Gordon yanked his jacket up to his neck, then flipped over the low fence beside him in one swift motion. "Thanks." And with that, he was gone; leaving only the sight of his retreating figure. Addison and Ryan both watched him leave, their gazes fixed on the same point, yet their thoughts were worlds apart. Ryan stared at Gordon's back, lost in thought. The usual easy smile on his face had faded, replaced by a rare look of seriousness. It wasn't until Addison waved a hand in front of his eyes that he snapped out of it. He quickly spoke up, "Dr. Daves, I—" Now that Gordon was gone, Ryan visibly relaxed. "What is it?" Addison asked, not quite catching his words. "Dr. Daves, I'm sorry. This was my fault," Ryan said, lowering his head in genuine apology. "I sent you a message, but you never replied. I thought you were okay with it by default. It was wrong of me to assume.""Next time, I'll make sure to tell you in advance. Please don't be mad." His bright, sincere eyes brimmed with remorse, and with that pitiful expression of his, it was impossible to stay upset. Even if Addison had been angry—which she wasn't—one look at his face would've made it impossible to hold a grudge. With a sigh, she rubbed her forehead. "You don't have to apologize. This was my mistake to begin with." "No, it was my fault ... " Seeing that he was about to apologize again, Addison found herself at a loss. If he kept looking at her with those sad puppy eyes, she might end up patting his head. Desperate for a distraction, she scanned her surroundings, searching for anything to shift the conversation. That's when her gaze landed on the two bags at Ryan's feet. Like grasping onto a lifeline, she immediately spoke up, her voice a little louder than necessary. "What's in those bags?""I saw them from far away and got curious." Sure enough, Ryan's attention was diverted. He lifted the bags slightly so she could see. "This one is flowers," he said. "You mentioned before that you liked this kind, so I bought some for you." "They're fresh. I even had the shop owner pack some soil with them." In reality, it wasn't as casual as he made it sound. He had scoured all of Halton just to track down this particular flower. The shop owner told him these flowers only grew in Kreshill and couldn't survive in Halton's climate, which was why they were rarely sold here. The only reason the shop had them at all was because the owner's wife had insisted on buying some while they were in Kreshill a few days ago. When Ryan asked to buy one, the owner refused, saying his wife adored them and he couldn't part with any. In the end, Ryan had to pay ten times the usual price just to get one. Hearing this, Addison's face lit up in delight. She immediately bent down to peek inside the bag and, sure enough, there it was—the exact flower she'd mentioned to Ryan before. She carefully took it out, admiring it in her hands. Its petals were pure white, yet there was a touch of striking vibrance to it. The combination of elegance and boldness in a single bloom was breathtaking rather than jarring. "This is amazing! I've been wanting to buy one forever but could never find any, and you managed to get one!" "You must've gone through a lot of trouble for this, huh?"