“… I despise the man,” Henson finally said after he noticed the curious look on Wendy’s face. He decided not to tell her the truth in the end.
“I don’t think I’ve hated anyone in this world as much as I hate Bain Nicholson right now,” he added.
This made her giggle. “Well, aren’t you a hater? It’s not like he was the one who crossed paths with you,” she reasoned.
“I’m just upset because he managed to reel you in,” he huffed.
“‘Reel me in’? This is my brother we’re talking about!” she pouted.
“I don’t care,” he replied then put his cutlery down while turning his head to look at her.
He wondered how she would react if she found out that he wasn’t actually her blood brother one day. Would she still like him, seeing how much she seems to trust him right now?
“Wendy,” he then called out her name in a serious tone.
“Yes?” she pouted.
“You do know that the Charles and Nicholson’s are at odds with one another, right? Sooner or later, I’ll have to take revenge, you know,” he said.
“You don’t have to tell me, it’s not like I’m one of them,” she said with a nod.
“But I feel that since there’s still someone in the Nicholson family who cares about you, I feel that I had the responsibility to at least let you know, as a sign of respect,” he explained.
“I don’t care how the Nicholson’s end up in the end. My brother’s a pretty accomplished individual himself, so I’m sure he’ll be able to do well wherever he goes, even without their backing,” she replied.
After hearing that, he ceased his banter with her and merely stared at her, his eyes sparkling.
“By the way, a lot of unexpected things might happen from here on out, so I hope that you won’t look too deeply into it. Just take it as it’s a part of my plan for revenge, alright?” he said.
“Fine,” she answered after a brief pause.
He then lifted the wine glass that was placed beside him. “A toast to my success,” he said.
She proceeded to do the same and clinked glasses with him, all while
an inexplicable sense of unease washed over her.
When Saturday came, Ross’ mother called Wendy to invite her and Henson to have dinner with them at the Lowry family home.
Since she had no reason to refuse, she decided to accept the invitation.
But upon her return home in the evening, she got to know that Henson had to fly to Singapore for a business trip on Friday afternoon for three days.
Thus, when Saturday rolled around, she had to go to the Lowry’s family home by herself.
Ross just so happened to be at home as well as he stated that there wasn’t much to do at the mall that day.
Since both his parents were still unaware of Sally’s blackmailing incident, they welcomed her with open arms.
Ross, on the other hand, was all frowns though.
While his parents busied themselves in the kitchen, he went up to her and said sheepishly, “Maybe it’s best that I tell them that work suddenly came up at the mall, and that I have to take my leave first to attend to it. I don’t want to cause you anymore trouble than I already have. I hope you understand,”
“This doesn’t feel right, Big Bro Ross. I’m sorry that my being here is preventing you from even having a meal at your own parent’s place,” she replied bashfully.
“Don’t say that, I’m already happy that you’re here,” he said.
She nodded at that. “Oh, right! Let me know when your schedule’s cleared up, Big Bro Ross, I want to introduce you to a woman friend of mine,” she piped up giddily.
“Please don’t tell me you plan on setting me up with someone,” he hissed.
“So, you do know what I was planning,” she snickered in reply.
“I don’t have any plans to date at the moment though,” he mumbled.
“Well, I feel that putting you into a new relationship is the best way for you to let go of the past,” she replied happily.
“I’m just worried that a new relationship would spark a war in my previous relationship,” he said while looking like he had a headache coming on.
She immediately picked up on the nuance behind his words
and giggled. “You know I can introduce the both of you after you completely sever ties with her, right?” she asked.
“Let’s talk about it more when the time comes. I really don’t feel like jumping into another relationship right now,” he chuckled
then made his way to the kitchen to inform his parents that he had something to do at the office.
All Wendy could hear was his mother’s grumbling about how he should stay since it was a rare occurrence for Wendy to come by.
Ross left anyways, and she had a sumptuous meal with his parents afterwards.
This was the first time she felt such familial warmth in a long time. She thought it felt really nice.
After taking her leave from the Lowry household in the evening, she returned to the Charles’ family villa
to get some studying done since she had the time.
She received a call from Henson in the evening and she told him that everything was fine on her end.
After chatting for a bit, Henson had to hang up first to attend a meeting.
Without Henson at her side, she couldn’t get a good night’s rest.
When morning came, she heard her phone buzz in the middle of her slumber.
It was from Judy.
She then put her phone to her ear and greeted her with a sleepy ‘yo’.
“You’re still in bed, aren’t you Sleeping Beauty?” Judy remarked on the other side.
“I was up studying until 1 in the morning yesterday night, so I thought of staying in bed for longer today,” Wendy said.
“I know for a fact that you’re not the type of person who can wake up at 8 am. Eh, wait! I’m not here for that. I was about to ask you if you’ve seen the news?” Judy retorted.
Wendy opened her eyes immediately upon hearing the word ‘news’. “What news?” she gasped.
“Isn’t Mr. Charles in Singapore right now?” Judy probed.
“How’d you know about that?” Wendy quizzed, perplexed.
“I know what’s going on in the lives of at least half of the population of America, sweetie,” Judy said in a way like she’d just been offended. “Haven’t you caught up with the news lately, darling?”
“What happened? Is it anything big? Did your celebrity crush get a girlfriend or something?” Wendy answered sarcastically.
“Oh, it’s nothing except for the fact that Julia Nicholson so happened to be on the same plane to Singapore as YOUR Mr. Charles and they were both caught leaving the plane together. People are saying that they’re secretly travelling together,” Judy explained.
Wendy scoffed in reply. “Julia’s certainly something else, isn’t she?” she thought.
“I’m surprised you can still laugh when it’s already come to this, darling,” Judy said.
“Henson called last night and told me that he was there for a meeting. I know the type of person he is, and I trust that he won’t do anything scandalous behind my back. I have a feeling Julia was the one who orchestrated the whole thing,” Wendy deduced.
“Aren’t you scared of what other people are saying about you?” Judy asked.
She genuinely thought that despite being stellar in almost every aspect, i. e., she had the looks, the bod, and even the brains, that her friend was the type to constantly have her guard down around other people.
“Do you think this is a cause for concern?” Wendy asked after a moment’s pause.
“The internet’s in a mess right now and everyone’s antsy for more articles exposing the matter. Ya think?” Judy snapped.
“Well, so long as Henson doesn’t do anything, there won’t be anything to expose, no?” Wendy replied.
“I personally feel that such a Young Missus from a reputable family can be more scheming than that, so I’d advise you to remind Henson to be on his guard at all times. One can never be too careful, after all,” Judy warned.
After chatting for a while more, they both hung up.
The phone call left her with a bundle of thoughts as she quietly held her phone in her hands.
She wondered if he’d think that she was jealous again if she called him now.
She did say that she was unwilling to get married to him, but to think that she’d be worried that he’d elope with another woman because of that…
That was unacceptable.
Also… would he feel that she didn’t trust him if she called?
She took a deep exhale. She didn’t like this feeling of fear at all.
However, just as she was about to dial his number, an entertainment article popped up on her phone screen.
It wrote about how the President of the Charles Group, Henson Charles, and the daughter of the Nicholson Group, Julia Nicholson, had flew to Singapore and were even staying at the same hotel together. This has sparked discussion on whether the both of them were secretly on holiday as a couple.