No Second Baby No You Only Divorce (Scarlett and Vincent) novel Chapter 777

Scarlett couldn't bring herself to turn him down once Damian used Eric as an excuse, no matter how determined she'd been before.

What he'd said rang true too—there was no rushing Nolan's treatment, and all they could do was wait for a viable donor match.

Spotting Scarlett starting to relent, Damian pressed his advantage. "It's settled then. I'll swing by to pick you up this weekend."

He didn't leave her any room to argue and quickly followed up. "Where to next?"

After a short pause, Scarlett answered, "I need to head back to Theron Manor."

"Nope, not yet," Damian decided instantly. "I'm taking you somewhere first."

Scarlett blinked in surprise. "Where exactly?"

Damian kept it mysterious. "You'll see once we get there."

With that, he bent down, lifted her into his arms, and set her into the passenger seat of his car.

Roughly 20 minutes later, the vehicle pulled up outside a mall's entrance.

Seeing the shopping center, Scarlett stood firm. "Damian, I don't need anything new to buy. I really should head home."

Her protests only made Damian more insistent; he laced his fingers through hers and tugged her straight inside the mall. Instead of wandering clothing stores, he led her straight to the fifth floor.

The entire top floor was dedicated to a sprawling arcade.

Damian bought a thousand arcade tokens, slinging the plastic bag of coins over one wrist and telling Scarlett she could try any game she wanted.

Scarlett stared at the wall-to-wall lineup of machines, overwhelmed by all the choices and frozen in place, unsure which game to pick first.

After she stood there dumbfounded for a while, Damian leaned close and murmured beside her ear. "Let's start with the claw machines. I'll play alongside you."

Scarlett snapped out of her daze and nodded softly. "Okay."

Hand in hand, they walked over to a plush claw game. Damian dropped three tokens into the slot, and once the machine powered on, he covered her smaller hand with his own atop the joystick to guide her movements together.

Their first attempt missed the stuffed toy entirely.

Scarlett bounced and giggled, happily tucked against his torso. It took several long seconds for Damian to recover, but by then she'd snapped back to her senses and tried to pull away. Before she could step back an inch, he hauled her right back into his tight hold.

He pressed her firmly against his chest, clinging to her like a priceless treasure. "That's the very first time you've hugged me on your own. This means something—you care about me deep down."

His grip grew tighter the more he spoke, and he let his eyes fall shut, breathing in her unique scent filling his senses.

Unable to break free, Scarlett let him hold on. She admitted the hug had been an unconscious reaction, and she'd genuinely had a wonderful day out.

A handful of passing arcade shoppers glanced their way, making her face burn hotter. She whispered urgently, "People are watching us. Let go now."

Damian said reluctantly, "Just a little longer."

Scarlett blurted out half a thought without thinking, "Later we can—"

She caught herself and cut the sentence short before finishing.

Damian caught onto her unfinished line and locked his gaze on hers as he slowly released her. "Later what? Does that mean I get to hug you whenever I want from now on?"