“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
Ines stared at Solomon with a hint of disappointment in her eyes. She was crushed to find that he had such little trust in her even when they had been together for so long. A dark look gleamed across Solomon's eyes as he vowed, “I will find out who is behind this!” Ines asked in a cracked voice, “Why didn't you come to me as soon as you saw those pictures? You asked me if I ever loved you, but what about you? Have you ever loved me?” Solomon walked up to Ines and declared, “Ines, don't you know how I feel about you by this point? Yes, I admit I used to be an awful man. People used to say that I was a playboy who jumped from one woman to another. But Ines, ask yourself this, have I ever been keeping any other women with me when we were together? I…” “Of course you had!” Ines glared at Solomon with reddened eyes. “You never stopped your antics! There was this one time I saw you messing around with another woman at a hotel…” Ines took a deep breath. Even the thought of
Forgive her… Ines never imagined to hear Solomon even uttering the word “forgive” when it came to this matter. Solomon sat down on the chair and suddenly felt an urge to smoke. He reached for his bag only to find that he did not have any cigarettes with him. He was not usually a smoker but had been getting into the habit of smoking ever since breaking up with Ines. He ruffled his hair and glanced at the plate of seabass that was nearly finished. He stared blankly at it for a moment before turning back to Ines. “Ines, as your lover, I have the capacity to forgive you for deceiving me. However, that is only on the pretext that you truly do love me.” In the past, Solomon would never even say something like this. He was a person who held grudges and would never tolerate such betrayal. However, now, the situation was different. The person who betrayed him was Ines. He was fond of her. His principle meant nothing when posed in front of her. Ines stared at Solomon i