“Scarlet, are you there? Why are you not talking? What’s wrong?” Nora’s questions from the phone dragged me back from my thoughts. “I’m here. What’s up?”
“Do you know the location of the company Armond is working at? I couldn’t reach him since I’ve arrived at K City. He didn’t pick up his phone, and I didn’t get any replies from him on WhatsApp. Do you know if something had happened to him?” Worry was laced in Nora’s tone.
Thinking back to the morning when I just met Armond, I frowned and said, “K City has many places of interest. Take some time out to visit them. It could be that Armond is quite busy with work these days, so he didn’t have time to take care of you.”
She breathed out a long sigh. “I know he’s busy with work, but he couldn’t have been busy the entire day, right? Even if he is busy, don’t tell me he didn’t even have time to glance at his phone. I have never asked him to pick up all my calls, but it has been a few days, so I am sure he must’ve seen the texts on his phone. I mean… he could’ve at least replied to one of my messages!”
My head was starting to ache. “I’m not sure where the headquarters of the Murphy Corporation is in K City, but even if I do know, Armond may not be there.”
She sighed, “I understand. I don’t know what’s wrong with him these days. It felt like he was avoiding me, and I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. Sienna, could it be that he had met someone he likes?”
“Nora, how much do you like him?” I didn’t know how to advise her because Armond wasn’t sincere in dating her. I had kept quiet initially because I didn’t see his true color. However, I knew it now, and she would fell deeper into the rabbit hole if I continued to remain silent. I was worried that she would hate me for not telling her.
She was silent for a while. “I couldn’t say how much, but I was planning to spend the rest of my life with him. Sienna, I know it isn’t wise to tie my emotions and everything on a man, but I can’t control it. He was the first person I loved in my entire life. When I couldn’t find him these few days, I wanted to head to the Murphy Residence to look for him. I know I’m not inferior to him, but I just couldn’t control myself.”
I pursed my lips as my head spun from it all. “Nora, maybe Armond is not the man for you. I think you deserve someone better.”
A long silence ensued. Nora calmed down on the other end and finally spoke, “Sienna, do you know something about Armond? Has he found another woman, and fallen in love with her? Is that why you’re saying this?”
Her question made me realize that my remarks were out of line. Stumped, I spoke, “No, I just didn’t want you to head into a blind alley. I’m just trying to remind you that there’s more to life other than being in a relationship. Don’t overthink it. I’m really swamped these days. I’ll ask you and Hailey out for lunch after this. Speaking of which, how is Hailey doing?”
Nora did not dwell on my words, and snapped out of her emotions and said, “She’s doing okay, but I really find her so odd sometimes. She just stands by the window and lets the cold wind brush past her face, and she rarely talks. Even if she does, she’s making all these weird remarks like there’s something wrong with her. Hailey’s really not good business material. I mean, people are put off by her somber outlook, and really reluctant to talk business with her.”
She paused for a moment before continuing, “Right, I accidentally saw her taking a shower in the bathroom yesterday, and noticed a really long scar on her left breast. Has she gotten injured in the past? I didn’t dare to ask her since we’re really not that close, and I haven’t known her for long. Are you close to her, Sienna? To be frank, I’m a little scared of her.”
I creased my brows slightly and said, “There’s nothing wrong with her. It’s just that she has depression because of what happened to her father. Don’t worry, she’s still in control of her emotions. Just chat her up more often if you have the time.”
“Huh?” Nora seemed surprised at my statement. “She has depression? I didn’t know that! How did you know that? How long have you known her anyway? Why do you seem to know a lot about her?”
I was rendered speechless. Nora was just pining over Armond moments ago, but now the woman was inquiring about Hailey with such gusto.
I found it hard to explain everything to her and merely said, “I met her when I was back in A City. She’s really not business material, but I think her father is the reason why she’s so hung up about doing business. Don’t overthink it. Just talk to her when you’ve got the time. The same goes for Armond. Don’t waste your time overthinking things. He will call you if he really wants to see you. I think you should know that if the man doesn’t want to see you, there’s no way you could reach him anyway.”
I initially planned to go the hospital after I hung up the phone. However, at the thought that Anthony might not have had his lunch yet, I bought some of his favorite foods at the city center before dropping by.
Since Jared’s bone marrow did not match Summer’s, the only way right now was to get to A City as soon as possible. I was not sure if the name card Armond gave me was of any use, but I got to give it a try no matter what.
I called Cameron and asked him about Zachary. I didn’t know what Anthony said to him, but according to Cameron, he had calmed down and was no longer rushing to A City.
