At first, Irene didn’t believe the old woman. However, it was too coincidental.
Unless the old lady had ulterior motives, how could everything fall into perfect place?
Unless the old woman somehow knew Irene would leave after inviting Millicent and Elio out for a meal and walk down this exact street, how could such a coincidence happen?
Irene was sure that she hadn’t run into anyone she knew as she left the restaurant, and this was the first time she met this old woman. What was the motive of the person behind this? What could they possibly gain?
Based on those reasons, Irene was sure that everything was purely coincidental.
No matter what or how many times she asked, the old woman refused to explain further and would give her random answers instead. Irene was quite disappointed.
“It’s getting late, miss. You should be heading home now,” said the old woman. She continued, “This is the longest conversation I have had today. If it weren’t for your kindness, I wouldn’t have done so. The person you are waiting for will definitely return when the time is appropriate. It is just a matter of time.”
The old woman wanted to comfort her when she saw how lonely and dejected Irene looked.
“Okay. Thank you, Granny.”
Irene had never believed such superstitions in the past, but the old woman’s words were on point. She had no choice but to believe in it.
“Is everything you said true? Or are you saying that just to comfort me?” Irene asked in confusion.
“Whether you believe in it or not is up to you. Deep in your heart, do you believe that your husband is still alive?”
“Of course!” Irene said firmly.
After she bid farewell to the old woman, Irene began to head back home. Suddenly, she remembered something and ran back to the stall. The road was the same as ever, but there was no trace of the stall or the old woman!
She had never told the old woman that she was thinking about her husband! Moreover, the old woman didn’t know the gender of the person she was referring to. So how did the old woman know that the man was her husband?
Irene found it rather suspicious, but her heart was filled with joy. Perhaps the old woman was right and Edward was alive.
“Where are you, Edward? Are you alright? I really miss you,” Irene thought.
…
“Hey! Keani, you stole food again!” Susie yelled angrily.
Susie watched as Keani climbed up to the dining table sneakily, taking a piece of bone in its mouth before it ran away.
As she spoke, Susie chased after Keani and ran around the house. Every now and then, a similar incident would occur, and Liam had gotten used to it.
“C’mon, relax! Why are you scolding Keani like that? After all, you are an adult!” Liam said as he stopped Susie. He continued, “Who told you not to put away the food earlier?”
“Do you mean it’s my fault?” Susie asked. She resembled a cat as she raised her hands like they were claws, ready to scratch Liam.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
“Hmph! That’s right! Looks like you’re pretty smart,” Susie said as she turned her head with pride.
Liam felt quite helpless. The more he interacted with her, the cuter he found her!
As usual, they got ready to bring Keani out for a walk after dinner.
Liam would only smile in front of Susie.
He treated other people coldly and only socialised with Susie. Liam would only hum in agreement or acknowledgement when other people spoke to him. There were times where he would even ignore them outright.
Susie had given him many lectures about manners and said that his indifference would only push people away from him. After all, the island was rather small and everyone knew each other. It would do him good to socialise more and maintain a good relationship with other people! Despite her nagging, Liam continued to treat people coldly and Susie soon gave up trying to convince him to do otherwise.
She only gave in because she thought he was handsome. Even though he wasn’t very talkative, he had an attractive face! Many girls were drawn in by his appearance and would sometimes come knocking on Susie’s door!
Liam had once told her in a narcissistic manner, he said, “If I were to treat them kindly, you might find them inside your home instead of just lingering outside!”
When she first heard it, Susie thought it made sense and let him be. Despite that, Liam treated older folks with great respect.
As they strolled around on the streets, they painted a beautiful picture together, like they were a match made in heaven! Liam was tall and handsome, and Susie was cute and adorable.
From her peripheral vision, Susie noticed something. When she stopped to stare at it, Liam followed her gaze.
She had found a beautiful dress in the display window of a store. As a woman, she loved pretty outfits and was immediately drawn to the dress. It was a very eye-catching dress!
Susie quickly pushed the door open and entered the store.
A plain red-coloured sleeveless dress was displayed on the mannequin. Tiny diamonds were sewn into the hem of the dress, and there was a large bow on the back. It was a casual look and matched the red colour beautifully.
Susie touched it and found that it was smooth. She began to imagine how she would look wearing the dress.
