For a moment, there was a rumbling in my mind. My heart skipped a beat. Eventually, I took a deep breath and asked the unthinkable, “Did something happened to Macy?”
She did not reply me. There was a moment of silence before she stressed again, “Just come here. You’ll see!”
“Fine!”
Right after I hung up the phone, I booked an air ticket to J City. I was lucky because there was still time. There was a flight from K City to J City in an hour.
When that was done, I started the car again. It was then I saw Joe exit the White Corporation office building. He jogged towards me, arms waving.
His appearance surprised me. I stopped the car and peered at him. “What now?”
“Scarlett, Ashton’s booked a table at a Western restaurant in South Metro. Do you want to join us?” He extended an invitation to me with a broad grin on his face.
Wait, South Metro? Where young folks in K City like to go to hang out at night? The most lavish place to enjoy nightlife?
I looked at the time. I could barely make it to the airport in under one hour if I set out now. I did not have time for lunch.
Ashton also walked out of the building to join us, his face still void of emotions.
I could not help but bit my lip and turned to Joe. “Sorry, Mr. Quinn. I won’t be able to join you. I have other things to do later. Why don’t you give Rebecca a call? She should have time to join Ashton… and you for lunch!”
With that said, I started my car once more. Joe seemed furious. “Scarlett, what’s that supposed to mean? Don’t you know why Ashton booked a table at a Western restaurant in South Metro? He’s making up for that feud between you two. You should accept it. Why do you have to add more to the tension?”
I pursed my lips as time ticked away. I looked at Ashton standing by the door, then at Joe, and said stiffly, “Mr. Quinn, I thank you for making the effort to help Ashton and I sort things out. And I appreciate Ashton’s kindness. But, please tell him this. Since we can’t go on anymore, we can end the relationship on a good note. He and I are on a break in the meantime. Anyway, I have other places to be, so goodbye!”
I hit the gas and sped off onto the road, feeling extremely irritated.
It was not that I refused to ease the relationship between us, but I still had some resistance. Resistance against what, even I was uncertain.
It should be fine. I was off to J City, where I would take a short break, and perhaps everything would turn out alright.
There was always a lot of foot traffic at K City airport every day, in addition to the congestion on the road. Fortunately, I made it in time.
I retrieved my air ticket in a hurry and boarded the plane. I found my seat and sat down, finally relieved. Pretty soon, the plane took off.
“Attention, all passengers. The plane is ready for takeoff. For your safety, please put up your tray table, buckle your safety belts, and kindly turn off your phone or set it to airplane mode. Thank you.” The sweet voice of the air stewardess rang from the speakers.
I subconsciously fished my phone out from my bag and was about to turn it off when I was notified of the dozen of missed calls, all of which were from Ashton. There were also a few text messages, all sent by him too.
Since I had to turn it off quickly, I merely scanned through them. The first one asked for my whereabouts, and the rest were just usual greetings.
The plane was taking off. There was no time for me to reply, so I just shut it down.
It was a four-hour journey from K City to J City. I barely slept last night so, not long after the plane took off, I asked the air stewardess for a blanket and took a nap.
By the time I woke up, the plane had landed. I turned on my phone and checked the time. It was six o’clock sharp.
Stacey was already there to pick me up when I got off the plane.
The sky got dark earlier during winter. It was barely six and it already looked like night had fallen. Stacey was wrapped in a thick padded jacket. She chuckled when she saw that I came with only one bag and nothing else. “Did you come directly after receiving my call?”
I nodded and said, “Yes. Take me there right away!”
Her expression was undecipherable. After a pause, she spoke, “Let’s get something to eat first. I’ve booked a restaurant. After that, I’ll take you to their residence.”
Since she had made the arrangements, I had nothing more to say. I nodded in agreement.
I did not have much of an appetite, to begin with. I simply ate what I could. After dinner, Stacey took me for a drive to the Glenwood residential area.
At the entrance to the residence, I froze. “Does Macy really live here?”
Stacey nodded and explained, “Well, they basically take walks around the residence at night. The weather’s been cold recently, so I guess they just take a brief stroll before returning home.”
The information left me stunned for a couple of seconds. I thought Macy should be staying at the house we had previously bought.
I asked Stacey to get us inside, and then we went straight to their apartment building.
We keyed in the passcode, opened the door, and found ourselves an empty house. No one had been living here for some time. It was in the exact condition when we left.
Stacey came to a realization. “No wonder they would rather live here than stay at their villa. You guys have a house here!”
The news caught me off guard. “What villa?”
She nodded. “I’ve checked. Nick used to stay at his villa at the Peakville Estate but, for whatever reason, he moved here.”
We left the place and headed downstairs. It was not snowing in J City, but the temperature was exceptionally low. Stacey led me to the residential rest area for a short break.
