She met my gaze with a calm expression. “I understand what you’re getting at, but if I do that, he might never fall in love with me and instead, pursue you with a clear conscience for the rest of his life.”
Huffing out a bitter laugh, she continued, “I haven’t touched a single cent of the money he gave me over the years. I didn’t even ask my parents for money. I’m just like a daughter from an ordinary family, working my a*s off for myself and my child. I keep thinking that the longer I keep this up, the more likely I’ll be able to earn his love.”
I knew where she was coming from. A man with a successful career and good looks had no shortage of women flocking to him, regardless of whether they were after his money or his love.
Camelia understood this better than I. She was fully aware that Marcus’ heart did not belong to her. But unlike other women, she didn’t reap the benefits of his wealth. Instead, she took a gamble; except for his love, she didn’t want anything else from him.
This way, even if Marcus wanted to use money to compensate her, the fact that he couldn’t bring himself to love her would render that effort invalid. As the defaulter in their marriage, he wouldn’t be able to use money to make up for the lack of love toward her as well as the child.
I nodded in understanding, but my heart clenched in my chest when I witnessed the tough life she chose.
After a momentary silence, I steered the topic away. “I booked a flight back to K City tonight. I might have to stay there for some time. If you need anything, you can look for my friend. I’ve sent her contact information to your phone. And if you find it inconvenient staying at the hospital with your son, you can go live in my house. Rest assured, no one will disturb you there.”
She studied me for a while before expressing her gratitude. “Thank you.” After a brief hesitation, she said, “We could’ve been really good friends.”
Her statement was like a heavy blow to my chest and I didn’t know how to react for a while. At last, I flashed her a small smile and said, “This isn’t too bad either.”
Life was full of ups and downs. No one could determine or predict what would happen next.
We chatted for a bit and when I returned to the ward, Marcus was already asleep with Layla watching over him. She greeted me curtly upon seeing me. Apart from giving her some instructions, we didn’t talk about anything else.
After packing my stuff, I told Layla to pass the things I brought over to Camelia. With that done, I dragged my suitcase and hailed a taxi by the hospital entrance, leaving straight for the airport.
I was already in the taxi when Nora called, and she sounded peeved. “Didn’t I tell you that everyone is to gather for a meal on the eve of Harvest Festival? How could you leave without even saying goodbye?”
Feeling apologetic, I replied, “I booked the flight last minute and didn’t have time to tell you. We’ll do it next time, okay? It’s not like I won’t be coming to A City anymore. Let’s get together again during Independence Day!”
From the silence over the phone, I surmised that she must have been rendered speechless by me. After a while, she sighed in defeat and exclaimed, “You guys are really something, you know? It’s just a simple meal. It’s not like it’d take ages to end! What’s the frickin rush?”
I froze as my mind registered her words. “What do you mean by ‘you guys’?”
I could already imagine her rolling her eyes before clarifying, “I’m talking about you and Tessa, of course. You guys said you’d be there, but then ended up leaving so abruptly.”
I hummed a response but didn’t probe further. Instead, my mind drifted to Danny and I said, “Nora, since I won’t be in A City for several days, I trust you to take care of that matter I mentioned to you before. By the way, there’s also Danny. I met him in an alley a while ago. He looked like a pitiful mess, so I told him to come to me if he needs anything. I may need your help on that since I won’t be around for the time being.”
Even through the phone, I could feel her pouting as she answered, “Alright, alright. I got it. Honestly, you’re too kind for your own good. People like Danny are already beyond saving. Why are you getting yourself involved with him? You’ll only bring unnecessary trouble to yourself.”
I chuckled softly and merely said, “Thanks for your help, anyway. I’ll make it up to you!”
She sighed again. “I know.”
After we ended the call, the taxi coincidently arrived at the airport. I got off and took my suitcase before heading toward the boarding gates. When I was collecting my ticket, I inadvertently spotted a friend.
Well, maybe not a friend… she’s more like an acquaintance.
After collecting her ticket, Tessa scanned her surroundings, as if hiding from someone. Then, she walked toward the international boarding gate.
She’s going abroad? Where?
I wasn’t close with her to begin with, so I didn’t intend to approach her and pry for information. As the distance between us increased, I headed to the terminal to wait for my flight.
