Nora wanted us to stay over for a barbecue that night, to which Hannah agreed readily. “No prob. Chandler can cook. He’s a good chef.”
Chandler blushed from the praise. Since everyone agreed to it, we went to get a mountain of ingredients and prepared for the barbecue, and it didn’t take too long to get the food ready. Nora said, “Call Ashton over, Scarlett. It’s quite late, so he’s probably done with work.”
Well, it was getting dark, and everyone was here, so I thought I’d invite him. It was a good chance for them to get to know each other. Then, I called him. It went through a moment later, and I asked, “Are you done, Ashton?”
“He’s still in a meeting, Mrs. Fuller. It might take a while,” a woman answered instead of him. It sounded familiar, but it took me a while to realize that it was Stella.
“I see. Tell him to call me back once he’s done.”
“Yes, Mrs. Fuller.” She hung up after that.
I frowned. Nora, who was washing the veggies, noticed it. “Oh, is he still working?”
I nodded. But he usually brings his phone with him. So why was Stella the one who took the call?
“Aw, and I thought we could have held a gathering. I just called Armond, and he said he’d come over since he has time,” Nora mumbled.
I gasped reflexively. “You guys came back from Moranta together?”
Nora didn’t seem to know what happened between Ashton and Armond in Moranta. She nodded and puckered her lips. “I don’t want to talk about it. I was going to stay here for a bit after Moranta, but he got on my nerves so much that I decided to go back.”
I stared at her. “Did you guys get into a fight?”
She shook her head angrily. “It’s worse than that. I thought he’s a gentle man, but he’s just a hypocrite.”
I froze, thinking that she might have seen his darker side, but then she said, “When we were still in A City, he promised me he’d take me to his parents when we came to K City. I got really nervous over it, but he fooled me and told me to go back after I have enough fun here. What a rascal!”
I frowned. So he’s still pretending to be a mild-mannered man in front of her, huh?
“I’m going to whoop his arse when he shows up. He sucks as a boyfriend. You know him well, so please lecture him for me, will you? He’s really too much!” Nora was a straightforward lady. Once she was done complaining, she went to chat with Hannah and Chandler.
I looked at her quietly and sighed. So Armond didn’t tell her about the incident in Moranta. But she should have met Holden, shouldn’t she? Didn’t Holden tell her anything? I texted Holden, asking him if he had told her anything about the fight between Armond and Ashton in Moranta.
The doorbell rang after I texted him, and Nora went to take it happily, despite the fact that she had just complained about Armond earlier. Even so, when she saw Armond standing outside, she snorted. “Well, look who has decided to show up?”
He looked at us before smiling at her. “I see you have a whole group here. Getting ready to beat me up, I assume?”
Amused, Nora pouted. “As if. Get in. Annoy me again and you’ll never hear the end of it.”
I was standing at the kitchen’s doorstep as he came in with her. He squinted at me coolly before putting on his warm, fake smile. “Rowdy night, I see.”
Nora snorted. “Of course, it is.” The, she introduced everyone to him.
I was still looking at him, but all I could see was that dark, eerie man in the café. That thought alone chilled me to the bone.
“He’s evil,” Hailey whispered, much to my surprise. When I snapped out of it, she had paled a bit, perhaps from shock.
I gave her a concerned look. “What is it? Are you feeling unwell?”
She shook her head and took a deep breath. “I’m fine.”
Nora came with Armond to say hi. “Why don’t you girls take a break and let him do it? He’s being punished for coming late, so I thought this is a good place to start.”
Armond was beaming brightly. He looked at me, then at Hailey. “You got a new friend, Nora?”
Nora nodded and held Hailey’s hand with a smile. “I almost forgot. He’s the boyfriend I’ve been talking about. His name’s Armond.”