Organ trade is never an option. These words were only fit for people whose children were perfectly healthy.
The truth was, they might have a paradigm shift once their children could benefit from it. Outsiders would not have a clue as to what the parents were put through when their children were diagnosed with a terminal illness.
I went back to the Featherstone Corporation and took an elevator with some of the employees. I noticed that the girls were stealing glances at me. Frowning, I could not help but wonder if there was anything odd with my appearance.
Nobody liked to be stared at, and I was starting to get annoyed. “Which department are you guys from?” I asked with a stern face.
Stumped at my sudden question, the group looked at me and replied, “We’re from the Publicity Department.”
I merely nodded and said nothing. The group went silent as well.
After some time, the group was at a loss and asked, “Mrs. Featherstone, are you going to see Mr. Featherstone?”
I nodded and gave them a slight smile. “I’m going to send him lunch.”
The others nodded and smiled. “Mr. Featherstone is so lucky, but normally Ms. Collins will prepare snacks for him…”
Another woman nudged at the person who was clearly talking too much. She managed an awkward smile and stopped talking.
The smile on my face remained unchanged as I commented, “That’s very thoughtful of her.”
The others smiled and said nothing further.
The elevator door finally sprung open and I stepped out of it. The smile on my face disappeared. It’s never easy to try to ignore the elephant in the room, is it?
A rhythmic clacking of heels rang in the hallway. I lifted my head and noticed that it was Rachel. She was carrying some documents. After noticing the food in my hands, she asked, “Are you sending lunch to Mr. Featherstone?”
I nodded. There was no common topic for us to talk about, and I did not try to stretch our conversation. After a brief pause, the woman looked at me and said, “I guess you should be quite busy lately.”
Oh, so she has something to say to me.
As expected, she continued, “I know you’re busy, but don’t neglect your family. Some things can really sneak their way in when you’re not paying attention.
Surprisingly, I was not as vexed as I thought I would be at her remarks. I merely replied, “I think you can be more outright with what you’re trying to say. There’s no need to beat around the bush.”
She shrugged and said nonchalantly, “I’m not trying to beat around the bush, actually. It’s just some words going around, maybe I’m overthinking this.
“Hmm, I really have a lot of work to do. I’d better get going then, talk later,” she said as she trotted away with documents in her hands.
I pursed my lips as I watched her silhouette walking away. Damn it, this is really starting to get on my nerve.
I reached the entrance of Anthony’s office, and his door was ajar. I stood at the door with the food clutched in my hand and hesitated for a moment before deciding to just go inside.
However, a voice rang just when I was about to push the door in. “Mr. Featherstone, since you’re already done with these documents, I’ll send them downstairs.” It was Stella Collins.
“Okay.” Anthony’s voice sounded impassive.
Seeing that he was still busy with work, I did not rush to head in. Instead, I played with my phone in the visitors’ room.
Exchanges from inside the office could be heard. Everything seemed normal. After half an hour, his office door sprung open, and Stella headed out with a pile of documents in her hands. She was stumped at the sight of me before she snapped out of it and smiled. “Mrs. Featherstone, when did you get here?”
I gave her a thin smile. “It’s been some time. I didn’t want to interrupt you guys working.”
She smiled in response. “Mr. Featherstone is reviewing some documents. He’s been swamped with work lately since a lot is going on in the company, and he might not have time to accompany you recently. I think he’ll be able to spend more time with you after this.”
With a thin smile, I mumbled a response and said nothing further.
Anthony heard my voice and came out of his office. His furrowed brows eased a little, and his impassive face lit up with a warm smile at the sight of me. “What did you bring me?”
I looked at him and gestured at the food I brought. Looking directly at Stella, I said, “I heard the girls over at the Publicity Department saying that you would bring Mr. Featherstone dessert every day. I have a sweet tooth too. Am I in luck for any today?”
Her smile stiffened for a brief moment before she said, “I brought Mr. Featherstone some because he did not have lunch just now. He’s always had some trouble with his stomach, and I was worried about him getting gastric. What do you think if I bring you some when you come over next time, Mrs. Featherstone?”
I smiled at the woman and nodded. “Thanks for the trouble then, Stella.”
Anthony had shown no interest in our exchange and had already removed the packaging of the food that I brought over. Noticing that Stella kept talking to me, he furrowed his brows and ordered her, “Go get busy.”
The woman nodded and took the documents away.
As I watched her leave, I could not help but think that the girl really was something else.
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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