Chapter 3

To coax Yvonne out of her little tantrum, Marcus had his assistant, Peter Russo, buy her a pink diamond and a bouquet of fresh flowers.

He knew how to coax a woman—in the past, whenever Yvonne got upset, the gesture had always worked.

However, this time was different. Yvonne didn't respond to his gifts with her usual softness and concession. Instead, Peter told him that she seemed indifferent about the gifts.

Before he could think much about it, he was rushed to a company meeting.

…

Yvonne submitted her application to the college in Anderland that she wanted to attend. Since she had already gotten most of the needed credits before dropping out, she only needed to complete a thesis to obtain her degree.

Writing the thesis wasn't particularly difficult, as long as she could defend it within the allotted time.

What was truly challenging was having to learn a new language. She couldn't quite master the speaking skills that she needed for the presentation.

Besides, she had been deaf for a few years, which had affected her speech. So, she called her best friend, Suzy Knight, for help.

"Hello? Who's this?" Suzy sounded hesitant when she first answered the phone.

"My number hasn't changed in years," Yvonne replied. "Didn't you save me as a contact?"

"Oh my god!" Suzy exclaimed in surprise. "It's been forever since I got a call from you, Yvonne! You—wait, your hearing is back?"

It was a long story, so they decided to meet at a café to catch up.

While waiting for Suzy, Yvonne got a call from Marcus, who sounded harried. "How much sugar should I put in?"

"What?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Yvonne paused. Before she could reply, she heard Maria's voice in the background.

"Take it off the stove, take it off the stove! That's way too much tea leaves. Just let me do it, Mr. Cunningham!"

"No, I'll do it myself. Yvie, how much sugar am I supposed to add? I've tried making tea twice, but it never tastes right," Marcus said. "Rachel has a fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. She's unconscious, and none of the medicine is helping…"

From the commotion, Yvonne could imagine just how chaotic it was on the other end of the call. Marcus, usually calm and composed, would only lose his composure when it came to Rachel.

This was the same man who had never stepped into the kitchen and had a notoriously picky palate.

After dropping out of college, Yvonne had managed essentially every aspect of his life. She had even learned how to make healthy meals to tailor to his needs.

Yet, Rachel was the only one who could make him cook for her.

Yvonne thought back to the time she had gone skiing with him and ended up with a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. She had been delirious from the high fever. However, Marcus, who hadn't accepted her yet, had dismissed her as being dramatic.

They had been in a foreign country, so Yvonne had limited medical access. Under these circumstances, she had to get through the sickness on her own.

Now, Rachel was only running a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and Marcus was panicking, losing his composure. Such was the power of true love.

Yvonne took a sip of her unsweetened coffee. It wasn't half as bitter as the emotion she was feeling.

Just as she hung up on Marcus, Suzy arrived in a rush.

Once seated, Suzy launched right into a rant. "Do you know how insane Marcus is? He called me in the middle of the night and asked me to get him a set of jewelry made with rare stones. He threw his money around like it's nothing!

"Who does he think he is? Just because he's rich, he thinks he can order us around? Thank goodness I had the right connections and managed to get it done!"

She even showed Yvonne the jewelry that Marcus had asked for.

Yvonne felt grateful for regaining her hearing. Even the noisiness of the world felt beautiful to her. It gave her another way to embrace life.

Once Suzy was done with her ranting, Yvonne told her about her struggles with speaking and her plans for going abroad.

"You've been out of the game too long, babe," Suzy said earnestly. "The world's changing now. All you need to do is throw some cash around, and you can find a handsome man to teach you the language. Maybe he'll warm your bed for you too!"

Then, Yvonne's words sunk in. "Wait, you've really made up your mind to leave? You're going abroad and leaving Marcus?"

Yvonne nodded. "Oh, by the way, I need your expertise in jewelry. Take a look at this. How much do you think this diamond is worth?"

"I'm not really in the diamond market right now, but here, babe. I've got this."

She handed Yvonne an invitation to a jewelry auction. As always, Suzy was reliable, though she didn't deal much with diamonds.

Yvonne also knew diamonds were hard to sell without getting lowballed. There would be plenty of other experts at this auction, so it would help her get some connections and learn how to recognize low-ball offers.

…

A few days later, Yvonne decided to move out of Waterfront Bay.

Out of courtesy, she thought that she would inform Marcus. However, when she called him, Quinn answered instead. "Marcus is busy helping Rachel pick out a dress. You're not even his wife yet. Quit stalking him!"

She hung up right after that. Yvonne scoffed bitterly at herself. It didn't matter, anyway—he wouldn't care whether she moved out or not.

That evening, Yvonne turned up at the auction in a simple dress. She didn't know that it would be a grand event filled with well-dressed people

Knowing that she had plenty of money in her pocket, Yvonne shook off the embarrassment. It wasn't like she couldn't afford any of the items auctioned there, expensive as they were.

Soon, the crowd began gathering around the center of the hall.

On the stage was Marcus, proud and tall under the spotlight. Beside him was Rachel. She was wearing the set of jewelry that Suzy had shown her a few days ago—a set with expensive, rare stones.

It was a thoughtful and heartfelt gift.

Yvonne thought about all the gifts that Marcus had given her in the past. Every single one had been selected by his assistant at the mall, impersonal and perfunctory.