In City N, Florence didn’t have any one she would miss anymore. The only person left she needed to say her farewell personally was none other than Phoebe.
They had agreed to meet at a bar they frequented.
Florence planned to rendezvous all by herself, but Stanford was worried that Florence would become hopelessly drunk again. He insisted to tag along.
Florence couldn’t do anything to change his mind. Although her brother was gentle and caring, nobody could change his mind whenever he was being stubborn.
At night, the bar was bustling with activity. The whole place was full of lively people.
Phoebe was already there when Florence reached. She waved, “Flory, come here.”
As she was calling out, she noticed a huge man accompanying Florence. He had a distant yet handsome face, and he was carving a way through the thronging crowd. He was making sure nobody could lay their hands on Florence.
He appeared to be Florence’s guardian angel at the moment.
Phoebe covered her mouth in envy as she let out a shout, “I really want an elder brother for myself!”
Florence approached Phoebe and saw her envious and star-struck face, which made her shake her head helplessly.
“My brother is just afraid that I would drink too much again, so he is coming along with me and joining in the fun. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. I will have no problem if your brother has come without you too.”
Phoebe squinted and smiled while she reached out, “Good to see you, Flory’s brother. Do you still remember me? I am Phoebe Jenkins, Flory’s best friend.”
Florence twitched the corners of her mouth. Was Phoebe that lustful about men while she was her best friend?
Stanford elegantly extended his arm, “Good day seeing you.”
His voice was crisp and like music to one’s ears. It was as if a refreshing sound was found in this place which was always noisy.
Phoebe felt so thrilled that she felt like she was going to fly. She almost blurted out without thinking, “Flory’s brother, can I follow Flory all the way to Europe?” By doing that, she could see this cute and handsome guy every day, and she could get all her chances to get close to him. Who knows, maybe she would end up becoming Florence’s sister-in-law.
Phoebe felt that her life would be amazing just by thinking about the possibilities.
However, Stanford rejected her quite directly, “You can’t do that now. Flory’s return this time has a very deep implication. Many of the affluent families would undergo massive changes behind the scenes.”
It was not befitting to have an outsider in that sort of situation.
Phoebe immediately looked sulky.
Florence felt strange when she heard that, “Does that mean that I can’t even meet my friends after going back?”
She didn’t want to feel like she was going back to a prison. She would have her freedom striped clean of her.
“How can that be?” Stanford allowed himself a warm smile, “When everything has settled down when you go back, you can ask Phoebe to come over and join you in the fun.”
“Really?”
Phoebe felt like her attention was aroused. Her eyes lit up in joy.
Going to Florence’s house meant the same thing as going to Stanford’s house. She could always visit there, which gave her a chance at getting intimate to him.
She turned around and grabbed Florence’s hand. Her face was serious, “Flory, when you go back, you can’t forget me! When everything is settled, you must take me there too.”
Seeing the glitter in Phoebe’s eyes, Florence immediately knew what her best friend was up to.
She didn’t even spend too much time with her brother yet, but someone else was already aiming for him?
That person turned out to be her best friend, which would complicate matters down the line.
“Flory, you can’t forget your best friend even if you have your elder brother with you now! We have agreed that we must share everything between ourselves, except for our partners.”
Phoebe stared straight at Florence, and her voice was a low threatening tone.
Florence felt a pinching pain in her wrist and she turned her gaze to Stanford, “Alright, I can only go with the flow. Whether you can get your hands on him or not is entirely up to you.”
Although she felt reluctant to part with her biological elder brother soon, it was a good thing if her future sister-in-law was her best friend instead of another unknown woman.
“Flory, I always know that you are the best!”
Phoebe pecked at Florence hard while hugging her tight.
To Phoebe, coming to a deal with Stanford’s little sister meant that she would be able to sleep with-No, it meant that the days of her tying the knot with him wouldn’t be too far away.
Stanford watched these two girls basking in joy with each other in their arms and he couldn’t muffle a smile. It seemed that it was a good thing for Florence to have such a good friend with her. At least, there were finally signs of a smile hanging on her face.
The only thing mistaken by him was that while he was still immersing himself in his own consolation, he wouldn’t know that his own little sister had sold him off.
While they were conversing, a waiter came over and served them the wines they had ordered.
Florence raised up a glass of cocktail and just before she was about to take a sip, her hand was held by someone.
Stanford gently removed the glass from her hand and replaced it with fruit juice which stood out in this place.
“You are drinking this.”
Florence stared at the fruit juice in her hand and she was stunned a little, “Brother, we are at a bar now.”
“I know that.” Stanford nodded while he took a sip of the cocktail which belonged to Florence a moment ago.
Seeing that Stanford didn’t understand her one bit, Florence could only make herself clearer.
“I should be drinking some good alcohol at a bar, not some fruit juice.”
As she said that, she put down the glass of fruit juice and prepared herself to get another glass of wine.
However, the moment she extended her arm, it was caught by Stanford again.
“You were drunk last night. You can’t drink alcohol now.”
Florence was a little sullen. If she wasn’t allowed to drink alcohol, then what was the meaning of meeting at a bar today?
What’s more, they were going to bid each other farewell today. It would be unceremonious to not drink some alcohol.
While Florence still wanted to argue, her best friend Phoebe suddenly chipped in, “Flory, your brother is right. You were just drunk last night, so you should abstain from drinking today. It’s not good for your health. Come, drink some fruit juice.”
Phoebe shoved a glass of fruit juice into Florence’s hand.
Florence was speechless. She couldn’t believe how far this woman would go for her lust for her brother!
She shouldn’t have sided with Phoebe just now. Phoebe wasn’t even her sister-in-law yet, yet she was siding vigorously with Stanford even now.
Florence shot a look of disgust at Phoebe.
In contrast, Phoebe didn’t even feel sorry. There was a victorious and sultry smile on her face as her gaze couldn’t avert from Stanford.
Stanford saw that Phoebe could change Florence’s mind, so he was looking at her in a different light. He smiled gratefully at her.
Phoebe was immediately encapsulated, and her heart felt like it was about to soar. Nothing less she could expect from such a gorgeous hunk. One smile on his face was all it took to be the most breathless sight.
It’s over. It seemed that Phoebe had thrown in the towel about her feelings for him. She had fallen for him.
Florence didn’t know what to say. Was she mistaken about their reason for meeting up tonight? This was not supposed to turn into a blind dating session. It should be their farewell party!
Not far away, a few young masters were approaching while bantering.
When they saw Florence’s table, they all stopped to look.
The one at the forefront was Harold and Anthony, and when they saw who was there, they couldn’t help furrowing their brows.
Harold had a look of utter disbelief on his face, “Am I seeing things? Isn’t that Florence? Who is that man there? Why is he holding her hand like that?”
Anthony had a solemn expression, “That is indeed Florence.”
“Why is Florence… Although her marriage with Ernest has been canceled, but it has only been a few days, yet she has gotten herself a new boyfriend?”
Harold sounded a little angry, “Although Ernest didn’t show it on his face, but we can all see clearly that he is quite down. This Florence… how can she end up with a new hunk so fast!”
Anthony could only sigh, “But that’s her freedom to do that.”
“But I feel that it’s unfair for Ernest!”
Harold’s wrath was increasing in intensity as his menacing gaze was focused on Florence. Whatever he did now, he couldn’t stifle that boiling feeling in his heart.
He gritted his teeth and started to stride towards Florence.
“Harold, don’t…”
Anthony felt a headache at the situation, but it was too late to restrain Harold from advancing.