "Thank you, Professor, for the thoughtful birthday gift. It was meaningful, and I loved it. As a token of

appreciation, how about I treat you to dinner? What would you like?"

Owen Reynolds watched as she transformed from introspective to cheerful in the blink of an eye.

He paused, momentarily taken aback.

Roseanne asked again, "Have you decided?"

Reynolds replied, "How about some spicy

"Sure, sounds great!"

breathed into her hands and adjusted her

her do so, Owen Reynolds started to remove his own scarf

stepped back with a smile, "No

he could say anything, Roseanne was

night had fully descended, and the cold wind bit at

the banks of the

a bridge, hands tucked in her coat pockets, and turned to Owen Reynolds, "Professor, haven't

"Yes," Owen Reynolds nodded.

"When was it?"

the summer, when I

"You've always

only remembered the important things, the things that mattered. But Roseanne had already

please," she said, scanning her

to Owen Reynolds, beaming as she handed him a roasted chestnut. "In the summer, you treated me to ice cream. Now, in the winter, I treat you to roasted chestnuts.

accepted it with a smile,

they reached her apartment building, it was ten

high in

Reynolds called

Roseanne turned back, "What is it,

asked why I gave you that necklace. I'd like