“Really? Donn… Frank? Can’t you reconsider?”
“It’s me, Silverbell… Or you don’t like how I look now that I’m grown up?”
Silverbell could cry, but she kept herself smiling—the bitter expression left even Ned’s heart aching, let alone Frank.
“No.” He shook his head, turning away. “It’d be better if we never meet again.”
“I see…” Silverbell wiped her face as she strode out of the factory without looking back.
“Ah, it looks like it’s beginning to rain…” she said as if to calm herself, even as she disappeared from sight.
“Mr. Lawrence…”
Ned had no words for Frank just then—he was just an outsider and did not know why Frank would reject someone as beautiful and strong as Silverbell.
“Phew…”
Frank sighed lengthily before turning to Ned. “I’m afraid I need your help to clean up the mess. And if you could, please pretend nothing happened here.”
“Don’t worry.” Ned nodded solemnly.
Frank then turned to Gina and Cindy, watching them in silence before saying, “Naturally, the same goes for you two. But if you do spill the beans, you’d be kidnapped like you were… and worse. And this time, no one will come to help.”
His advice left Gina and Cindy nodding repeatedly—they certainly did not have the gall to defy Frank now!
“Good. Come along—I’ll take you two to Helen. You can go back to Riverton with her.” Frank beckoned to them to follow.
He was suddenly a different person—exceedingly polite and mild—and even Gina could not find fault in him just then.
Ned watched as they left, and sighed lengthily. “Mr. Lawrence is as strong as he is complicated, huh?”
As Frank took Gina and Cindy back to Nash Yego’s cottage, they found Helen having an argument with Kat Yego.
“I don’t care! You’re already divorced!” Kat revealed her intentions right then and was as hostile as she was unwelcoming toward Helen.
Nearby, Nash was at loss as all his attempts at reasoning were backfiring. “Kat, you’re still a child. How could you just…”
Helen was herself rubbing her temples.
It had just been days, and Frank collected yet another stray—and a student who just became an adult at that!
Honestly…
Nonetheless, Kat kept making faces at Helen. “You’re the one who didn’t appreciate what you have. Who else can you blame, old hag?”
“Old… Hag?” Helen’s smile stiffened.
No woman liked being made fun of with their age, especially by a younger woman who had just come of age.
On one hand, Helen was certainly not old—if anything, she was youthful and beautiful.
On the other hand, it was the indisputable truth that she was much older than Kat.
