Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress

Chapter 1276: Happy Birthday, Grace

[PRESENT TIME]

Grace chuckled as she hugged herself in the tub, thinking about how she had just stolen an hour of Haines' time. Who would have thought her regular romantic advances would distract him so much that he wouldn't even notice they had just driven around the city?

"No wonder Penny is always energetic," she whispered, tilting her head back. "That was fun."

The corner of her mouth lifted into a soft smile. "And I... survived cancer," she murmured, laughing again before reaching for the glass of wine she had been enjoying as a final indulgence for the night.

"Happy Birthday to me," she whispered, her eyes softening. "Cheers to that."

Hopefully, this year wouldn't be as hard as the last.

******

Meanwhile...

Max parked outside a convenience store, his fingers tapping impatiently against his phone as he dialed number after number.

"Why isn't she answering? That crazy woman!" he gritted out, glaring at his phone when Lily didn't pick up. When he tried again, it went straight to voicemail. She had turned it off. "That damn—"

He tensed when Ginnie stirred beside him, letting out a faint hum in her sleep.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. Taking a deep breath to clear his thoughts, he refocused on his phone and tried calling Hugo instead. But Hugo's phone didn't even ring. It was dead.

"The hell?" he whispered. "How did I forget that guy's phone is basically just an accessory?"

After years of bantering with Hugo, Max should have known better. Hugo wasn't a tech-savvy guy-he only used his phone when absolutely necessary. In fact, he'd go days without charging it simply because he didn't use it enough. Sometimes, he even went out without it.

was Max

pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply. "No, this is my fault. I shouldn't have trusted

while Hugo was currently snoring in the passenger seat of Atlas's car. Even though Hugo had managed to send Penny a message from Atlas's phone and asked Atlas to wake him up when she replied, Atlas didn't care enough

but after a weak attempt, he had immediately given

up. He

turned his head

her sleeping form. Another slow breath left his lips, his heart unexpectedly steady. Maybe it was because

looking away. "I've known her for

on the island, she hadn't seemed like

Max debated what to do next. He weighed his options—should he take her to his place or book her a hotel room? Taking

Still...

quietly. "It's the first time I've seen

I never realized how long I could

he should have. Maybe it was because

look at her

few seconds before she noticed. She always had a

watching her.

drink like this when she's alone,"

take her to

up to him, he would have taken her to his place. He had plenty of rooms. But he didn't want her to wake up thinking he had taken advantage of her vulnerability. Their friendship-whatever complicated thing it had become-was

reversing out of the parking spot,

at him. Her eyes were only half-open, but she was staring right at

Why don't you tell me your home

didn't answer,

he tried again, driving even slower to steal another glance at

let out another quiet breath and