It rained again at night.Sage replied to Jace's message and headed straight into the shower. When she came out of the bathroom, the smell of barbecue filled the room.Sage was starving after swimming for almost half a day. She ran toward the station and grabbed a chicken wing for herself. She munched on the wing happily even though it was still too hot to eat."Careful, hot," the three men looked at her and said at the same time.Sage gestured okay in response.All of them enjoyed the barbecue with a beer in the companion to the sounds of the rain. Senior Shelby went to bed first. He was starting to feel a little tipsy after some beer. He bid goodnight to his children and went to sleep.It was just the three of them now."I'm bored." After a sip of beer, Sage said, "Let me sing you guys a song or two." "No, thanks." Tim said, "I'm happy with our current arrangement."Seth shook his head and said, "I agree. The rain sounds infinitely better than your singing voice anyway."
Jace decided to do it.He took out a piece of paper, opened his pen cap, and started scribbling under the warm, dim light.He found it hard to stop writing once he had begun. There were too many things he wanted to say to Sage…The sun was up by the time he had done writing.At the end of the letter, he signed his full name at the right bottom corner and sealed it off with the Rose Stamp.He smiled lightly as he lifted the letter to fold it in half and slipped them into an envelope.The last word of the song trailed off as the piano and guitar came to a stop. Sage had fallen deep into the song and did not react for a brief moment before realizing that the song had ended."I want more. Can you do it again?"Sage pointed her index finger up and begged for the brothers to perform one more time.Tim did not entertain her at all and closed the lid of the piano in an instant. "If you don't stop playing, the old man's going to come outside with a stick.""Godfather will never scol
Seth was heading to Lundon for Lundon Fashion Week and had invited Sage to go with him just for a casual day out.Tim was worried about Sage's safety and insisted on tagging along.The three of them then left for Lundon together.Lundon Fashion Week was ranked top four internationally; compared to New Yark's casual style, Parith's exquisitivity, and Miland's extravagance, Lundon was a city that fulfills one's imagination.It was also the most aberrant city out of all.Since Sage was the daughter of Norah Jewelry, Fashion Week was something she had familiarized herself with. She used to attend all sorts of events with her mother since she was really young; being in and out backstage was something that happened every other day.Sage grew up around top models and fashion designers. She was given multiple opportunities to become a child celebrity, but Primrose rejected them all.Sage did not turn out to be a celebrity, but her brother, Seth, did.Aside from being a young celebrity,
Sage fell into a deep silence, and she felt an odd sense of familiarity.It was as if she was listening to her own story; at the same time, it felt like she was an outsider listening to the story."I finally mustered enough courage to confess my feelings to him, but he rejected me and got married to someone else almost right after."Madam Meyer took two deep puffs of the cigarette, her eyes filled with pure anger and envious. "I don't understand. How is Sofia any better than me? Is it because she was a mixed-blood just like Timothy? It's unfair! Since I was born, I have gotten everything I ever wanted. Money, status, and men! Nothing was unattainable! Do you understand that?""Then you'd get anything you've ever wanted?" Sage gritted her teeth. "What makes you think you deserve that? Just because you're shameless? Or is it because you're just an evil, twisted person? There's a saying in my mother's tongue…""An empty vessel makes the loudest noise," Sage said.Madam Meyer knitted
Tim's men dragged Madam Meyer out of the scene while Sage and Tim stayed to watch the rest of the fashion show.The two of them sat in the front row. Sage turned her head to look at Tim and gripped his hand. "Tim."Tim squeezed her hand back and tapped it lightly. "I'm okay. Watch the show."After years of being involved in the military and political world, Tim had mastered the art of disguising his emotions. Sage was still overwhelmed by how Tim lashed out at Madam Meyer earlier that day.Sage knew that the deaths of Sofia and their child were Tim's biggest pain and regret in his life.Tim was able to ignore and look past whatever Madam Meyer was doing before, but the fact that she admitted to harming his loved ones had successfully awakened the sleeping demon.The consequences that came next were not something she would be able to handle by herself.Jace had just finished reading the email sent by his unrelated uncle when he received a call from Yoel.Upon answering the pho
Yoel took a moment to catch his breath from laughing too much and asked, "Have you spoken to Sage since she went to Yathein?"Jace's temper immediately disappeared upon hearing Sage's name, and he hummed yes in response."Oh yeah?" Yoel was surprised. "Sage contacted you? Really? Don't lie to me."Jace responded, "She added me on WhutsApp.""What?" Yoel was dumbfounded. "Sage added you? On WhutsApp?"Jace hummed yes in response.Yoel exclaimed, "What a miracle. Ever since that incident, I've tried calling her so many times and sending her so many texts, but she'd rarely respond to me. This is a double standard!""That's right." Jace smiled satisfyingly.Yoel scoffed lightly. "You must be ecstatic, aren't you? Finally, some progress. However, I wouldn't be too excited if I were you. You don't know if she'd really get back together with you yet.""I know that. I'm trying my best," said JaceYoel stopped joking around upon hearing how serious Jace was. They exchanged a few more
The whole of Mostal had become chaotic because of Lucas' unwelcome presence.The surrounding air had turned cold and tense.Melody, Yoel, Aunt Wendy, and Master Duncan all stood behind Freya, glaring fiercely at Lucas.Lucas came bearing gifts and health supplements as he looked deeply into Freya's eyes and uttered gently, "Freya, I'm just here to see you, nothing else.""You can leave now that you've seen me."Freya said coldly, "I don't want to see your face."Lucas pursed his lips and looked up at the four people standing behind Freya. "Can I talk to you? Just the two of us.""I have nothing to say to you." Freya spat ruthlessly, "Take your things with you and leave!"Lucas' face showed a brief moment of embarrassment, but he had come prepared for rejection. He smiled and said, "Don't be like that, Freya. Why can't we just talk like friends? I went to Salem City to see our son before coming here.""What was that for? Don't you have anything better to do?"Freya spat cold
"Present!" Melody and Yoel answered at the same time."Escort this man out of this place now so he can stop harassing our Freya!"Master Duncan said as he wheeled Freya away, "Let's go, Freya. Who cares about his trash? I have so much turmeric powder in my room. You can take as much as you want."Lucas' face sank as he watched the man wheeled Freya away.He could not help but wonder who that man was. Was that Freya's new potential partner?Seth stayed back in Lundon after the show because of his upcoming advertisement gig.Sage and Tim went back to Birmingham by themselves.On the way back, Tim received an email and said to Sage, "Yale had just arrived at Salem.""Hm?" Sage paused and asked, "What is he doing in Salem?""Jekyll will be sent back to Tovres soon, and Yale will need to be there to sort some things out."Sage understood immediately what Tim was referring to and asked, "Will he be able to find out things about dad and mom?""We've been through and have done worse