Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike

Chapter 748 - 719: Love in a Parallel Universe [041]

"You have a designer?" Maeve raised an eyebrow, tossing the bag of chips aside, and hooked her arm around Sienna’s neck, lowering her voice, "You got a man?"Sienna blushed, speaking softly, "Yeah."

Maeve exclaimed, "Oh my God! How long? How did I not know?"

"Met in August, but only got together in November..."

"How old is he?"

"...Five years older than me."

"An architect?" Maeve speculated, "Is he the kind who loses hair working overtime, gets acne and oily skin from staying up late at sites, and has a beer belly from sitting and drawing plans all day?"

"Huh?" Sienna was amused and didn’t know how to describe Simon Forrester’s appearance.

Maeve nudged her with a smile, "Is he?"

Sienna laughed heartily and said, "Search ’Simon Forrester,’ there are photos of him online."

Maeve hurriedly picked up her phone to search online.

Ten minutes later...

She was scrolling through photos of Simon Forrester in a sharp suit holding a trophy: "He has a very British vibe, like a British-Chinese mix."

Sienna leaned in to look with her, smiling broadly: "He went to study abroad in Britione when he was twenty, only came back a couple of years ago."

As a photo of the SY Design Firm exterior passed by, Maeve said, "Owning such a decent design firm at a young age, could it be funded by a wealthy woman?"

Sienna laughed heartily and nudged her, "The ’Forrester Group’ is actually his family’s, but it seems his aunt is managing it; I don’t know the details as he never formally told me."

Maeve turned to search for the "Forrester Group," but since it wasn’t a listed company, no one knew its exact value. The Forrester’s website only showed it had dozens of subsidiaries, with business spanning hotels, retail, real estate, infrastructure, and heavy manufacturing.

"The business is very solid; the profits should be quite good," Maeve said, "Such a mature company not going public must mean they aren’t in need of funding."

Sienna shook her head, "No idea, he never talks about these, nor did he mention the operations of his design firm."

In her heart, she knew Simon appeared easygoing but was actually very secretive. They had been dating for over a month, talking for two or three hours daily, totally inseparable on weekends, discussing topics from childhood to adulthood and back again, yet Simon never detailed Forrester Family’s background to her. The one time he did mention it, he just said his family operated factories.

She initially thought he was just a second or third generation of a moderately affluent family, never realizing the "factory" he mentioned was a massive group.

She only learned the Forrester Group was his family’s because Sylvia Langley accidentally mentioned it while arguing at the law firm one day.

"It’s normal for him not to say," Maeve reassured with an arm around her shoulder, "A man of Simon Forrester’s caliber doesn’t need family background and wealth to boost his merits, so he doesn’t mention it. Only those who are ugly, incompetent, and afraid of being looked down on boast about their family wealth."

"I suppose so."

"Exactly, since you like him without knowing his family background, it shows your feelings for him are genuine, not because of his background!"

With a few words, Maeve lifted Sienna’s spirits, prompting her to promise, "Don’t worry! When you truly want to build a retreat, I’ll have my boyfriend design it for you!"

Maeve clapped her hands together in gratitude, "Thank you, Mrs. Forrester!"

Sienna laughed heartily, and the two burst into laughter together.

...

The agent Maeve found was quite efficient, locating two pieces of land near the South Bay Flower Fields within three days, one fifty acres, the other thirty, and arranging a site visit for her.

Maeve had a New Year’s performance out of town, so she entrusted Sienna to take Simon Forrester to see which piece of land was suitable for building a retreat.

When the agent sent the topographical map to Sienna, she and Simon Forrester had just finished dinner and were about to head home. She immediately forwarded the documents to Simon and officially invited him to be the retreat’s architect.

Simon Forrester agreed without hesitation, opened his tablet to review the map back in the car, and said, "The fifty-acre land is adjacent to a natural lake, suitable for a retreat, but..."

"But what?"

"The fifty-acre piece will likely be twice as expensive as the thirty-acre one; can’t settle for under ten million. South Bay’s land is only getting costlier with several developers moving in after the flower fields. If it’s desired, best to secure it early."

"Ten million?" Sienna was troubled, furrowing her brow, "I don’t know if Maeve has enough money. Plus, after buying the land, building and decorating the retreat will cost another few million, right?"

Simon Forrester handed her the tablet, started the car, and they drove out of the mall’s parking.

"If funds fall short, you can mortgage the land for a bank loan," Simon suggested, "or find investors. There are many ways to raise money, no need to worry."

Sienna nodded, "True, let’s check the land first!"

"Alright." Simon smiled, and as the car merged into traffic, he had his right hand free to hold hers, "How about going there on New Year’s? Take a stroll through the flower fields?"

"Sure, sure! But will a day trip be too rushed?"

"Maybe, best to stay overnight."

Stay overnight...

Sienna bit her lip, cheeks flushed, awkwardly looking out the window, fingers knotting white with tension.

The air inside the car felt stifling, making her sweat.

The man’s warm palm rested on her neck, gently rubbing. She bit her lip, looking out the window, the heat spreading from her body to her head.

"Tell your dad you’re going with your girlfriends to South Bay to check land, taking a look at the flower fields too, needing to stay overnight."

In the confined car space, Simon Forrester’s voice was low yet resonant, echoing with her pounding heart, resonating loudly in her head.

She felt utterly embarrassed, coyly objecting, "You’re not my girlfriend..."

Simon laughed, "I’m willing to be a girl for a night."

Hearing his double entendre, Sienna swallowed and double-checked, "You mean, if we stay in South Bay overnight, you’d pretend to be a girl?"

"Yes."

.

Using the excuse of checking land for Maeve, Sienna received Quentin Thorne’s approval to stay overnight in South Bay on New Year’s. Yet she wasn’t particularly thrilled, feeling guilty for deceiving her parents, worried even the night before departure.

She called Maeve to express her inner conflict, Maeve comforted her, "Parents don’t want their daughters staying out overnight with boys mainly because they’re afraid they’ll act rashly. If you don’t do that, won’t you be fine? This way you’re being good, and your parents won’t be disappointed."

Sienna realized, she had preemptively assumed she’d do something in South Bay that night to let her parents down, thus feeling inner turmoil and guilt. As Maeve said, if she didn’t do such things, she’d be fine?