Chapter 88
“See?” Ezra smiled, “sometimes patience can win hearts more effectively
than anger.”
“I know.”
He knew his bad temper was always a problem. If he had lost control, he’d
only push her further away.
Celeste always kept him away from her families and friends. Even today,
from the start, she had been fearing Kendric might lose his temper and
embarrass her.
But none of that happened, and Celeste’s attitude slowly changed.
Looking back, maybe her initial dislike for him came from this–because he
couldn’t control himself, always letting his temper dominate and forcing it upon
her.
“It won’t be knotty to range against Vader family, but you better not
interfere.”
Kendric had no intention. After all, Celeste’s attitude towards Vaders was
clear to him.
Ezra added, “Manuel reached his current position at this young age. He has
a promising future.” Then his tone turned unusually serious, “his father’s about to start campaigning for mayor. Said to have a good chance of winning.”
“Confirmed?”
Ezra shrugged, “Not yet. I heard it from my uncle during my last visit home.”
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Ezra’s uncle held a high position in the municipal government, so the information he heard was likely reliable.
Kendric glanced at him, “your uncle is also on the candidate list, isn’t he?”
Ezra hadn’t expected him to figure it out so quickly. “Damn, man, I really can’t hide anything from you.”
Kendric lightly tapped the table with his finger, “need help?”
Ezra waved his hand. “Not for now.”
Kendric pondered, “who on earth has been supporting Vader family in the campaign?”
“I heard it’s the McCartney.”
Kendric was slightly surprised. “McCartney? Why?”
Ezra smirked. “It’s said they yearn for a alliance by marriage with the
Vader. Manuel and the eldest daughter of the McCartney…”
“Manuel? Will he be willing to compromise?”
Ezra shrugged. “Who knows? Not everyone is as luck and free as you that can marry whoever they want.”
***
Upon returning to their table, Manuel quickly apologized to Celeste.
Celeste shook her head, “it’s okay, really. Manuel, Sienna and I are friends. You, in my heart, are like a brother, and that’s never going to change.”
The subtext under her words couldn’t be more clear.
Chapter 8
Manuel ruffled her hair, “I got it.”
Sienna didn’t dare say anything more and buried her sadness in food.
In the next two days, Celeste was busy packing her things and preparing
her documents for studying abroad. When everything was ready, she went back
to her hometown.
When Celeste got home, Myles hadn’t returned from his work yet. After
putting her luggage down, she started cleaning up the courtyard.
Her bedroom was just as she left it, with posters on the walls and comics.
neatly stacked on the bookshelf. She made her bed, pulled back the curtains, letting sunlight flood the room. She sat quietly on the bed, feeling like she had
traveled back to her childhood.
In her childhood, she was much happier than now. She had friends at school, and she was cherished by her father at home. In her free time, she played with her friends or painted at home. Those joyful memories were so
precious.
A sudden bell ring drew her back to the reality. Celeste checked the time, but it wasn’t the time her father usually returned from work. She slipped on her shoes and went outside. When she opened the door, two girls were standing there.
“Celeste?”
“Della?”
Once they called out each other’s names, they all broke into smiles. Della
was Celeste’s best friend from high school. Another girl beside seemed vaguely
familiar to Celeste, but she didn’t recognize her immediately.
“Celeste, you don’t remember me? I’m Anna, your high school classmate.”
Celeste gave a polite nod.
Anna linked Celeste’s arm. “It’s really you! Della and I happened to see you
on the bus, and we came to your home at once.”
Anna peered inside. “You came back alone?”
“Yeah, my dad’s still on work.”
“Nonono, I mean, where’s your hubby?”
Della pinched Anna hard, signaling her to stop this topic. She felt awkward.
“I’m sorry, Celeste, Anna didn’t mean to pry.”
Celeste smiled. “He didn’t come back with me.”
She was happy to see Della, but Anna was proving to be quite irritating, so Celeste was in no mood for any further conversation.
Della keenly perceived Celeste’s displeasure. “We should get going. Let’s have a chat next time.”
However, Anna clung to the doorframe. “Celeste, there’s a high school reunion this weekend. You coming?”
It’s been quite a long time since she met her classmates.
Celeste smiled and nodded. “Sure, just come find me on that day.”
Della noticed Celeste’s fading smile, and she hurriedly pulled Anna away. We’ll inform you then.”
On their way back, Della was lost in thought. Even though they hadn’t been
in touch for years, she genuinely cared about Celeste.
“I wonder why Celeste suddenly came back.”
Anna snorted, “isn’t it obvious? She got dumped and can’t be a rich wife
anymore!”
Della got angry. “Don’t act mean, Anna. She’s our friend!”
Anna stuck her tongue out, her eyes filled with envy. “Friend? We can never
befriend her!”
“You can’t start a rumor that she got dumped!”
Anna smirked, “how do you know if it’s not true? Think about it. She moved into her fiance’s house at 18. She’s 26 now and still not married. Do you know what that implies?”
“What?”
“Idiot! It means her fiance doesn’t wanna marry her!” Anna lowered her voice, “I heard her dad went to visit her recently. Said he was attending Celeste’s engagement party. But when he came back, there was no smile on his face. What else could it mean? His daughter got dumped for sure.”
Anna excitedly shared the news of Celeste’s return to other classmates.
Classmate one, “She really came back? Bet she’s acting all high and mighty now, totally different from us.”
Classmate two, “what car does she drive now?”
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Classmate three, “is she going to attend our party? I’m freaking curious!”
Anna replied, “guess what? She didn’t get married at all.”