At some point in time, I had unwittingly developed a habit of reading a book before boarding a plane and all the way to my destination. But I was happy about it since it was a good habit.
The flight lasted for four hours. By the time I arrived in K City, it was already quite late. I fished out my phone and checked my WhatsApp. Even though I didn’t receive any messages from Anthony, I didn’t feel that sad about it.
It was eight o’clock in the evening and I wondered if Summer was still awake. After giving it some thought, I dismissed the idea of calling her and took a cab to a hotel, planning to see Summer the next morning instead.
When I reached the hotel, I approached the front desk to settle the check-in procedures. To my dismay, the lady working the desk was quite slow at her job. She spoke on the phone while handling my check- in information, and would occasionally throw apologetic glances at me.
I wasn’t exactly in a hurry, so I would smile in response without rushing her.
After she put down the phone, she sent me another apologetic look and stated, “I’m sorry, Miss. Our hotel is fully booked. We can’t check you in anymore.”
I was dumbfounded. “But it’s only eight.”
She smiled and patiently explained, “Well, Independence Day is coming soon, so our hotel is mostly receiving tourists groups lately. Individual guests usually have to arrive earlier to book a room, so I’m really sorry!”
It hit me just then. There would be an Independence Day Parade. Not to mention, K City had a large population. Adding on the momentous occasion that was just around the corner, most hotels would basically be overcrowded.
Thinking that most of the hotels were in the same situation, I hesitated for a while before calling Emery. Fortunately, she answered after the first ring. “You finally called me! For a moment there, I thought you’d disappeared!”
I chuckled and went straight to the point. “I have a situation right now and might need your help.”
“Tell me. What is it? I’ll do everything in my power to help you!” she responded earnestly.
A laugh escaped my lips at her flair for drama and I elaborated, “I’m in K City now. All the hotels are fully booked, so I might have to stay at your house for a few days.”
“What the f*ck?” she cursed without restraint. “Sienna, I treat you as one of my own, but here you are, treating me like a d*mn outsider! You really are something, huh? Anyway, where are you now? I’ll come and pick you up. We have so many rooms at the Moore Residence, you could’ve come straight here and picked one. But you just had to go to a hotel. Seriously?”
I cut to the chase and simply sent her my location.
Luckily, traffic wasn’t heavy and she reached not long after.
Her red Lexus sportscar pulled to a stop in front of the hotel entrance, garnering a lot of attention. She rolled down her window and peered at me. “Get in, hot stuff!”
Tickled pink by her rowdy behavior, I giggled before motioning at my suitcase. “Will it fit into your car?”
She pursed her lips and swore loudly, “Well, f*ck! Why is your suitcase so big? Are you moving a corpse?”
After a short pause, she suggested, “I’ll get Hunter to come over to pick it up later. Let’s go home first.” Then, she politely gave the hotel doorman some instructions and even thanked him with a large tip.
In the car, she scrutinized me with a frown on her face. “Where have you been? Why did you leave without saying a word? Do you and Anthony both have the habit of doing this?”
I rolled my eyes at her and changed the subject. “Everyone’s been doing fine, I presume?”
“My brother and sister-in-law seemed to have aged a whole decade. If it wasn’t for Summer, I think they would’ve agreed to die together to atone for their sins. Cut them some slack, hmm? Life is like that, so let bygones be bygones. How long are you going to keep this up? Are you really going to push everyone away and live in solitude for the rest of your life?”
I pressed my lips together and kept silent.
When the car rolled to a stop at the entrance of the Moore Residence, I was stunned for a split second but got down from the car without thinking too much. Before I could get my bearings, Summer threw herself into my arms.
She hugged me and peppered me with kisses, all the while telling me how much she missed me.
Hugging her small frame, all of the day’s fatigue seemed to have melted away. Cameron and Zachary walked over right then, along with another man who looked to be over fifty. After not seeing each other for a few months, they seemed to have aged significantly beyond their years.
I looked at them but didn’t know what to say, so I settled for a smile.
Cameron smiled with motherly affection and piped up, “It’s so good to finally see you. Come, let’s go home!”
Having said that, she tugged me toward the villa. Emery had probably notified them in advance, so they ordered the housemaids to prepare a new table of food.
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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