She put her hand on the man’s shoulder and could clearly feel the stiffness of the man’s body. The man slowly turned back, and not surprisingly, he was the bandleader, Parker, that Bella had met in France.
“Long time no see.”
The man meaningfully said the same four words reluctantly.
Bella’s gasp diminished considerably, and pointed to the mall’s door, “How about a cup of coffee?”
The man nodded, so, they walked out together side by side to the cafe across the mall.
It was the same place where she had coffee with Alice just now, but Alice had already left. So Bella found a corner seat and sat opposite Conrad, and after gazing at each other for a moment, she said, “When did you come back?”
“Not long ago.”
“Are you curious about how I know your real name?”
Conrad stirred the coffee in front of him, “It’s true that I’m a bit curious, but I think that you’d know one day.”
“I saw a picture of the three of you together in your cousin’s drawer, and I was no less surprised than you were when you heard me call your name just now.”
“Did you know about what happened between us?”
“I’m his wife now. How could I not know about it?”
Bella took a sip of coffee, “That night in France, you left without saying goodbye because you saw him, didn’t you?”
Conrad didn’t reply.
“What about her? Was she back too?”
“Yes.”
Despite having prepared herself mentally, hearing this affirmative answer, Bella was still heartbroken, inexplicably very uneasy. Because she knew better than anyone what kind of influence that woman had once had in her husband’s heart.
“Why did you come back? You had left.”
Bella didn’t hide her anger, “Or why did you betray your cousin in the first place?”
Conrad was silent again, refusing to answer her question.
“Can you tell me the purpose of your return? You know this is very important to me.”
Faced with her urgency, Conrad sighed, “You just hold on to your happiness. Don’t take it serious if she comes back or not.”
“How can I not take it serious? The woman my husband loves is back now. Why do you tell me not to take it serious?”
“My cousin is not irresponsible. He wouldn’t abandon you easily since he has already married you.”
“How much do you know about him? Do you have any idea what kind of life he’s been living these past few years? To put it bluntly, I’m just his seventh wife, just luckier than the other women, being the seventh and possibly the last.”
Conrad thought she had finished, but unexpectedly she added, “If you don’t come back, I am very confident of that.”
“Whether we come back or not should not be a burden on you. If you have confidence in yourself, nothing will change if Freya comes back. Just as you chased that thief in France, even though you didn’t care whether the money was stolen, you still fought like hell for what you cherished. In love, you just have to have that kind of courage and spirit.”
“Does he know you are coming back?”
The him that Bella was referring to was naturally Kevin, and Conrad knew it.
“I don’t know.”
“Does your aunt know?”
“No one should know but you at the moment.”
“Give me your phone number. So I can easily contact you if something happens.”
“I can leave my phone number to you, but you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about seeing me.”
Bella gave him a sharp look, “Do you just trust that I won’t go back on my promise to you?”
“You won’t do that. I knew it from the first moment.”
Conrad left his phone number, got up to pay the bill, and then, he quickly disappeared.
Bella sat alone in the cafe for a long time, looking at the crowds coming and going outside the window, suddenly feeling very confused, not knowing what to do in the future.
She sat until dark. If not for the phone call from Kevin, she might have been dazed. After leaving the cafe, she returned home with a gloomy look.
When eating dinner, Kevin saw that she was absent-minded, and put a piece of pork ribs in her plate, “Why do you just eat rice? Are you practicing abstinence from meat like some people?”
Blanche glared at Kevin, “Don’t abuse me. I’m practicing abstinence from meat, but do I stay in your way?”
“No, I’m afraid that you will have a breakdown in health if you don’t eat meat all year round.”
Since a year and a half ago, Blanche suddenly built a Buddhist temple in the house. She would go in to chant for half an hour every day and only eat the vegetable dish. Only on festivals or special days, she would occasionally eat a little meat. The family took her to pray for Kevin to get well soon and did not ask too many questions. But until now, no one knew the real reason for Blanche doing this. It was a secret in her heart.
“I have lived to this age, and life and death have their own destiny. How can it be changed by what I eat.”
Patrick couldn’t help but interject, “That’s right. Everyone has his lifestyle. You just take care of your wife. Why do you criticize your mother’s lifestyle?”
“Dad, you don’t know that now in this family, he always picks on us except his wife.”
Lena snorted sarcastically.
Kevin unknowingly caused the outrage, and Bella was relieving her husband, “Mom and Dad, don’t misunderstand. He’s just joking.”
“Even the poker-faced Kevin can joke. It seems that we’ll have to set off a firecracker tonight to celebrate.”
Lena was sarcastic again, bearing grudges, and still couldn’t forget Kevin thinking of her not being able to get married.
A dinner ended under a fierce battle of the tongue. As soon as dinner was over, Bella went upstairs. She was still depressed, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window looking at the stars. Kevin walked in.
“What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?”
He hugged her slender waist from behind. The heat was on in the house and she was underclothed. Through the glass, she could see the chilly breeze outside.
“No, it’s probably the end of the school year and I’m a little tired.”
“It’s almost winter break, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to go out?”
Stunned, Bella asked him, looking sideways at him, “Where do you want to go in such a cold day?”
“There are two places for you to choose from, going skiing in Switzerland and seeing the snow in Hokkaido.”
She thought, “Really? Do you have time?”
“Well, it’s the end of the year, and there’s nothing going on in the company, so Alvin can handle it alone. Besides, Patrick is here.”
“Then let’s go to Hokkaido to see the snow.”
“Why don’t we go skiing in Switzerland?”
Bella said slowly, “I can’t.”
Kevin stared in horror, caressing his forehead and sighing, “Honey, what planet are you from? You’re not from Earth, are you?”
“I’m from the moon, so please get me a rocket and send me back.”
Kevin shook his head again and sighed, “Hey forget it, although it’s a bit presentable, at least you’re my wife. I’m quite reluctant to send you back.”
Bella smiled bitterly and suddenly reached out and hugged him, “Hubby, let’s have a child, shall we?”
“A child?”
Kevin was surprised, “Why do you suddenly want to have a child?”
“It isn’t a whim, but a recent plan, and we’ve been married for over half a year. Shouldn’t we have a child of our own?”
“But I haven’t had enough time for romance.”
Kevin stuck to her ear and said very ambiguously.
Bella blushed slightly, “You can’t be so selfish. Mom and Dad have been looking forward to their grandchildren for a long time.”
He thought, “Well then, let’s carry out a baby-making plan tonight.”
“No, I’m menstruating.”
Kevin rolled his eyes, “It always comes at the right time.”
“There’s plenty of time anyway. How about we take advantage of this trip?”
Bella offered hopefully.
“Yes.”
Kevin agreed in one breath.
Hearing him agree, she didn’t feel much better, but instead felt a little self-pity for herself, and for how pathetic the idea was that she wanted to use a child to solidify her relationship with Kevin.
The winter holidays came on schedule, and it was even colder. Kevin scheduled the travel on Saturday. When they left in the morning, he said to Bella, “Honey, you go to the airport first. I’ll go to the office to hand over some things, and then I’ll join you right away.”