[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-2603220ECDF1-603":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},603,45,"Chapter 45: Buying Back the Money Tree","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman Griffin was a man who balanced his advances with precise restraint.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette had consistently avoided bringing up their past, and he had met her silence with his own. But that one word—\"regret\"—had pulled the invisible walls between them a little closer, leaving their relationship in a state of delicate suspension.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Who else, besides Violette herself, had any right to feel regret on her behalf? The answer was, undoubtedly, the person closest to her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette felt a strange tremor in his voice, and without thinking, she tightened her grip, burying her face against his waist. Oddly enough, despite the intimacy hanging in the air, nothing more happened. Violette felt so secure, so profoundly at peace, that she eventually drifted off to sleep right there in his arms.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman seemed to realize it instantly. He didn't show the slightest hint of impatience; instead, he held his rigid posture for a long while. When her head finally lolled to the side, he lifted a hand to support her cheek, guiding her onto his shoulder, and reached down with his other arm to scoop her up by the knees.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Only when he held her did he realize how light she truly was.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He carried her to the spare bedroom and laid her down with meticulous care. He adjusted the essential oil diffuser to her favorite scent and pulled the blackout curtains shut until the room was pitch black.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He sat on the edge of the bed for a long time after she was tucked in. His mind was sharp, his sleepiness long gone.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He found himself thinking about the conversation he’d had with Margaret Lewis before leaving the mountains that evening.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You and Violette... are you two alright?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"We're doing fine.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Your father and I won't interfere in your affairs, but he did ask me to tell you something—\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman arched a brow. He couldn't imagine what Emerson Griffin had to say that required a middleman.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What is it?\" he asked.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"The way you were raised, it made you too disciplined. You’re always weighing the needs of everyone around you above your own. But a man isn't meant to be a fortress his entire life. You can afford to be soft sometimes; it doesn't mean you're weak.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Margaret sighed. \"Do you understand what I'm saying?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Seeing him standing there with his hands in his pockets, his gaze fixed in the direction of the bedroom, Margaret added, \"In a marriage, it’s healthy to have space, but you aren't leaving space—you're built like a brick wall. You don't even give her a chance to truly know you. How do you plan to spend the next few decades like this?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman’s thoughts drifted to the durian tart on the dining table. After a long silence, he simply nodded. \"I understand.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It wasn't that he was unwilling to open up to Violette; it was that the very nature of their beginning had forced him into a position of constant adjustment. He wasn't sure how much room he held in her heart, or if she even harbored a desire to peel back his layers.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He didn't want to turn himself into a burden.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">His fingers brushed through the long hair fanned out across the pillow, and he leaned down to press a kiss to her temple.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Of course he wanted a future with her. And if she didn't mind, he would try—just a little—to set his armor aside.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">...\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">During the New Year's holiday, Violette spent two days working the morning shift. With her out of the house, Roman naturally headed into the office.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The V-Oasis product launch had just concluded, and they had been pushing out system patches, optimizing the interface to make everything run with fluid precision. The feedback from the marketing department was stellar, and the entire office was buzzing with the secret, palpable joy of upcoming year-end bonuses.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Bradley Harper was there, animatedly describing the chaos of the launch event to Roman. Roman listened intently, occasionally pointing out where the presentation video could have been tighter.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Bradley leaned in, checked the notes, and realized the points were spot-on. He clicked his tongue, muttering, \"You've got high standards, don't you?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"If you’d clarified these optimizations during the pitch, we might have moved another million units.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Bradley stared at him, dazed.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What?\" Roman asked.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I’m out here breaking my back, getting the guys to pool their money just to send a hundred floral arrangements to hype up the launch. Not to mention I had to take the stage myself while you were off on holiday. And now, you’re telling me I cost us a million sales?\" Bradley tapped his own chest. \"That’s cold, man. Truly cold.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman flipped a page in the report without looking up. \"I'll be deducting that from your share of the profits.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Bradley had nothing left to say.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After a quiet moment, he suddenly remembered something. \"Oh, right. Your wife sent you a floral arrangement, too.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">They had spent the entirety of New Year's Day together, and she hadn't said a word about it. Roman finally looked up, his fountain pen slipping between his fingers, leaving a dark ink smudge on the page.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Where is it?\" he asked.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was the first time Bradley felt that such a sharp man could ask such a moronic question. Where? Was it supposed to follow him home? Obviously, it was still at the venue.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Bradley just blinked at him.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman stood up and paced in front of his desk. A few seconds later, he reached for the intercom to call his assistant but cut himself off, grabbing his car keys from the desk instead.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Where are you going?\" Bradley asked.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman was already at the door, his stride long and purposeful. \"To see the flowers.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Even though Bradley was thoroughly baffled, he followed suit. On the way, he couldn't help but add, \"There were so many flowers there, you want to know how I spotted it?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman actually offered a rare smile. \"Because you have an eye for quality?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Not exactly. It’s because your wife is… unique.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Bradley laughed. \"In a sea of standard bouquets, she sent over a Money Tree. When I walked by, I checked the card. It said: 'From an anonymous Ms. Shen.' Who else could it be?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman pulled out his phone, debating what to type into the chat, his expression softening. \"A Money Tree?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Yep. She’s definitely one of a kind.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After deleting and rewriting his message several times, Roman sent her a single photo.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette had no idea that when Roman arrived at the venue, he’d walked into a group of workers sorting through the floral debris, picking out stems to recycle. She didn't know how long he’d searched before finding that small, leafy tree. And she certainly didn't know that the workers refused to part with it, forcing him to buy the tree back at double its market value just to save the trouble.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was a tedious, painstaking effort that Bradley wouldn't understand.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The photo showed a sliver of the office—the Money Tree, resting on the herringbone-patterned floor.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The florist had sent her a picture of the finished product days ago. Violette recognized it instantly. With its little red tassels and miniature lanterns, the tree looked vibrant and auspicious.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The background, she realized, must have been Roman's office.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the bustling heart of Deepwater was visible, and in the distance stood the main corporate headquarters run by Emerson Griffin. Violette identified the location by the surrounding landmarks.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She typed back: *If I had known you were going to keep it in the office, I would have sent a much bigger one!*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman: *Why didn't you tell me?*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette: *You didn't go to the launch, and I didn't think it was that important, so I didn't bring it up.*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman: *It was important.*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette: *Hmm?*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman: *It’s the first time you’ve ever officially given me a gift.*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Roman: *So, yes. It was important.*\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272918630]