It was still early when I got home. Bored out of my mind, I called Macy.
To my dismay, her phone was still switched off. It’s already been three months. She should’ve been done with her confinement by now, but why is her phone still turned off?
Helpless, I called Jackson instead. The call rang for a long time before it connected, and he sounded quite busy when he spoke. “Scarlett, I’m taking care of the baby now. What about you? What are you doing?”
I blinked in surprise. It must be quite difficult for a grown man to take care of a baby.
“Are you still with Macy in the countryside?” I asked while making myself comfortable on the sofa.
There was a momentary pause on the other end of the line before he answered, “Yeah. And you? How are you doing? Good?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah. I’ll return to J City around the end of the year. Are you two planning to come back to celebrate the new year? Or are you going to stay in the countryside?”
“We’re not too sure yet!” He seemed busy, so I quickly asked, “Where’s Macy? Is her phone broken? Why isn’t she answering her phone? I haven’t been able to get through to her for quite some time already.”
“Yeah! She’s quite busy. Anyway, I gotta go now. Let’s talk again some other time.” With that, he hung up the call.
I froze for a moment before putting my phone away.
…
At C Hotel, an international five-star hotel.
After parking the car at the hotel’s entrance, Marcus got out. Then, he gracefully walked to the front passenger side and opened the door for me before helping me out.
The train of my royal blue gown was too long. When I got out of the car, I couldn’t help but express my concern, “To be honest, this is my first time wearing a dress with such a long train. I’m worried that I might fall.”
He smiled faintly. “Then you’ll have to follow me closely, lest you fall.”
Besides this, I didn’t see any other way to prevent myself from tripping.
I shrugged my shoulders and followed him toward the hotel. There was already someone standing by the Roman columns at the hotel’s entrance to welcome the guests.
It was Sharon.
Having not seen her for quite some time, she seemed to have aged quite a bit. Today, she was wearing a burgundy gown with an ink-colored shawl to match, making her look incredibly elegant.
Older women tended to exude an elegance that was accumulated over the years as time had the ability to polish off the rough edges of women, giving them a gentle and alluring aura.
“Marc, you’re finally here! The guests should be arriving soon. Your grandparents are already here. Hurry up and go say hello to them, then come out to welcome the guests.” Sharon pulled Marcus toward the hotel.
With that, her gaze landed on me. She smiled. “And who might this beautiful young lady be? Why haven’t I seen her before?”
I was dumbfounded. Seeing as she couldn’t recognize me, I was at a loss for a moment and instinctively looked at Marcus.
Marcus chuckled and answered, “Mom, you’ve met her before. This is Scarlett.”
Sharon froze, her eyes dipping down to look at my stomach. After a transient moment, she exclaimed, “It’s you!” She frowned and chided Marcus, “Marc, why did you…”
Marcus cut her off, “Mom, you said that no matter who I brought today, you wouldn’t intervene. You’ll respect my choices, won’t you?”
Parents would always relent whenever it came to their children. Sharon obviously hated Sally and looked down on the Fullers.
However, she was willing to put up with me, the daughter-in-law of the Fuller family, for Marcus’ sake.
With a soft sigh, she glanced at me and warned, “Just make sure you don’t stir up trouble.”
Marcus smiled lopsidedly before leading me into the hotel lobby.
There weren’t many people in the lobby yet. Refreshments were arranged on both sides, and the two Bauman elderlies were chatting with some guests who had just arrived.
Marcus tugged me forward to greet them. Perhaps it was because they hadn’t seen their grandson for a long time that they were overjoyed.
Even though they were close to a hundred years old, they looked as spirited as ever.
“Marc, you brought such a beautiful lady with you. Which family is she from?” Anthony Bauman asked as his slightly glassy eyes fell on me.
Marcus pulled me to the front and said with a smile, “Grandpa, she’s the project director at my company. She’s my date for today.”
“Ahh, so she’s an employee from your company. You’re not getting any younger, boy. You should start thinking about marriage. Stop delaying it,” Sophia Carter, Marcus’ grandmother, piped in.
Marcus nodded profusely before saying, “Grandpa, Grandma, I’m going outside to welcome the guests with Mom. I’ll leave Scarlett here to accompany you.”
His grandparents nodded and motioned for him to go ahead.
As soon as Marcus left, Sophia pulled me to sit beside her. “How old are you this year, girl?”
I arched my lips into a polite smile and answered, “Twenty-six.”
“Are you married?” This seemed to be the billion-worth question for the entire older generation. Maintaining the smile on my face, I said, “Yes, I am.”
She was taken aback, glancing at Anthony beside her. Then, she chuckled. “That brat Marc seems to get more complicated the older he gets.”
Anthony released a chuckle of his own as he looked at me. “By the way, what was your name again?”
I remained courteous and replied, “Scarlett Stovall.”
