He Wouldn't Claim Me — Another Man Did-Chapter 133 - 120: Date

It took over two months for Shane Sterling’s leg to fully heal.

The very first day he could walk on his own without crutches, he left work early to pick Isabelle Prescott up from her studio.

Isabelle Prescott and Annabelle Leighton had recently been expanding their dance instruction business. They had rented three more storefronts in another one of Meritopia’s commercial plazas, and the renovations were already eighty percent complete.

In truth, their social media careers had already matured, and they were making successful appearances on all sorts of variety shows. To a certain extent, they had already achieved financial freedom. However, neither of them wanted to give up their work in dance education. Isabelle Prescott even had the idea of setting up charity dance classes in less affluent areas. The goal was to discover children with a talent for dance but without the financial means to take lessons, and to offer them support.

The idea stemmed from her own experiences, so it was a deeply personal project, but Annabelle Leighton didn’t object. On the contrary, she found the plan incredibly meaningful.

Isabelle Prescott was truly grateful that on this journey, she had found such a wonderful partner in Annabelle Leighton—someone who was on the same wavelength and so understanding and supportive.

When Shane Sterling arrived, Isabelle Prescott and Annabelle Leighton were in the conference room discussing this very matter.

Isabelle Prescott wanted to establish the first charity dance class in her hometown. Although that place held many bad memories for her, it was for this very reason that she wanted to help more little girls with similar experiences find a path out of the mountains.

The two of them were in the middle of a heated discussion when Shane Sterling’s figure flashed past the glass door.

"His leg isn’t busted anymore?" Annabelle Leighton asked.

Isabelle Prescott turned around. Seeing that Shane Sterling wasn’t on crutches, she was a little surprised herself.

"I’ll go check on him."

Isabelle Prescott quickly stood up, pulled open the conference room door, and went over to Shane Sterling.

"Why aren’t you on crutches?" Isabelle Prescott asked, glancing at his long legs in their suit pants. "Didn’t the doctor tell you not to get off them so soon?"

"I’m fine now."

"Really?"

"Really. If you don’t believe me, you can inspect them tonight. All three of them."

Isabelle Prescott wished she could clamp a hand over his mouth. "Keep your voice down! Stop talking nonsense!"

Shane Sterling just laughed.

Just then, Annabelle Leighton walked out of the conference room as well.

"President Sterling, is your leg all better?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"I have you to thank for it, yes."

"How do you figure that?"

"You helped lighten my girlfriend’s workload, which let her take time off now and then to look after me. So, of course, I have you to thank."

"Not bad. You’re finally learning how to speak like a proper human. Since you’re all better, let me treat you and Isabelle to dinner tonight. I still haven’t properly thanked you for saving me."

Annabelle Leighton had never forgotten the debt she owed Shane Sterling for saving her life.

"Let me be clear. I wasn’t saving you. I was saving my girlfriend; you were just incidental. Ever heard of ’buy one, get one free’? You were the ’free’ part. So you really don’t need to take it to heart."

Whatever gratitude Annabelle Leighton felt toward Shane Sterling was instantly and ruthlessly shattered. "I take back what I said about you speaking like a proper human. It’s a real shame the car crash didn’t mess up your mouth."

"It was saved for sweet-talking my girlfriend, naturally."

"You can’t go two sentences without mentioning your girlfriend. Is being in love such a big deal?"

"Of course, it’s a big deal. Otherwise, why aren’t you in a relationship?" Shane Sterling said, looking at Annabelle Leighton. "It’s been this long and you still haven’t landed Officer Hayes. That’s not up to your usual standards, is it, Eldest Miss Leighton?"

Morgan Hayes was the one hurdle Annabelle Leighton just couldn’t seem to clear.

She had been pursuing him relentlessly lately, but he had rejected her yet again, leaving Annabelle Leighton feeling dejected.

"Whether I’m in a relationship or not is none of your business. Just make sure you treat Isabelle right. If you ever dare to hurt her or make her sad again, I’ll beat you to a pulp."

