“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll send you Mr. Murphy’s address so you can come over and cook dinner for him tonight. I’ll act as your assistant, and we can eat together at his place. How does that sound?”
She gasped in excitement. “Really? You are my superhero, Sienna! I’m going over there right this second!”
Hanging up the call, I dashed out of the office and searched for Armond’s car in the building parking lot.
He seemed to have smoked a cigarette while waiting for me, the heavy smell causing me to cough a few times. “Is there something on your mind?”
He started up the car, replying calmly, “No.”
After that, he didn’t speak a word to me at all. I could tell that he was in a bad mood, although I wasn’t sure why.
Half an hour later, we reached his villa. Armond made a beeline for his study upstairs while I paced around aimlessly in his kitchen, waiting for Nora.
She eventually showed up at the house with several bags full of groceries. “I already told you not to buy anything. This is so much!”
“I needed specific ingredients for my recipe, and I wasn’t sure if you had them!” She winked at me. “Oh, and besides that, I spotted someone next door who looked familiar.”
“Who is it?” I took the groceries from her and set them down on the kitchen counter.
“I think it was the assistant who’s always beside Anthony. He looked like he was moving in.” The kitchen was entirely made up of smart appliances, but she looked at ease and in her own element as she instructed me to wash the vegetables.
“Joseph is moving here?” I wondered out loud to myself, dumbfounded.
She nodded, busying herself with creating a homemade sauce.
The housing prices in A City weren’t as expensive as in K City, but they usually went for around several hundred thousand per unit. Joseph was already married with children, so why was he purchasing a villa worth hundreds of thousands here of all places?
It wasn’t as if he regularly came to A City either, because he worked in K City. Was it possible that he was feeling pressured or stressed so he bought a house here as an investment?
I couldn’t figure it out even after wracking my brain, so I decided to throw the idea to the back of my mind and distracted myself by following Nora’s instructions in the kitchen.
“How are you planning to spend Magpie Festival?” I questioned.
Her movements froze for a brief second as she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “What about you?”
“Linda and I made plans to meet up and have a meal together.”
“I can guarantee that she’s going to stand you up,” she chuckled.
“Why is that?”
“She’s at the time of life where she’s trying to start another relationship after the failure that was her first marriage. You should be spending such a lovely holiday with someone you’re interested in, not eating out with your besties! There’s always another time for that.”
I observed as she skillfully sliced up the fish into thin pieces, admiring her professionalism. “Basically, what you’re saying is that you don’t want to spend Magpie Festival with me.”
“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes at me humorously. “I can go out and eat with you anytime, just not on Magpie Festival of all days! I want to spend the day doing romantic things and such, you know?”
She has a point.
Come to think of it, there was no other choice for me but to spend the holiday alone. I pondered over whether I should make a trip back to K City.
After the completion of this project and the divorce was finalized, I had to consider my plans to settle down in A City.
As preparations were nearly done, Nora told me, “Go wash your hands and call the neighbor to come over as well. We’re all acquaintances and I’ve cooked so much today, so this could be like a welcoming party for him.”
The thought of Joseph had completely escaped my mind. Getting ready to go out, I washed my hands and called out over my shoulder, “Armond’s in the room to your left on the second floor. Go up and tell him that dinner is ready.”
She giggled, breaking out into a wide grin. “Can I take this as you create a chance for me?”
“That’s up to your own interpretation.” I waved her off.
Armond’s villa wasn’t that large. Every building was close to one another, and it had a front yard as well as a water feature in the backyard.
A single wall separated the two rooms. Sound traveled easily across the balconies.
I rang the bell of the neighboring villa. Joseph answered the door. When he saw me, he started ever so slightly, then asked, “Mrs. Featherstone, is something wrong?”
I paused, then smiled at him winningly. “Were you aware that we were neighbors?” It was peculiar that Joseph hadn’t asked me what I was doing here. Instead, he had immediately seized on something going awry.
Joseph’s eyes darted uneasily. He avoided the question altogether and exclaimed brightly, “Please come in!”
“No need for that,” I assured him. “It’s time for dinner, and you just moved in today. I suppose you haven’t had the time to cook. Would you like to join me?”
Joseph smiled but insisted on showing me in.
I felt it rather peculiar of him to do so. It all made sense to me, however, after I’d stepped and caught sight of the man himself seated on the grey couch and reading a book.
The one who had pushed for this move must have been Anthony rather than Joseph.
“Mrs. Featherstone, let me get you a glass of water!” Joseph chirped, already darting out of the room in haste.
I remained standing where I was in the living room, tension creeping up my spine. I searched my mind frantically for something to say. Linda’s words flashed across my mind and I blurted, “Thank you for the ointment you sent me today afternoon!”
Anthony’s eyes never left his book. He casually turned a page, then replied coolly, “OK.”
Silence returned to the room.
I gulped, then continued, “Are you planning to stay here?”
“Yes,” Anthony intoned. He clearly didn’t seem interested in having a conversation with me at the moment.
I bit my lip and pressed on. “I’m guessing that you haven’t had anything to eat. I’ve already made dinner. Do you want to join me?”
Anthony suddenly slammed his book shut. He got his feet and replied evenly, “All right.”
Without another word, he set his book down and left the room.
At that moment, Joseph re-entered the living room bearing a glass of water. He froze when he saw Anthony stalking out. Joseph hurriedly shoved the glass of water towards me, saying, “Mrs. Featherstone, please have a drink!”
I shook my head and replied, “No need. Come over and have dinner with us!”
Joseph nodded, smiling sheepishly. “Thank you for having us!”
“There’s no need to stand on courtesy,” I replied cheerily.
By the time we’d traipsed back to my place, Nora had already arrayed the dishes on the table. When she saw us enter, Nora beamed, remarking, “What a crowd we have today! It’s been a while since I’ve had such an eventful dinner.”
As Nora set the table, I noticed that Armond wasn’t present. Turning towards Nora, I asked, “Did you call Mr. Murphy to come as well?”
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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