Chapter 419
Chapter 419
Ariana was just average-looking and appeared significantly older than Mitch, but she had a gentle aura about her.
A man accompanied her, who was probably a colleague.
Upon seeing me, Ariana paused, “Oh, is this a new colleague?”
Mitch’s face tumed awkward.
I had no fondness for the woman. The way she looked at Mitch was far from an ordinary colleague’s gaze. It was tender and affectionate.
“I’m not.” I responded coldly, “I can’t be that kind of colleague.”
My words made Mitch’s face drop. Even if I didn’t say it, he knew what I was implying.
Whether Ariana could comprehend my words or not was another question.
Apparently, she either didn’t understand or chose to ignore it. Without a hint of embarrassment, she smilingly approached the stroller where Serena was.
“Oh, Mitch, you’ve got two little angels?” Ariana reached out to play with Serena.
“They’re a friend’s children.” Mitch hurriedly explained.
Then he quickly introduced, “This is my wife and our child. You’ve only seen pictures of them. Now you’re meeting them in person.”
Stella, who had initially looked upset, immediately brightened up when Ariana arrived, putting on a big, welcoming smile, “You must be Ariana. My husband occasionally talks about you.”
Ariana looked surprised at Mitch, “Mitch, is that so? Do you talk about me at home? I guess we truly are friends.”
I couldn’t stand her insinuations, subtly trying to emphasize her close relationship with Mitch.
“Only occasionally.” Mitch quickly clarified, “Sometimes when talking about work, I mention you. My wife doesn’t really enjoy hearing about work, so I try not to bring it up.”
Ariana nodded with an enlightened look and approached Stella, reaching out to hold her baby, “Mr. Mitch’s little one is so adorable. May I hold her?”
But Stella avoided her. Her tone was frosty as she said, “My baby is shy. She doesn’t like being held by strangers.”
Ariana’s hand froze mid-air, obviously embarrassed by the rejection.
Mitch didn’t dare to say more. Even if he felt Ariana was being wronged, he had to hold his tongue.
Otherwise, the tension between him and Stella would have only escalated, and with me present, he couldn’t have afforded to speak recklessly.
“All right. Some babies are indeed shy. But I didn’t expect her to be so discerning at such a young age. Maybe if I visit more often, she’ll get used to me.” Ariana brushed off the awkwardness with a laugh.
Seeing the situation deteriorating, Mitch intervened, “Everyone, please take a seat. I’ll get some food.”
Ariana sat down without further ado. The other man sat beside her while Neil took the seat across from her.
I wished I hadn’t been there today. Just seeing that woman was enough to irritate me.
Stella took her baby to the bedroom, and I followed, unwilling to stay in the living room with them.
“Stella, why don’t we go out for lunch?” I asked Stella, presuming she would have been even more annoyed staying here.
“No, we’ll eat here. But you and Neil…” Stella seemed more worried about me.
“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me and him meeting. I’ve moved on, and our social circles are bound to intersect.” I replied.
Stella nodded, “Okay, we’ll just eat here. I’ve been wanting to see what’s so special about Ariana and what charm she has that enticed that dog, Mitch.”
Did Mitch like Ariana? I wasn’t sure. His gaze at Ariana earlier didn’t show much affection, but rather anxiety, probably because of the conflict with Stella. While I was talking with Stella, I heard my two children crying outside. Since the twin stroller couldn’t fit through the door, I had left Serena and Brandon outside.
“Oh, I’m sorry. They were just so cute. I wanted to hold them. I didn’t expect them to cry.”
I walked out to see Ariana placing Serena back into the stroller.
‘Ms. Ariana, what’s going on? Why are you so fond of holding other people’s kids?” was slightly angry since Serena and Brandon had just fallen asleep and were then woken up and crying because of Ariana.
Serena’s crying woke up Brandon, resulting in both of them crying.
The crying gave me a headache, and my impression of Ariana worsened. She had held my children without my consent, which was quite annoying.
Stella also came out, her face changing upon seeing Ariana, “Ms. Ariana, can I help you? Why are you wandering into other people’s bedrooms?”
“I’m sorry. I was just looking for the restroom,” Ariana quickly explained, “I was going to ask Mitch, but he just went out to get something, so I tried to find it myself.” “There’s a restroom near the kitchen. How did you think to look in the bedrooms?” Stella retorted. Her displeasure was evident in her question.
Ariana looked somewhat uncomfortable at her response.
Neil came over as he heard the commotion.
At the moment, I was flustered, unsure whether to pick up Serena or Brandon while Stella was holding her own child and couldn’t help me out.
“Let me help.” He gently picked up the crying Serena from the stroller.
Amazingly, Serena stopped crying the moment she was in Neil’s arms. She became calm and docile.
Neil looked down at the little one in his arms. His posture was much improved compared to before, making him look quite the doting father.
I remained silent, merely trying to soothe Brandon iri my arms. The little tyke wouldn’t settle down, crying continuously as if protesting his rude awakening.
“Want to switch?” Neil suddenly offered.
“Huh?” I was so overwrought with Brandon’s crying that I didn’t quite catch what Net
Neil put Serena back in her stroller and extended his arms. “Here, let me try.”
When did he become so generous? I was surprised, but I handed over Brandon to hir
Then, something miraculous happened.
Brandon gradually quieted down in Neil’s arms and even fell asleep soon after.
“There. He’s asleep,” Neil softly said, placing Brandon back in his stroller as well. His
