Solomon proceeded to answer the call, “Hey, Mom.” Patricia’s voice was gentle and filled with concern. “Solomon, are you still working at the office? What time will you be home?” Solomon stated curtly, “I’m finished with work but I’m not coming home today, I’m going back to my apartment. Did you need something?” Patricia had always been a rather straightforward person and would never waste time skirting around what she wanted to say. With that, she mentioned, “It’s nothing major, I just wanted to talk about Tara Breugel, she’s the daughter of Uncle Breugel that I told you about before. Do you still remember her? You two met when you were kids. Anyway, she will be coming back from overseas in two days and I was thinking if you could make time to catch up with her and chat over a meal.” Solomon frowned briefly and flashed a coy smirk. “What is there to catch up between me and her? Mom, you’re not trying to set me up on a date, are you?” Patricia chuckled. “I met Tara last
Solomon stepped into the bedroom. It was neat and speckless and there was a faint scent of lavender essential oil lingering in the air. He approached the bed and picked up a bottle of lavender essential oil placed on the bedside table. It was Ines' favorite and was said to relieve fatigue and help the user fall asleep. She did not take it with her when she left. There was also a sapphire necklace he had gifted her as a Christmas present last year which she had left behind. It was sitting alone all by itself on the dressing table. Solomon picked up the necklace and held it tightly in his palms. There was a cold look in his eyes. In all the time he had been with Ines, he had never even imagined that they would come to this stage. He had also ever imagined that he would turn out to be the one who could not bear to see her go. All those intimate moments they shared were nothing but a lie all along. All of the love, tenderness, and affection she had showered him with wa
“You found it?” Ines was not expecting Caleb to go through the effort for her. Caleb stated, “Yes, I also found out about the identity of the sender.” Ines immediately asked, “Who is it?” “Some woman named Queenie Howard. I think she’s the anchor at the TV station you work at, do you have any history with her?” Ines was taken aback. “Queenie?” She did not have any troubled history with Queenie. What could have possibly inspired Queenie to do this? Upon reaching this thought, she looked at the pile of vegetables inside the shopping cart and thought about Solomon. Oh no, how could she forget! Queenie was interested in Solomon! There was a period when Solomon was very affectionate with her and made a point of bringing her refreshments every day. Queenie must have gotten jealous and began spreading ill rumors about her having a sugar daddy to soil her reputation and turn Solomon against her… Caleb went on, “Ines, I have documented evidence with me. Just say the w
Patricia had been observing Ines and remarked candidly, “Don’t bother checking, Solomon isn’t here.” Ines awkwardly withdrew her gaze from the room. Patricia then regarded Ines with a plain look and beckoned, “Go on, sit.” Solomon had not been home for two days and had been choosing to stay at South Garden Apartment. Patricia figured she would come to visit today since she did not have anything planned for the day. Unexpectedly, she stumbled into Ines the very day she decided to come. Ines was not aware if Patricia knew about what happened between herself and Solomon. Despite that, she could sense the hostility Patricia bore at her. Just as she was about to explain that she was only here to deliver Solomon’s luggage, Patricia started ahead of her. “Ms. Ines, I don't like to beat around the bush nor do I like to waste my time on people who are not worth my time, so I'll just give it to you straight. You are not a good match for Solomon and absolutely do not deserve to
Ines could not suppress her emotions anymore and cried for a very long time. After she exhausted her pent-up emotions from crying, she went to the bathroom to splash her face with cold water. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes were red and swollen, her complexion sickly pale. She smiled ironically at the display. Solomon's mother was right, she never deserved Solomon in the first place. Especially not when she had done something so awful to him. With that, she gently slapped her cheeks to jolt her senses, then she went back to the kitchen. She was aware that she had let down Solomon and there was nothing she could do to make things right. The least she could do was to make him one last meal and after this, she was going to keep her distance from him and never get involved in his life ever again. Although Patricia had mentioned that Solomon would not be showing up tonight, she still cooked a whole array of Solomon’s favorite dishes. After the cooking
Udonis, who was just nearby, chuckled. “Solomon, stay with us and keep your mother company. I'll head downstairs to see if the soup I made is ready yet.” Solomon had no choice but to stay by her mother’s side. After he sat down, he turned to her and asked, “Mom, do you have something to tell me?” “Solomon…” Solomon seemed to have anticipated what she was going to say and curtly cut her off before she could begin. “If this is about trying to convince me to get married, then forget about it. I already promised you that I was going to meet that Breugel girl, isn’t that good enough?” Patricia smiled weakly and nodded. “Alright, fine. You have to promise me that you’ll be serious about her and try to get along with her.” “Sure,” Solomon stated calmly. Patricia gave her another pensive look before asking, “Have you been very busy with work lately? You don’t look like you haven’t been getting much rest. You know what, I don’t want to keep you here, go on downstairs to get so
The place was drowned in silence when Solomon opened the door and stepped inside. Upon reaching the living room, he noticed Ines curled up on the couch and asleep. He approached her quietly and leaned over to observe her sleeping expression. Memories from when they were still together replayed in his mind. In the past, he would often find her waiting on the couch for him whenever he was home later than usual. She would often fall asleep from waiting and then ask him to carry her back to the bed. He gently tucked strands of hair behind her ear, then gently caressed her cheeks with the tips of his finger. “Hmmm…” Ines groaned and seemed to have woken up from his touch. She drowsily opened her eyes and stared at the man standing in front of her. Her gaze was still filled with sleep. Upon recognizing him, she snapped to her senses. “Solomon, you're home.” She stepped away from the couch and stood in front of Solomon, then fixed a flustered look at him. “I thought yo
“It's heated up, you can eat now.” Upon approaching the dining table and noticing that there was only a single set of utensils laid on the table, Solomon frowned and asked, “Aren’t you eating too?” After a pause, he commented sarcastically, “Let me guess, you’re going to meet Caleb for dinner later?” The mention of Caleb reminded Ines of what Jenny told her. She did not know how to respond. She thought for a moment and decided to go to the kitchen to get a plate for herself. She had been busy all day and was starving as well so she might as well eat some since she was the one who made the food. The pair sat across from each other at the dining table and ate silently. Ines silently scooped at the contents in the plate while Solomon’s expression was zipped up stoically the entire meal. Neither of them spoke and the only sound that echoed across the house was the sound of the spoon and fork striking against the ceramic plate. After Solomon had his fill, he set asid