Chapter 208 – After the One-Night Stand with a Heartless Billionaire

“Oh, who is it?”

Anna replied casually as she forked up a piece of fish and smiled, “Oh, it’s just a friend of mine. Wow, it looks so delicious!”

“Really? What kind of friend?” He asked, sounding serious.

Wayne looked a little upset.

The atmosphere between them was very cozy. However, Anna felt a shiver running down her spine shortly after Wayne asked this question.

Anna’s hand stopped, and the fork in her hand suspended in the air. She frowned at Wayne and said, “I already told you that person is just my friend. What’s the matter?”

Wayne’s tone softened a little, but he maintained his serious demeanor. He continued to ask, “Tell me, what’s the name of that person? Is he a man or a woman? I want to know about your friend.”

Anna looked at Wayne in confusion and then said seriously as she pretended to be joking, “Oh, no, you don’t know him. What’s the matter, Wayne? Are you jealous? I just had a phone call with my friend.”

Wayne silently clinched his hand into a fist beneath the dining table as he thought that Anna’s nonchalant attitude made him look like a fool. They were sitting so close, and he was so close to the truth. They were, however, concealing something from each other.

Wayne finally decided to back off. He pulled out his chair, sat down, and then said calmly, “I’m sorry, Anna, I simply wanted to know whether you have any friends other than Peace.”

Anna smiled and said frankly, “Oh, you know, I don’t have many friends. When I was in America, Peace was my only friend. The person who just called me is Jasper Thomas. He and I both went to the same college in Birmingham, but he was many years older than me. He started his business when I first arrived in the US, but he didn’t have any money. To be honest, I was pretty well off back then. Once I found out that he and I had gone to the same college, I helped him out.”

So, Anna and Jasper used to go through hard times together. Wayne thought to himself.

Wayne became increasingly depressed as he listened to Anna’s story. And he was having difficulty breathing.

After a few words, Anna finished recounting how she and Jasper met. She did, however, keep one important fact from him: they had been married.

“Hey, I think the fish you made tastes pretty good. But, you know, you can do better than that!” Anna complimented him, then ate another piece of cod.

After that, she said, “Hey, try some. But I still want to give you some advice.”

The white cod on the plate was covered in a brown sauce, which made it look quite appealing. Wayne wasn’t in the mood to eat, but he felt compelled to do so because Anna was staring at him with expectation. He then took a very large bite because he was still a little upset.

“Well?” Anna asked Wayne.

MIT

He nodded and said, “Delicious.” Anna looked at him with wide eyes and said, “What? Are you sure it’s really good?” Wayne gave her a dubious glance as well.

“Oh my God, it’s not even cooked!” Anna made a surprised expression as she pointed to the chunk of cod on his plate. The cod was still raw, and there was even blood on it. Anna was very curious about how Wayne could take such a large bite of the codfish and be able to swallow it.

Wayne’s face flushed with embarrassment, and he hurried into the bathroom. Anna laughed after a time.

“Gee, what the hell were you thinking?” she exclaimed as she leaned over the table.

To be honest, Anna thought Wayne had a gift for cooking. Wayne made a plate of cod fish, mashed potatoes and a bowl of soup tonight. Even though Wayne had never cooked before, the mashed potatoes he made tonight were delicious. Besides, because Anna had taught him how to make soup, he did a fantastic job.

But, Anna wondered why Wayne looked preoccupied during the dinner. Wayne had an upset expression when he came out of the bathroom.

Anna served the soup in a bowl and put it in front of him. After seeing that Wayne seemed to be doubting himself, she said, “Are you okay? Don’t worry, I’ve already had this soup, and I think it’s pretty good. Here, try it.”

Wayne only let out a sigh of relief at that point. Despite the fact that this was his first time cooking, he was terrified of being ridiculed because of his high self-esteem.

Afterward, he sat down and took a sip of the soup. At that time, he saw Anna keep looking at him with concern. Her gaze was very gentle, and it was a far cry from her harsh demeanor in the workplace.

At that moment, Wayne recalled how domineering Anna acted when he first saw her, He believed she appeared to be a completely different person.

Anna winked at him and then said, “Why do you keep staring at me? How do you like the soup? Do you think I look as delicious as that?”

Wayne coughed immediately after hearing her words. When he looked up, Anna noticed that his face had turned completely red.

Wayne realized that Anna was not only much more gentle than before, but also much more cheeky.

It was late at night in the United States, and Jasper had returned to his apartment after a video conference. His apartment was on the sixtieth floor. So when he lowered his head, he could look down on the entire downtown Manhattan.

Jasper held up the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window, and there were creases in the handmade Italian suit he was wearing as he did so. When he watched the bustling street, his expression became melancholy.

He realized that only by standing at the top of the world would he realize how unbearable loneliness was.

“Here’s the research for the England market, Jasper.” Lily, his assistant, said as she stood behind him.

“Oh, please put it there. Did you cancel my trip for next week?” Jasper snapped back to his senses, and then turned around to look at her.

Lily stood still and fixed her gaze on him. She was stunning and seemed to be a very gentle woman.

She looked at Jasper with appreciation and concern and replied, “Yes, I’ve done it, and I’ve also made a flight reservation for you. Several English companies have expressed an interest in collaborating with us. And, I wrote a list of the approach order in that market research report.”

Lily was a capable assistant who took her job seriously. However, upon hearing her words, Jasper didn’t say anything to compliment her, but nodded his head.

“By the way, I’m going to meet someone after I arrive in England. So, could you please accept these corporate representatives on my behalf?”

“No problem,” Lily answered with a quick nod. Jasper waved her off and told her she was free to leave.

However, Lily didn’t move at all. She immediately stopped being professional anymore and looked like a different person. She asked in a gentle tone, “Jasper, are you going to meet Miss Gabriel?”

Jasper replied, “Yes.”

His gaze became tender as he heard Anna’s name. Anna, he believed, was the light of his life.

She had warmed him up like the sun and brought light into his darkest years.

However, he suspected that Anna never knew how much he admired her. He had been very cautious about it since he was worried about scaring Anna.

Lily appeared bewildered. She gave a bitter smile and added, “Okay, I’ll be off then. Bye.”

The apartment was quiet again after she shut the door.

Jasper took off his glasses and placed them on his desk. Then, he squeezed his brow to relax his eyes. At that moment, he saw a family photo on the table. He froze for a moment, and then his expression became much more tender.

There were three people in the picture. At that time, Tammy had just learned to talk and could only say “dad” and “mom”. When Jasper took her out, many people would say hi to her and even pinch her cheeks because she was so cute.

Tammy was not happy about this. And she would perch on Jasper’s shoulders whenever they hung out after that because it was the only way for her to stop other people from reaching her.

It has been almost a year since the last time I saw them. And I usually only get a few opportunities to see them. Jasper thought to himself.

Anna was not seriously burned, so she didn’t need to rest for a long time. And Anna was able to walk on her own after a week.

The Carousel Group had been delaying the development of the resort project for a while. Therefore, after Wayne made sure that Anna was okay, he immediately went on a business trip to another city.

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