Abelin glanced at Holly briefly. "I have high standards."Trevor laughed. "That's a good thing. Better to hold off until you find the one."Abelin murmured in agreement, smiling.Trevor stroked his beard, saying thoughtfully, "I have a granddaughter called Samantha. She's single, too, and she's really pretty. She's the type that you young folks chase after. Would you like to meet her one day?"Abelin's smile froze. Slight disdain flashed in his eyes.He instantly said, "Thank you for the consideration, but I'm not in a hurry to date."That was just a rejection in disguise. Trevor felt a little disappointed. "Well, what's your type? I'll help you look around."Abelin cast his gaze downward at the coffee cup in his hands. "Things like romance are best left up to fate. It's like how you got your mentee."Trevor patted Holly on the shoulder. "That's true. I liked Holly right from the moment I first saw her. It just felt right to have her as my mentee."Abelin held his cup to his l
Bryce froze. He wasn't expecting the hug.He thought she would be upset that he was cleaning her hand and would complain about it.He was ready to apologize.But somehow, Holly hugged him instead.He let her hug him like that for a long while.Bryce reached up, pulling her head down gently on his shoulder. Then, he caressed her cheek.There was warmth in his hands.Holly leaned against his shoulder, asking softly, "What's wrong?"Bryce's gaze dimmed. Softly, he said, "I'm not sure."Holly was silent. Then, she asked, "Were you like this with Samantha?"Bryce's eyes darkened. "Never."After a pause, he said, "I'll try to reign it in."Holly considered it carefully. "But if you suppress your emotions, it might backfire on you. That would be even worse.""I'll just try," Bryce said lightly."It won't work. What if I just paid more attention next time?" Then, she added playfully, "It's a good thing that I'm in the antiques industry. I mostly talk to old men."Hayden and Abel
Seeing that Samantha was also here, Holly stiffened her back and raised her chin. She smiled lightly and said, "Were you looking for me, Trevor?"Trevor pointed at the jigsaw puzzle on the counter. "Can you complete this puzzle, please?""Yes, sir."Holly walked over and rummaged around the pieces. She saw that this was "The Forgotten Valley" by Xerxes Willow.Of course, the jigsaw itself was a modern invention. It was a scaled-down version of the painting.Xerxes Willow was a famous painter in his time. He was talented from a young age. He created his famous masterpiece, "The Forgotten Valley", within just six months. No one could surpass him.He was only 18 years old at the time.Holly looked up to him when she was younger. She basically idolized him.She had seen his paintings countless times before. She had made quite a few copies of his work, too.She could replicate his paintings with her eyes closed.What happened next was a shocking sight. Everyone looked on in a daze
"Mr. Gabelman's here!" a sharp-eyed shop assistant called out.After that, he jogged up to the main entrance and pulled the glass door open.Abelin walked in with a mahogany box.Trevor stroked his beard, smiling at him. "What brings you here, Abelin?"Abelin waved the mahogany box in his hands and smiled. "This is my family's genealogy chart. It's really worn out. I wanted Holly to restore it. I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it."Hearing that, Holly went up to him and took the mahogany box. She opened it and stepped aside, beginning to examine the chart.Trevor was happy to hear someone praise his mentee.He was the one who taught her how to do all that. He took pride in it and said, "That's right. You should get my mentee to do these things. She's so young, but she's already so brilliant. She's going to put us old farts all out of business."Samantha's face turned splotchy red hearing her own grandfather praise Holly.Trevor glanced at her. Seeming to remember something,
They all denied it.But the fact remained that she had been slapped.The stinging pain in her cheek was proof of that.This was too peculiar for words.She shifted her suspicious gaze toward Trevor. With tears in her eyes, she bleated, "Was it you, Grandpa?"Trevor's face fell. "You're my granddaughter. Even if you make me angry, scolding you is the most that I will do. How could I slap you?"Samantha was about to have a nervous breakdown.She patted her swollen red cheek. "But I really was slapped. There are so many people here. Hasn't anyone seen the culprit at all?"The assistants all backed away. They were afraid of being suspected.Abelin turned and walked toward Holly. He asked, "Can it be restored, Ms. Sinclair?"Holly nodded. "Yes. But the paper is really thick, and there's a great deal of damage. It'll take a few days to restore it. Are you in a hurry to get it back?""No. You can take your time. Call me when it's done, and I'll come to pick it up.""Alright.""Th
Samantha was left with the static sound on the receiver. She was furious.She just couldn't understand it. Just what sort of a spell had Holly bewitched all these people with?Why did they all love Holly and hate her so much?It was just illogical!Holly was a country bumpkin who didn't know how to dress up. She had never even stepped foot outside of the country.Meanwhile, Samantha was a princess. She was delicate, beautiful, and fashionable.She was better than Holly in every way.Samantha was upset. The people who liked Holly had terrible taste, including her Trevor.As Samantha fumed, Holly, with Trevor's permission, brought Abelin's genealogy chart home to restore it. It just so happened that Trevor's Pavilion didn't have the materials needed for the restoration.Bryce had prepared a study for her at home. It was specially for her restoration work.Abelin's chart was quite aged. The paper was dated to be thousands of years ago.The chart was thick, and the pages were fi
However, Bryce pulled her back.He raised her chin and then pecked her nose. Then, he slid down to her lips and kissed her lightly.After a pause, he let her go.Holly felt a little disappointed.He wasn't like this before.Back then, he would kiss her deeply. He wouldn't let her go after just a simple peck on the lips.She asked dubiously, "What's wrong with you today?"Bryce massaged his forehead, looking a little irritated. "We're trying for a child, and I'm drunk. I don't want to influence you with my alcohol."That was a shoddy excuse no matter how Holly looked at it.Bryce strode into the bathroom to shower.Since he was drunk, Holly was afraid he would slip and fall.So, she followed after him and held his arm, saying, "I was commissioned to restore a genealogy chart today. I saw Grandpa's name on it. He and Abelin's grandfather are cousins. Doesn't that make you…""It's just a coincidence," Bryce said, cutting her off. "Abelin and I are not related to each other at
"Everything is fine. Just go to sleep." Bryce switched off the lights.Holly stared at his handsome face for some time.In the dark, the shadows on his face were even more prominent. Lying beneath the shadows was a storm.Holly wondered why he was like this.A while later, she said softly, "Abelin wanted me to restore the genealogy chart. If you're against it, I can return it to him tomorrow and ask him to get someone else to help him.""Don't. Just restore it. It's your work," Bryce said lightly."I don't think you're too happy about it.""I am," Bryce said. He sounded too indifferent about it.He sounded unhappy no matter how he put it.Holly took a deep breath and said, "Just tell me what you want me to do. I'll listen to whatever you say.""Just do what you have to. I'll control myself."His mask was slipping.Holly repositioned herself, leaning against his chest. She caressed his cheek and began kissing him.She wasn't really good at comforting people.For the first