Within seconds, he answered. “Hello, Letty. What’s the matter?”
I grinned when I saw how nervous Yvonne seemed. “Previously, you told me that you wanted to give me a customized watch for my birthday. Is it still with you?”
“Yes. I left it at home, but I’ll send it over to you another day,” he answered.
“Forget it. I don’t want to use things others have touched. You really should take better care of the things you buy next time.”
Confused, he questioned, “The watch is at home, and no one has used it. What are you talking about, Letty?”
I shrugged. “Do you remember taking a picture of it and showing it to me? Today, at the villa by the golf course, I saw Ms. Wilde wearing it. John, please don’t give me second-hand goods next time. I don’t like the idea of it.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. In the meantime, Yvonne’s face turned pale, and everyone understood the gist of the situation from the conversation between John and me.
The rich ladies that were standing beside her suddenly changed the way they looked at her.
At that time, John finally replied in an annoyed tone. “Throw away that dirty thing. I promise that such things will never happen again in the future.”
With that, we ended the call, and I looked at Yvonne with a triumphant smile. I passed the watch back to her and mocked, “Ms. Wilde, first of all, he already has a wife. Even if he doesn’t, you can never join the family with a character like yours. In the past, my brother and I only felt sorry for you. Also, although John may be easy-going, he hates it when women take his things without permission.”
Leaving her at a loss, I dragged Hannah away from the crowd and smarmily announced, “Please excuse us.”
With Emery, we headed into the private room without sparing Yvonne a glance.
Once we were alone, Emery gasped, “You go, girl! I can’t believe you stood up for yourself, and here I thought you were just a gentle housewife.”
I pouted. “Should I stand back and watch you get bullied in the future then?”
“Of course not. You are a massive force!” She urged.
Next, she looked at Hannah and chided, “Don’t keep everything in all the time. In the future, you may meet more people like Yvonne, but you should not stand back and let them bully you. Do you understand?”
However, Hannah reasoned, “With John’s backing, she was at ease. There wasn’t much I could say to turn the situation around earlier.”
“John must be blind. How can he even care about a woman like that?” Emery frowned.
“John is obsessed with cleanliness and does not carelessly bring women to his villa. Yet, he allows Yvonne to visit him. That must count for something,” Hannah trailed on. Her gaze dimmed while she forced a smile on her face. It made my heart ache to see her like that.
Although I wanted to comfort her, I could not find the right words to say.
The only thing I could do was to change the topic. I pushed the dessert we had towards her and offered, “Here, have some of this. It’s delicious.”
Emery could only rub her temples in response to my attempt. I awkwardly touched my nose, unsure of how else to comfort the other lady at that time.
Fortunately, Hannah did not dwell on the earlier event. She took a few bites and commented, “It is good. I have been learning how to make desserts recently and have been eating a lot of them. Sadly, I think I’m gaining weight because of that.”
This topic piqued Emery’s interest. Looking at us, she grumbled, “Have you not seen how fat I am now? It must be nice that both of you have already given birth. Your children are already growing up too. Meanwhile, I am not even four months pregnant, and who knows how much bigger I’m going to get in six months.”
Tickled, Hannah assured her, “Don’t exaggerate it. Babies typically weigh around six kilograms anyway. You don’t have to be concern about how much you’re eating now. Instead, focus on nourishing yourself. After you give birth, you can slowly adjust your eating habits again, and surely you will lose weight.”
With a common topic, the two chatted for some time. Meanwhile, I propped my chin on my hand and watched them, realizing how blissful I felt at that moment.
“Sienna, are you preparing to have a second child with Anthony? Yesterday, I heard that Summer is going to W City with Jared. Aren’t you worried?” Emery shifted the conversation to me.
Shaken from my quiet moment, I replied, “I’m confident that Jared will take good care of her.”
Then, Hannah turned serious, and she stared at me. “Don’t you want to have another child? Summer is already five this year. If you are worried about what she thinks, you can always ask her for her opinion on the topic. Who knows, maybe she wants a playmate too?”
Grinning, I confessed, “Anthony and I plan to discuss it after the year ends. He is too busy now and is under too much pressure. It isn’t the right time to consider it yet.”
The two other women exchanged gleeful looks.
As though she suddenly recalled Cameron, Emery brought her up. “Oh, I almost forgot. When I came back, I realized that Cameron was admitted to the hospital for appendicitis. I should visit her soon.”
“I think she is almost fully recovered after staying in the ward for the past few days,” Hannah said before turning to me.
“After removing the stitches, she can probably discharge, right?”
I responded with a smile. At that moment, my phone rang, and it was Summer who called from Jared’s phone.
She was about to board the plane and called to give me an update.
Soon, the weekend came, and it was Featherstone Corporation’s annual meeting. Although Summer had already left K City for a few days, she would call me at night to chat with me.
Despite so, I could not touch nor hug her. After raising her for the past four years, I could not help but miss her after she left.
In the afternoon, Anthony noticed that I seemed absentminded. He reminded me, “It’s the annual meeting this evening. Will you go with me?”
I paused and was about to shake my head when he cut in, “Come on. You will be bored staying at home.”
“You know that I don’t like crowded places,” I chuckled.
“Should I stay at home to accompany you?”
Ah, I should go to the meeting with him.
The annual meeting was at a hotel’s open-air swimming pool. With red wine, yummy food, a grand lobby, and a swimming pool, everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives.
The venue screamed money and elegance.
As I did not have many interests, I did not have much to do besides eating.
Holding onto a plate of pastries, I looked for a quiet place to eat them.
Moments later, Isabelle approached me, but I did not see her coming. If she did not speak, I would not even realize that she was there.
“Ms. Stanhope, you sure enjoy having peace.”
I adverted my gaze to her. Like me, she had a plate of pastries in her hand, looking for a place to eat them.
“Some say that aging is delayed for women who enjoy sweet treats,” I pointed out.
She laughed in response and shoved a tart into her mouth. Enjoying it, she mumbled, “How should we define aging?”
I was stumped by her question.
Chuckling, she continued, “To me, aging means to lose the meaning of living. If you have lost interest in the future at twenty, you have aged. Aging may not refer to the physical abilities of a person but the soul. Some people are past eighty, yet they still have a positive outlook on life. Do you think they should be considered old?”
I could only smile as I found it hard to answer her question. “Nope!” I finally uttered.
Afterward, we spent our time chatting on other topics. Since Anthony had to present Featherstone Corporation’s performance for the past year, commend the stellar employees and present some surprises, Isabelle had to go.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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