After buying the clothes, Phoebe dragged Florence to buy shoes, jewelry, and even a watch.
She emanated nervousness, joy, and excitement all over.
“Flory, are you sure Mrs. Fraser likes this one?
“Flory, do you think Mrs. Fraser will like this necklace?
“Flory, I’m so nervous. Will Mrs. Fraser dislike me?”
…
Phoebe kept being worried all the way. But she also felt expectant and joyful.
It was all because she was going to meet Stanford’s parents soon.
Also, this inevitable “routine” made her excited.
Florence made fun of Phoebe, but she was indeed happy for her bestie. She knew her mother well. Victoria had seen Phoebe a long time ago. She spoke highly of her and liked her very much.
No matter what Phoebe wear to meet them, Victoria would like her just the same.
After all, it was indeed happy news for her family that Stanford had found a wife. They couldn’t ask for anything else.
However, seeing Phoebe was preparing joyfully, Florence couldn’t help feeling more depressed.
She would hold a wedding soon, but she could only decide everything by herself. She even didn’t look as half happy as Phoebe did.
Her wedding was prepared by someone she didn’t know, which seemed to have nothing to do with her at all.
“Flory? Flory? What are you thinking about?”
Phoebe waved her fingers in front of Florence.
The latter was brought back to her senses. She hurriedly put on a smile and asked, “Nothing. Have you put on the shoes?”
“Yeah.”
Phoebe nodded, showing the pretty high heels to her. Then she asked, “It seems you are quite preoccupied. What happened?”
“Nothing, Phoebe. I’m not preoccupied.”
Florence kept shaking her head.
Many things had happened, and the situation wasn’t stable yet. Now, finally, they had a peaceful day. She didn’t want her thoughts to affect others.
Florence suppressed her depression down.
Checking on the high heels, she said, “They look good. Why don’t you choose them?”
Since Florence refused to tell her what happened, Phoebe looked at her for a moment and didn’t continue asking.
If Florence wanted to tell her, she would.
Since she didn’t want to talk about it, Phoebe wouldn’t insist on annoying her.
Phoebe took Florence’s wrist and said, “We’ve been walking around for a while. Let’s take a break. There’s a bubble tea store over there. Let’s get your favorite coconut milk.”
Since Florence was in a bad mood, Phoebe wanted to cheer her up with food.
Florence understood what she was doing. She nodded in silence.
She tried her best to adjust her mood and kept shopping with Phoebe.
When they went back to the Turner’s Mansion carrying different shopping bags, it was already afternoon.
The car was parked. The driver got down to open the door for Florence and Phoebe.
As soon as they got off the car, Florence found something usual.
At the gate of the castle were standing twenty to thirty maids in two lines. Behind them were a line of bodyguards in black.
Seeing Florence, they bowed and shouted, “Ms. Fraser, welcome back.”
Florence was startled by them. She gaped.
She wondered what happened and why they suddenly welcomed her home in such a ceremonial manner.
It had never happened before.
“What’s going on here?”
Phoebe walked over from the other side, looking surprised and confused.
The maid in the lead stood up with a professional smile, gestured to Florence, and said, “Ms. Fraser, this way, please.”
She directly gestured to Florence, so it meant the arrangement was for Florence particularly.
“What’s the matter, Flory?” asked Phoebe in confusion, feeling a bit uneasy.
However, she couldn’t sense anything worrying from their enthusiasm.
Florence shook her head. “I have no idea. Let’s go.”
She walked up on the red carpet, entering the house.
The maid followed her and kept showing Florence the way, leading her upstairs.
“This way, Ms. Fraser.”
Florence was more confused.
Even if that was a welcome ceremony or someone’s particular arrangement, the maid kept showing her the way after Florence had entered. Hence, Florence thought that she was doing it purposely.
She wondered what was waiting for her in the castle.
Florence frowned and paused her pace.
The mail also paused. With a smile, she asked gently, “What’s wrong, Ms. Fraser?”
Florence said, “I don’t want to go upstairs yet. I want to have a walk in the back garden.”
As she spoke, she turned in another direction.
The maid was anxious. She instantly blocked Florence’s way.
Florence frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I… I…” the maid stammered.
Cold sweat dripped from her forehead. She said anxiously, “Ms. Fraser, you’ve been shopping for such a long time. You must be tired. Why don’t you go upstairs, take a shower, and have a rest?”
“It’s alright. I’m not used to taking a shower right after getting home.”
As she spoke, Florence was about to leave again.
The maid became more anxious with an edgy look, afraid that she would screw it up.
“Ms. Fraser, you can’t go. In… In the room…”
Florence looked up at her up and down and asked, “What’s in the room?”
“Well… I… I can’t tell you now.”
The maid was so anxious that she almost wanted to pull her own hair. She had never expected that Florence would choose not to go to the room suddenly. It was completely different from the plan.
Since the maid couldn’t tell her, Florence believed that there must be something in her room.
In silence, she directly turned away.
The maid was in a panic. She grabbed Florence’s hand and said, “Ms. Fraser, you can’t leave. Please go check the room. There’s a surprise.”
“A surprise? What is it?” asked Florence.
Cold sweat kept oozing on the maid’s forehead. She said with a wry smile, “It’s meant to be a surprise. It won’t make any sense if I tell you ahead. Please check it on yourself.”
The maid’s tone was weak, wishing she could strangle herself.
It was a prepared surprise, but she had exposed it to Florence. The maid wondered what punishment she would get later.
Florence looked up in the direction of the room upstairs.
It was the master bedroom of Ernest and hers after they got married.
If there was any surprise, Florence guessed it would probably be something like Elder Kevin had decorated the room. Earlier, he hadn’t asked her about which style she wanted, so he had decorated everything completely by himself. If Florence saw it, it should be a surprise for her.
However, she didn’t know much about Elder Kevin. No matter how beautiful the room might be, it wouldn’t be the surprise that Florence expected.
Florence felt gloomy again, as if her heart was shrouded by brooding clouds.