Soon, it seemed Ste and Joshua had reached an agreement. She held the umbre steady as he went to the trunk to get the spare tire. Joshua worked quickly and efficiently, managing to change the tire in under five minutes despite the downpour. Even with Ste''s help, he waspletely soaked by the time he finished.


    Once they were back in the car, Ste pulled out two clean towels from a storagepartment and handed one to Joshua. They both silently dried themselves off as Joshua turned up the heat. "Let''s just get to the restaurant," he said.


    The rest of the drive was silent. Upon arrival, Ste and Joshua, who both had spare clothes, went to take hot showers and change.


    While they were gone, Leonard stared out the window at the rain, seemingly lost in thought. Aurora noticed his unusual quietness. "Leonard," she began softly, "is something wrong? You seem to be in a bad mood."


    He turned to her, his focus returning. "No."


    Leonard had been acting strangely for a while now, and Aurora couldn''t figure out what was on his mind. Taking advantage of their moment alone, she asked, "Leonard, why did you suddenly decide to give Ste all the parts for the Dawnlight?" Justst week, he had sworn he wouldn''t make it so easy for her.


    "That car means a lot to you," he said tly. "Why let it disappear forever over a moment of anger? Besides, your race is next month. Don''t you want to drive the Dawnlight?"


    Aurora stared at him, speechless. If he had the parts, he could have just rebuilt it for her himself. Why go through Ste? Was he nning to use this as an excuse to cause more trouble for herter?


    As if reading her mind, Leonard asked, "Aurora, did you know Ste understood cars?"


    Recalling the scene in the workshop, she replied, "No, I didn''t."


    "And did you know she could paint?" he pressed.


    Her expression shifted slightly. "Star... knows how to paint?" Aside from knowing she yed the violin, Aurora waspletely unaware of Ste''s other talents. She studied Leonard''s face. "Leonard, how did you find out she could paint?"


    He briefly recounted his encounter with her at the hospital. Aurora smiled faintly. "Perhaps Star just recently decided to take up painting."


    "Judging by the design sketches she drew today, it looked like she''s had years of practice, not like she just started," Leonard countered.


    Aurora thought back to the notebook. As someone who had also studied art, she couldn''t honestly im Ste was a beginner. She paused before saying, "Well... maybe she did study painting in the past."


    Leonard frowned. "And you didn''t even know that?"


    His tone carried an undercurrent of usation that pricked at Aurora. But, ever the graceful socialite, she kept her emotions in check. "Leonard, is this important? Why are you suddenly so interested in Star?"


    His eyes flickered. "If I had known she was skilled with cars, I wouldn''t have handed over the parts so easily," he said coolly. "What if she has other hidden talents I don''t know about? I can''t let her get the upper hand again."


    His exnation seemed to soothe Aurora. "Star hasn''t been with the Williams family for very long, so I don''t know much about her skills. But I will certainly try to learn more when I have the chance."


    Leonard didn''t linger on the topic. "Aurora, I''ve been thinking about my make-up birthday celebration. I don''t want a party. Just the three of us-you, me, and Simone."


    Aurora smiled, unsurprised. "Of course, that''s fine. I''ve already prepared your


    gift."


    In the past, Leonard would have said that her presence was gift enough. But today, he said something different. "Aurora, I only started celebrating my birthday with you f the familet


    after became head of the family We missed so many years before that. I want to make up for all of them. What do you think?"


    His words brought a soft smile to Aurora''s beautiful eyes. Leonard had been acting strangely since his recent setbacks, but he was stiff the same man who would do anything for her. He even wanted to celebrate the birthdays they had never shared.


    "Simone told me that when you were children, you were too poor to ever celebrate birthdays," she said softly "And after you returned to the


    Lerman family were too busy


    fighting for survival to even think about it. But you always made sure to get Simone a cake aneba gift for her birthday."


    Her expression grew earnest. "You had such a difficult past, Leonard. You absolutely should make up for all those missed celebrations."


    The ice in his expression seemed to melt, a rare warmth touching his features. "Since you put it like that," he said softly, "will you give me a gift for every birthday I''ve missed, from the day I was born until now?"


    Aurora''s smile froze on her lips. "Leonard... what did you just say?"