“The dress would look good on Susie,” Liam thought.
The shop assistant looked at her and said enthusiastically, “Miss, you have great taste! You can only find this dress in our shop! It is truly one of its kind! The dress really suits you, miss.”
Susie was shocked when she saw the price of the dress. It was too expensive! This was the most expensive dress she had ever seen. She decided not to buy it and was about to leave the shop.
The clerk quickly tried to promote the dress once more. She said, “Miss, give it some thought, would you? The dress matches your complexion, and I’m sure your boyfriend will agree with me that you’ll look gorgeous in it!” The clerk turned to look at Liam as she spoke.
“Sir, it’s hard to find such a lovely dress. I’m sure it will suit your girlfriend beautifully! Why don’t you buy it?”
This particular dress had been displayed in the window of the shop for a long time. Although it was beautiful and many people were interested in it, they had all decided not to buy it because it was too expensive. No one knew what the store owner was thinking when she decided to sell such an expensive dress. However, the clerk knew she would earn a decent amount of commission if she managed to sell the dress.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Susie said shyly as she dragged Liam out of the shop.
…
The shop assistant sighed. She thought she would finally be able to sell the dress to this beautiful and handsome couple.
“Didn’t you like the dress? Why didn’t you buy it?” Liam asked in confusion.
“It’s too expensive! It would be a waste to spend so much money on a dress. Anyways, I just wanted to look at it. I wasn’t really hoping to buy it,” Susie said as she shook her head.
But she was quite reluctant to leave. Susie turned to look at the dress through the window once more. The red dress seemed to shine and glow from its place.
Liam took note of Susie’s longing gaze.
On their way home, Susie noticed someone she never wanted to meet again. Immediately, she pulled Liam’s hand and wanted to get home as quick as she could. She didn’t want to meet that person.
Liam thought Susie was acting strange and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I just saw an annoying person,” Susie whispered.
However, she had been noticed by that person. It would make her look bad if she turned around and walked in the opposite direction now.
“It’s been a while, Sue.”
Susie had no choice but to turn around and reply calmly, “It has, Bastian.”
As the saying went, every young maiden had fallen in love with a sc*mbag at least once in her life.
Bastian was that very person. Susie had fallen in love with him in high school. He was also her first love. However, Bastian cheated on her and broke her heart. She suffered a severe bout of depression as a result of it, but she managed to keep her emotions in check.
They no longer contacted each other after they graduated. Every now and then, Susie would get updates about his life from their classmates. In order to avoid meeting him, Susie never attended the reunion parties organised by the class. She certainly never expected to see him today.
“I didn’t think you’d still remember me, Sue.”
Susie was startled to hear him call her “Sue”.
Liam looked at Susie and frowned. He asked, “What’s wrong? Do you know him?”
Liam had a feeling they shared a complicated past.
He looked at the man named “Bastian”-
The buttons on his cuffs were unbuttoned, making him appear rather lazy and casual. He was wearing a pair of light blue jeans that defined his legs well and had a pair of metal glasses on his face. The glasses made him look gentle and elegant.
Suddenly, Susie returned to her senses.
“We were classmates, so I’ll extend the courtesy of calling you by your name. Also, call me Susie. After all, we aren’t that close and other people might misunderstand,” Susie said coldly.
Susie leaned close to Liam and whispered, “This man used to be my boyfriend.”
Bastian watched the intimate scene before him and a dark expression flashed across his face.
“Are you afraid that your boyfriend will misunderstand?”
Susie looked at Liam and knew that Bastian had misunderstood, so she decided to save her breath.
“It’s none of your business.”
“I didn’t think you’d manage to find a boyfriend. Not bad,” Bastian said as he looked at Liam.
“I thought you were still hung up over what happened that year. After all, you haven’t been attending the reunion parties. I thought you were trying to avoid me!”
“No! I didn’t go because I was busy! Don’t think too highly of yourself!” Susie exclaimed disdainfully.
“So, are you free? Since you aren’t avoiding me, you should attend the next party!” Bastian suggested with a smile.
“Our former classmates miss you dearly, and it hurts us to see you absent from the party.”
Now that Bastian had said that, Susie had no reason to back down.
“You don’t have to worry about me going this time!”