Chapter 1210

*Buzz buzz buzz-*

Curled up in her mother's arms, deep in a blissful sleep, Juniper was rudely awakened by an endless barrage of message notifications pinging from her phone.

Who was deranged enough to spam texts in the middle of the night?

Careful not to wake Theia, Juniper slipped a pale arm out from beneath the covers, blindly grabbing her phone to check her messaging app.

Jimmie, Harold, Melvin, Celine, and Coralie.

All five had sent her walls of texts at the exact same time.

Jimmie: "I highly recommend you get Shanley a neurological exam. I think his brain is genuinely broken."

Harold: "If he's this unhinged over an engagement, what is he going to do at the wedding? Keep your man on a leash. Do not let him harass people at 2 AM!"

Melvin: "That old fox... You know what, I'm just going to stay quiet before I say something truly offensive."

The messages from Celine and Coralie were much the same—mostly complaints about Shanley's midnight "good news" terrorism campaign, complete with audio receipts.

Juniper tapped one of the voice notes. Even through the terrible audio compression, she could hear the manic, obnoxious glee radiating from the old fox's voice.

Juniper rubbed the bridge of her nose, letting out an exasperated, helpless laugh.

Was all this really necessary?

If she knew he was going to act this psychotic, she would have waited until daylight to bring up the engagement.

The next morning.

Juniper woke up early and quietly slipped out of the room.

She had assumed that since Shanley had spent half the night terrorizing people with phone calls, he would be dead to the world, catching up on sleep.

Instead, when she pushed open his bedroom door, she found him sitting up in bed, chatting brightly on the phone. His pajama shirt hung loosely off his shoulders the collar wide open to reveal a swath of pale, sculpted chest. He looked like a peacock in full display, grinning ear to ear.

"Yes, Grandma," Shanley's eyes locked onto Juniper the second she walked in, his smile deepening. "Mr. Blackwood is still recovering. arrange the format meeting between the families in a few days."

"Besides—" Shanley crooked a finger at Juniper, his lips curving upward, his voice

rich and magnetic. "There's a lot to prepare for an engagement. We can't rush perfection."

"You're absolutely right," Hannah

chuckled warmly through the speaker, her joy palpable. "Bring Juniper over when you have moment! You little brat, keeping her disappearance a secret from

me when you get back, I'm going to break your legs."

"Grandma..." Shanley sighed with a dramatic, helpless smile. "Your grandson is already heavily wounded. Have a little mercy."

"Serves you right!" Hannah huffed, gearing up to scold him further, before a clear, refreshing voice interrupted her.

"Good morning, Grandma."

"Juniper?" The older woman paused, before her tone instantly shifted to absolute sweetness. "Good morning, sweetheart!"

"Grandma, Shanley and I will come visit you in a couple of days," Juniper smiled, easily coaxing the older woman.

"Wonderful, wonderful," Hannah agreed instantly. "Your parents just got back, so we won't intrude. Once they've rested up, I'll personally go pay them a visit."

"Okay." Juniper felt a rush of warmth in her chest. "It's still early, Grandma. Go back to sleep."

"Alright, my head is hitting the pillow right now," the older woman laughed.

Juniper blinked, said her goodbyes, and hung up.

She tilted her head, immediately locking eyes with Shanley's deep, incredibly amused gaze.

"Were you awake all night?" Juniper raised a brow, a lazy smirk tugging at her lips.

"Yeah," Shanley admitted openly, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close, never breaking eye contact. "I was too happy. I couldn't sleep."

"Oh." Juniper chuckled softly, leaning into him. "So because you couldn't sleep, you decided to harass everyone else?"

Shanley blinked, looking momentarily guilty. "It wasn't harassment. I was sharing the good news."