"Don’t worry. I have no intention of making your fists do any work."

--

Shane Sterling waited at the studio until Isabelle Prescott was done with work.

They went downstairs together.

"Let’s go on a date tonight," Shane Sterling said to Isabelle Prescott.

Their relationship had started rather hastily before. This time, as they started over, Shane Sterling wanted to slow things down. He wanted to do all the things a normal couple would do and savor the experience of being in love with her.

"Okay. What’s the plan for the date?"

"I don’t think there’s a formula for dating."

"So what’s first?"

"Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Then let’s eat first. Is there anything you’re particularly craving?"

"I’m really craving the grilled fish from this one place, but it’s really far from here."

Without even asking how far it was, Shane Sterling took her hand and said, "Let’s go."

"It’s really far. It’s over an hour’s drive."

"What’s an hour? We’re not in a rush."

His words, "we’re not in a rush," suddenly gave Isabelle Prescott a sense of security—a feeling that they had all the time in the world.

Shane Sterling took Isabelle Prescott to that grilled fish restaurant she’d never forgotten after trying it once. They even picked out a large fish themselves from the owner’s pond. By the time the owner had prepared and cooked the fish and brought it to their table, the sky had already grown dark.

Isabelle Prescott was famished and had a huge appetite, polishing off more than half the fish by herself.

The fish was a bit spicy, and Shane Sterling attended to her every need, pouring her tea, refilling her water, and handing her napkins.

After dinner, they strolled through a nearby historic town.

Isabelle Prescott told Shane Sterling about her and Annabelle’s plan to start the charity dance classes.

"That’s a great idea. If you need investors, just let me know," Shane Sterling said supportively.

"We don’t really need investors. We’re just trying to decide whether we should document the whole process of setting up the classes for our social media."

"What’s the hesitation?"

"We’re afraid people will think it’s just a publicity stunt."

"If you’re worried about getting backlash, then why do you want to document it on social media at all?"

"Because Annie and I both think a platform like the internet could create more opportunities for those kids who love to dance. It could give them a chance to be seen."

"Then just do it. Whether people call it a stunt or not, the charity classes themselves are bringing hope to children in underprivileged areas who love to dance. Judge the action, not the motive. Besides, when you’re a content creator, you’re always going to get mixed reviews. If you worry too much about what outsiders say, you’ll never get anywhere."

With just a few words, Shane Sterling dispelled Isabelle Prescott’s lingering doubts.

"President Sterling has a point."

"And since I have a point, does that mean you can focus on our date now and stop thinking about work?"

"Okay." Isabelle Prescott intertwined her fingers with Shane Sterling’s. "I’ll focus."

As they continued their stroll, they arrived at a flower shop.

"Let me buy you a bouquet," Shane Sterling said, already leading Isabelle Prescott into the shop.

The flower shop was spacious. Under the soft lighting, the colorful shadows of the flowers danced on the wooden floor. The roses were brazenly red, the lilies serenely white. There were also many flowers Isabelle Prescott had never seen before, blooming in lush clusters on the stands.

The shop owner was a slender woman with a gentle smile.

"What can I get for you two today?"

Isabelle Prescott’s eyes were immediately drawn to a bouquet of Freud roses peeking out from behind a floral curtain.

Back when she didn’t know Shane Sterling had been secretly in love with her for years, she hadn’t thought much of the Freud roses he’d sent her. But now that she knew, she found herself wondering if he actually understood the meaning behind them.

"Do you know what those roses are called?" Isabelle Prescott asked, pointing to the bouquet of Freud roses.

"Freud roses."

"And do you know what they mean?"

"’You wander through my dreams with abandon, awakening a tremor deep within my soul.’"

"So you did know."

"Of course I knew." Shane Sterling lowered his head and whispered softly in Isabelle Prescott’s ear, "I’ve always known. You’re the one who wanders through my dreams, awakening the tremor deep within my soul."