I discreetly exited the bedroom and headed towards Ashton’s room. The door to his room was left wide open, and his bed was neatly arranged. There were no signs of the man in that room.
I went downstairs and saw the caregiver preparing breakfast in the kitchen. She turned around when she heard some movement. “Ms. Stovall, you’re awake. Breakfast is ready, and they’re on the table. Feel free to dig in.”
I nodded and didn’t see anyone else around. “Did you see Mr. Fuller?”
She grinned, “Mr. Fuller had left in the early morning, saying he had something urgent to attend to in the city. He didn’t want to wake you up early, so he asked me to inform you that he will be having dinner with you tonight, so don’t be back too late.”
I nodded in silence. I presumed that he would be nervous about his project.
After breakfast, I strolled around the yard and saw Channing digging a patch there.
I greeted him as I approached, “Good morning, Mr. Oberick!”
He stopped digging when he saw me. “You’re awake. Have you had breakfast?”
I nodded and looked at what he was doing. “Mr. Oberick, are you planning to plant some flowers here?”
He laughed, “Fall is almost here. I want to plant some leek, so I could harvest them in the winter.”
Seeing that I was all alone, he asked, “Is Nora still asleep?”
I smiled and answered, “Let her sleep in a while longer. She slept late last night.”
He sighed, “She doesn’t sleep at night and doesn’t wake up in the morning.”
His affection could be heard in his tone, despite his grumbling.
It was already late evening when they arrived at the city from Lavelian Village. Armond, who was waiting by the villa’s entrance, glared at Nora. He was waiting to have dinner with her.
I returned to the villa as well. Ashton had mentioned in the morning that we would have dinner together. Hence, I figured it would be best if I prepared it myself.
There were many fresh ingredients in the fridge.
After half a day of preparation, three dishes and a soup were done. I glanced at my phone and called Ashton.
He didn’t pick up his phone despite me calling him multiple times, so I decided to text him instead.
I looked at the time, and it was almost eight, but I didn’t hear any car coming back. Thus, I called him again, but still, no one picked up.
With that, I decided to call Joseph. He picked up the call after the phone rang for a few seconds. “Mrs. Fuller!”
“Joseph, is Ashton with you?”
Joseph seemed to know my reason for calling. “Mr. Fuller is still in the conference room. I’ll ask him to return your call once he’s finished.”
I muttered an agreement and hung up. Staring at the dishes on the table, I sighed.
After waiting for him for another hour, I couldn’t stand it, so I picked up my phone to call him again.
At that moment, I heard a car engine sounded from the yard. I jumped up immediately and looked at the cold dishes on the table in despair.
However, I was glad that he was back. Immediately, I went to the door to welcome him with a smile.
Yet, it was only Joseph at the entrance.
I looked behind him, and there was no sign of Ashton. “Joseph, where’s Ashton?”
Joseph passed a box to me and answered, “Mrs. Fuller, Mr. Fuller had a business dinner to attend to, so he couldn’t make it. But he asked me to bring you this. He said it was from a restaurant famous for seafood, and it tastes fresh and tender. Please try it.”
I was dumbstruck as I stared at the hairy crabs on the box’s packaging. “What time will he be back then?”
Joseph shook his head. “I’m not sure about that. You should eat something first.”
I might as well. After I accepted the box of hairy crabs, I went to look for a pair of scissors and a plate. Then, I dug in once I plated the crabs.
Joseph needed to return urgently, and so he left. I went to clean up the study when I was done with dinner.
Not long after Joseph left, a car engine sounded from the yard again. However, this time I wasn’t expecting Ashton.
I got up and headed for the balcony for a glimpse. It turned out to be Nora and Armond. They were back from dinner.
Nora glanced in my direction and saw me on the balcony. “Have you had dinner?”
I nodded. “I did. What about you?”
“We just finished, and we also brought you some desserts. I will bring it over to you later.” Armond passed an exquisite box to her after parking the car.
She headed to my house with the desserts in tow. At the same time, I headed downstairs to open the door for her.
She was dressed in a tan overcoat. “It’s so cold, and you’re only dressed so little?” she asked while studying me.
“I’m fine. It’s not that cold.”
I accepted the dessert and glanced at her. “Matcha cheese. You went to Whitelight lane?”
She nodded. “Try it. Armond said K City has a lot of matcha cheese desserts. Maybe the residents of A City had different tastes, so not a lot of people buy them. I figured you would like them, so I brought some back for you.”
