Xyla finished speaking and looked at Maisie before summarizing, “So, on that day, the director invited them into the film crew. After we finished our discussion, Mr. Nixon invited us to a musical concert. Later, Mr. Nixon and the director bought us dinner. During the dinner, it was Mr. Nixon who sat next to me. You see that I'm talking to Louis in the photos, right? That's because he was explaining to me about music at that time.”As Xyla was talking, she suddenly chuckled. “From the moment Louis picked Ryleigh over me, I knew that we're never going to make it together anymore. The last time he accompanied me to a dinner party, it was only out of friendship. Besides, they have already gotten their marriage certificate. If I really want to be with him, I want to be his wife. I'm not in favor of being a homewrecker.”It was only then Maisie understood the whole situation. It was inevitable that the two of them would meet for business reasons, not to mention that they would have to shoo
Ryleigh did not know if Louis was worth her trust. Maybe it was not because she did not believe in him, but it was just that she… She cared too much.Louis turned around and was about to leave. However, Maisie just happened to walk up to the door at that moment, so she leaned against the door. “Where are you going?”Ryleigh heard her voice, turned over, and sat up, looking as if she was extremely aggrieved. “Zee…”Maisie glanced at her, walked up to Louis, and gave off a pregnant smile. “Are you going to find Xyla and settle the account with her?”Louis rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’m only going to ask her...”“She has nothing to do with these photos.” Maisie passed by him and walked toward Ryleigh.Louis was stunned, while Ryleigh was also taken aback.Seeing that Ryleigh had been crying again, Maisie chuckled. “You fool, were you just going to sit aside as Louis was about to go to Xyla and give her hell because of this matter? How much longer would this matter continue if
Nolan was looking down at some documents. “Come in.”Maisie pushed the door and went in, while Nolan picked up the coffee on the desk and took a sip from it. His eyes had not left the documents ever since she came in, and he thought it was Quincy who had entered his office. “What’s the matter?”Maisie walked around the desk, approached him, and reached out for him, but Nolan grabbed her wrist immediately.Seeing that it was her, Nolan pulled her toward him, had her sit in his arms, and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Did you just ambush me?”“You’re the one who’s so focused on your work and didn’t realize that it’s me.” Maisie wrapped her arms around his neck and sat closer to him. “Did you think that it was Quincy?”He smiled. “If it were him, I’d send him to Afrenika.”Maisie stroked his cheek with her fingertip while he instantly grasped it and kissed it. “Are you here to pay me a warm and lovely visit again?”Maisie got up from his arms, went around him, and hugged him from
Ryleigh could not even utter a single word after a long time. She had always regarded Joe as her best friend—she would even categorize Joe as one of her confidants because he understood her so well.However, she did not know that Joe understood her because he did so with all his heart.“But… Why didn’t he tell me?” Ryleigh could not understand.Maisie picked up the teacup, and her eyes were fixed on the rippling tea. “The feelings that he has for you are more than friends but less than lovers. Once he crosses the line and tells you what he’s wanted to tell you all this while, some things will never return to how they were before that, and that can ruin a friendship.”Having said that, Maisie raised her gaze and glanced at Ryleigh. “Are you sure that you wouldn’t be frightened by him and stay away from him after confessing to you all of a sudden back then?”Ryleigh did not know what to say for a while. After all, she had never thought about the answer to the question.‘What would
Ryleigh retracted her hand subconsciously. “Joe, but I’ve always only regarded you as my best friend. I’ve never thought about—”Joe grabbed her by the shoulders, and his action made Ryleigh feel even more unfamiliar. “Joe, you—”“Ryleigh, you once said that you wouldn’t marry Louis, and it’s just an arranged marriage...” Joe stroked her slightly cold cheek with his palm. “But the way you treated him when you were in the hospital made me realize that I might lose you very soon.”Ryleigh moved Joe’s hand away, and her expression became slightly more serious. “Joe, you’re the one who sent those photos to me, aren’t you?”He did not deny it, nor did he admit it. “What would you do if it’s indeed me?”Ryleigh’s shoulders trembled, and her lips moved slightly. “Why would you do this? I believed in you, Joe. I didn’t believe it even when Zee told me that it was you, and I thought that she was mistaken.”Joe tightened his grasp on her shoulder and bent over to get closer to her. “Becaus
Seeing that Ryleigh’s body was trembling, Louis dashed straight up to her, squatted in front of her, and held her cold hands. “What happened?”Maisie looked at her at the same time.Ryleigh burst into tears. “I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry… I really didn’t mean it…” She was at a loss, felt afraid and uneasy, and all her emotions surged over the top in a single moment, causing her to break down.Louis brought her into his arms as she kept shaking, crying, and apologizing.Maisie noticed something when the doctor came out of the emergency room at the exact moment and asked, “Which among you is Joe Watson’s family member?”Ryleigh stopped crying, pushed Louis away, and stood up tremblingly. “I… I’m his friend.”The doctor walked up to her. “Do you know any of his family members?”Ryleigh was unable to speak, so Maisie approached the doctor and answered, “I’ll contact his family on behalf of the hospital, but may I know what happened to him?”The doctor looked solemn and sighed. “I’m s
Maisie walked to the room and opened the door. Ryleigh was still looking out the window. She walked to the side of the bed and sat on the chair. “Ryleigh, Joe’s wake will be in seven days.”Ryleigh started reacting when Joe was mentioned, and her finger shook. Maisie held her hand and said, “I know that you blame yourself. I do too. I should've been by your side that day. Joe did this to save you, and it will be a pain that you can never recover from for the rest of your life, so you’re feeling guilty about it.”Ryleigh suddenly spoke. “It was my fault… I did this to him. I should have been the one to die.”“Ryleigh, nobody is at fault. Did he save you so that you’ll be sad and suffer for the rest of your life?”Ryleigh’s tears rolled down her face then she shook her head. “But I—”“Alright, let’s not talk about this.” Maisie wiped her tears away. “You didn’t do anything wrong, and neither did he. He liked you, and even though he used this way to take you away, he still saved
Mrs. Watson seemed to be imagining how Joe was when he was alive while speaking. Some people found it hard to accept the truth when they were in pain because the only way to escape was to imagine.Maisie didn’t interrupt her because she looked as if she was talking about her son’s daily life, but while she spoke, she suddenly started laughing while tears still fell, choking back her words.Ryleigh walked in at that moment, carrying an old box in her arms. Maisie looked at her.Ryleigh stopped in front of Mrs. Watson, gave a pale smile, and handed the box to her. “Ma’am, these are all books that Joe lent to me from the library, but I never returned them to him. The books in the school would disappear, and Joe would get interrogated by the teacher. In the end, he was banned from entering the library.”She said that and then smiled, but the smile was uglier than crying. Mrs. Watson smiled too. She walked over and took the box, and they both started crying uncontrollably.Ryleigh