Sylvia was speechless for a while. Annoyed, she argued, “You are also still awake.” “I just finished my work.” Sylvia pursed her lips as she did not want to know what he did. “Say something.” “Mm-hmm…” “Go to sleep.” Just when Sylvia wanted to put her phone away, another text came in. “Reply.” Sylvia gasped frustratedly and simply typed the same reply as before. The chat finally went quiet. With the phone away, Sylvia rolled around her bed out of frustration but still could not doze off. She rolled around for an hour or so until she finally fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, her room was already basking in the sunlight. Isabel and Liam were tiny balls of cotton jackets as they sat on both sides of the bed, staring at her sleepy face. Isabel threw herself into Sylvia’s arms. “Mommy, you’re awake!” Her adorable voice was the best wake-up call. It even eased the lingering frustration she had from last night. She sat herself up and hugged Liam in her
Sylvia held her frustration back and said, “No. I still have paintings to finish.” Odell went quiet. “If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.” “Mm-hmm.” His voice sounded a lot softer, but it did not stop Sylvia from hanging up. Right when Odell wanted to put his phone away, his screen lit up. It was a call from Tara. His brows furrowed a little before he answered the call. Tara’s soft voice echoed in his ears. “Odell, are you here yet? I’m ready.” Odell immediately remembered that he had promised to go out with her tonight. “I’m on my way.” “Okay.” …Late at night, when the shops and malls were closed, the streets were lit up only by the street lamps. A black sports car sprinted out of the wealthy district and headed towards Lake Victoria Villa. Tara looked at him with a heavy heart. “Odell, aren't you going to stay tonight?” “No. I have something to do back in the office.” “Okay.” Her face fell. Odell raised his arms around her for a hug. He whispe
Tara’s friends echoed in agreement. “That woman is really a shameless whore.” “Yeah, but I really am jealous of you. Master Carter is rich and handsome, and he’s good to you. If I can meet someone like him, I’ll become a vegan for the rest of my life.” “I’ll be one for the rest of my life and my next life.” As the flattery slowly built up to the climax, Tara answered, “Okay, guys, this is the main chat group. We shouldn’t be chatting here.” The farce finally ended as they moved on to another topic. Sylvia read through the whole conversation. Tara had always presented herself as the ice queen who was cold and elegant. Unless someone tried to flatter her, she would merely answer a word or two. It was almost impossible for her to join the gossip, let alone discuss it in the main chat group. She did this on purpose. She started the topic and pointed out that some woman had tried to seduce Odell. The phrase she used to describe the woman was an eyesore to Sylvia. No matter
He had been watching her from the dark and did not show up earlier because he wanted to stop her from running. Besides, it had been two days since he last saw her, and he had started to miss her uncontrollably. That was why he hid in the dark and watched her every move. Sylvia wished she had a tray to block her face, but she had nothing. She bit the bullet and lowered her head in awkwardness. The dining table went quiet for a moment. Madam Carter sharply noticed something was not right. She switched her gaze between Sylvia and Odell, trying to find out what was up with them. Even Isabel and Liam looked at the two of them in confusion. Then, Isabel said, “Big meanie, why are you looking at my Mommy?” Odell put a piece of fish on her plate. “Eat your dinner.” Isabel grunted. “Don’t look at my Mommy!” Madam Carter knew something was out of the ordinary, but she could not pinpoint exactly what. She turned to Isabel and said with an awkward smile, “Isabel, eat your dinner.
The terms he offered were tempting, but his intention was clear as well: he wanted her to be his mistress again. An indescribable irritation gushed up to her chest, causing her to suffocate. She pursed her lips tightly. Odell noticed her silence. He pinched her chin and asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?” Sylvia looked into his eyes with tearful eyes that held a hint of frostiness. She said, “Odell, I will never agree to that.” Odell’s anticipation behind his deep gaze faded right away. “You’ve always wanted to be with Isabel and Liam, and I will give you the right to be with them for as long as you want. What else do you want?” he said in a grumpy tone. Sylvia took a deep breath to calm herself down before she said, “Odell, have you ever considered Isabel and Liam’s feelings? Are you trying to set an example for Liam to be like you when he grows up? Should he have a mistress after he gets a girlfriend or a wife? Or are you trying to tell Isabel that there are no good
The pictures of the artwork Edmund sent over were from veteran artists who were supposedly having an exhibition in Westchester soon. After going through them individually, Sylvia said, “The ones you picked are really good.” Edmund sent her a voice message. “Really? It seems like I have excellent taste.” Sylvia giggled and replied the same. “Yeah.” “I think they are quite fancy, but I don’t know how to put them in words. Can you explain them to me? So that I can act cool in front of the others.” “Sure,” said Sylvia with a smile. She then voice-messaged him her explanation of the paintings. She offered him a detailed explanation of her own thoughts for each and every painting. On the other end of the chat, Edmund was on the couch listening to her voice as if it was some classical music piece. He softly closed his eyes, enjoying the angelic tune in his ears. That was until Harry came over. “Master Price?” Edmund glared at him. “Shut up.” Harry awkwardly zipped his mout
Two days went by. On this particular day, Sylvia arrived at the art academy early in the morning. She went because Christopher invited her over for a demo for the students. Other than being the president of the Westchester Art Association, Christopher was also the deputy dean of the art academy. The new semester started just yesterday, and the academy was hosting this welcome event, especially for the upcoming graduates. They invited several well-known artists over for a live demonstration. Other than Sylvia, two other veteran artists were also present. Sylvia was honored by the invitation, so there was no reason for her to reject it. She drove to the art academy and parked her car in the parking lot. Right after she got out of her car, an event coordinator came over and guided her to the venue. The live demonstration was held in a spacious lecture studio which was already crowded with students and artists alike. When Sylvia arrived, she saw Christopher and the other tw
Sylvia obviously garnered more attention than the other two veteran artists. Tara reacted poorly to what she saw, but the two teachers beside her were still gushing about Sylvia. “Ms. Sunflower is so young and skilled. I bet she has a lot of admirers.” “I wonder how many there are.” The two of them then had a glance at Tara. One of them asked politely, “Ms. Avery, I heard you are from the art association as well. Do you know her?” Tara forced a vague smile. “Yeah.” “Does she have a boyfriend then?” “What does her boyfriend do?” The two of them looked at Tara with the highest anticipation. Tara maintained her smile and said, “I've never heard of that before, and I don’t think she’s dating anyone.” “No way. She’s as beautiful as those celebrities and she’s talented. How is that possible?” “Yeah. Even you have a boyfriend like Odell Carter, Ms. Avery, so how could someone like her have no one at all?” Tara’s expression turned frosty. The two teachers immediatel