Afraid that Colin would think I was a broken record if I thanked him again, I just laughed self-consciously. “I’ll leave that to you.”
He set the hospitalization form down on the bedside table, sighing. “You shouldn’t try to shoulder everything yourself.”
I pursed my lips.
As it turned out, I was not in a serious condition. Jackson stayed accompanying me. There was someone to take care of Summer, and Colin would visit me sometimes.
I had been busy with work and taking care of Summer every day for the past four years. It felt strange to have a few days of free time with nothing to handle or manage.
Jackson looked at me as we were packing my things before getting discharged from the hospital. “The doctor says that you developed this illness as a result of giving birth. You better take good care of yourself from now on. You’re only thirty years old, so don’t end up looking like a hag by the time you turn forty.”
I hummed, changing the topic. “Summer wants to eat fried chicken. Let’s drop by the supermarket on the way home.”
He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Of course. That’s your top priority.”
I picked up my stuff and headed downstairs without another word.
Colin had kindly offered to drive us and was already waiting for us in the parking lot. I didn’t have a good reason to refuse him, so I got in his car.
After buying chicken at the supermarket and sending Jackson and me home, he went back out to pick Summer and Michael up from school.
My days returned to their ordinary, mundane routine. I recalled how I used to dream about if, by some miracle, I could spend the rest of my life with Ashton.
Perhaps I was a more family-focused person. My ideal life was to take care of my children, learn new recipes, and make sure that my children and husband were healthy and happy.
But life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. I had let go of many things in the past four years. Yet, I always found myself thinking that maybe Ashton had his own grievances. Maybe he had his reasons for lying to me and hurting me.
Because I loved him too much, my hatred and anger towards him were poisoned with love. As time passed, those opposing emotions canceled each other out and dissolved into nothing. No matter what happened, we were now two separate people leading two separate lives.
Colin worked efficiently to secure me a spot in the office, but it was hard for me to get used to having a job that gave me so much free time.
As a result of that free time, I distracted myself by listening to some gossip and rumors that were going around the office. Apparently, someone in the hotel had committed suicide by jumping off a building because they were facing relationship troubles.
Some people in the office debated over the issue.
“I heard that the girl’s parents are ministers from K City. I know that our hotel had no part in her death, but it still happened on our hotel grounds. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“I know, right? We had put so much effort into helping the hotel recover, but now, it looks like we’ll have to look for new jobs again.”
“Ugh. I also heard that our parent company is super well-off and doesn’t care about the profits our small hotel is making. Those snobbish higher-ups probably don’t want to waste money on handling the situation. In fact, they might just shut down the hotel.”
“That means, we’re going to become unemployed… To think that I went through so much trouble to work here—where the pay is actually good and the environment is alright. I can’t believe I’m losing my job because of this.”
Some of the hotel receptionists stood near me and chatted as I subtly listened in on their conversation. They did have a point. R Province was a small city without any large corporations. Instead, it only had some factories and smaller companies.
This holiday hotel was already considered large compared to the other hotels in the city, with a better salary and working environment. If it shut down, I would have to look for a new job all over again.
It would be hard to find a job that paid even three thousand monthly. I couldn’t help but sigh internally. It was just my luck that this would happen right before I was about to get this month’s paycheck.
Colin walked in, furrowing his eyebrows as his stare swept over the gaggle of receptionists. “If you have time to stand around moping, I’d rather you use that time to think about the work you have done.”
The young women jumped, instantly scattering.
Colin headed towards me, noticing that I was staring blankly at my computer screen. “What are you doing? It’s nearly time to get off of work. Do you want to go pick up Summer and Michael together?”
I nodded on reflex before remembering the work I still had left. I frantically shook my head. “Please help me pick Summer up. I haven’t finished my tasks yet.”
Glancing at my computer screen that displayed an incomplete table, he laughed and walked away without another word.
The group of receptionists from before started whispering among themselves as soon as he stepped out the door, turning their focus to me.
Joyce stared me down with disdain. “Hey, Scarlett. How did you turn from a janitor into one of the most laidback workers at this hotel in charge of two positions overnight? What’s your secret?”
Her tone sounded weirdly sharp and icy as she spoke. Someone else, adding fuel to the fire, chimed in, “Tell us, Scarlett. You seem so much prettier and wiser with experience compared to us. I’m sure you know some tips for sweet-talking people.”
Joyce scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Sweet-talk? More like sleeping around! I heard that women turn into hungry cougars when they become thirty years old, and it looks like Mr. Johnson couldn’t escape this old witch’s clutches either! Her method of using sex to benefit herself is much more convenient compared to our way of working hard day by day to get to where we are now!”
I looked up at them as they continuously spat out terms like “old witch” and “sleeping around.”
