After both Anna and Jasper left, Beatrice said to Wayne, “The domestic market has been much better than I expected in recent years. “So I plan to move back.”
“Congratulations,” Wayne said perfunctorily, looking a little impatient. He kept his gaze fixed on Anna in the distance and even considered leaving right away.
“Isn’t your wife’s clothing company called Lemon?”
The instant he heard that, Wayne froze and then looked at the woman in front of him. Then he asked impatiently, “What are you trying to say?”
If Beatrice hadn’t mentioned Anna, Wayne would have left by now. His instincts told him that a woman like Beatrice would not be so nice to him simply because they had known each other as children. It came as no surprise when she mentioned Lemon.
Beatrice grinned. The sea breeze blew her long hair, making her look like a goddess. “Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t check about it on purpose, but it just so happens that Lemon is a competitor of mine. And based on what I’ve heard from my assistant, she poses a huge threat to me.”
“She’s your competitor?” Wayne asked.
“The first thing I wanted to do in England is put on a big show for my brand. Unfortunately, my show falls on the same day as Lemon’s. We’ve invited some of the industry’s biggest names, so I’m not sure which one they’ll attend.”
Beatrice seemed confident as if she was certain everyone would attend her show. Wayne was well aware of it. He realized Beatrice was going to get Anna in big trouble.
“What do you want?” Wayne asked flatly.
Beatrice glanced at Wayne and said, “I just wanted to say hello. Doing business is like being at war, so everyone has enemies. We don’t want that to ruin our friendship because of that, do we?”
While Beatrice and Wayne were still talking, Anna approached Peace and asked her what was going on.
Peace said, gritting his teeth, “I knew he wouldn’t change his bullshit lifestyle for me! He told me that he and his ex-girlfriend had broken up long ago and that he was sure I would never ever meet his ex! He lied to me!”
“What? Ex-girlfriend?” Anna asked, puzzled, then looked at Isabella. Isabella was the bride and the dinner party hostess, but she left Jasper and the guests behind to comfort Peace.
“Peace said Miss Jones is Karl’s ex-girlfriend,” Isabella said carefully after a brief pause.
“What?!” Anna cast a glance in the distance and asked.
Beatrice was talking to Wayne face to face at that moment. She wasn’t beautiful, but she looked elegant and charming.
Is she Karl’s ex-girlfriend? She’s clearly not his type! With that in mind, Anna asked, “Are you sure?”
“Perhaps it’s also a misunderstanding, like what happened when…,” Anna said.
Peace yelled, “No way! He still has a picture of her inside his parents’ house!”
Hearing this, Anna suddenly remembered who had mentioned Beatrice to her. “Oh, you told me before that her…” she said.
“Karl is a total jerk! He told me that she had died of leukaemia! So she’s now a ghost?!” Peace said loudly.
Anna had no idea what to say. She thought, What the hell were you thinking, Karl? I know you said it because you didn’t want to irritate Peace. But why did you have to fabricate such a ridiculous lie? Is telling the truth that difficult?
“Isabella, the guests are waiting for you. I’ll stay here with Peace, “Anna winked at Isabella and said. Isabella left after patting Peace on the shoulder.
Then Anna took a seat next to Peace and asked, “What exactly is going on? Even if she’s his ex-girlfriend, you don’t have to be that angry. Something else happened, right? Where is Karl now?”
“He’s dead,” Peace replied briefly.
“I’m serious.”
Following a brief moment of silence, Peace said, “That woman had just told Karl that her luggage was still outside the hotel, so he went to get it for her. He’s probably still in her room waiting for her, hoping to rekindle their love.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Karl is not that kind of person.”
“You should trust me in this! You weren’t there, so you don’t know what happened. She hugged him, grabbed his ear, and stroked his hair. They seemed so intimate!”
“Really?” Anna asked, frowning.
“Yes!”
Looking at the sad expression on Peace’s face, Anna knew she was telling the truth. Then Peace began to tell Anna what was going on.
“It all happened half an hour ago before the party began. Back then, Karl and I were staying on the beach with the kids. We were worried that Martin would ruin the venue, so we needed to keep an eye on him. While I was lying on a lounge chair with a drink, I heard a woman call Karl’s name.”
“Then Karl, that goddamn son of a bitch, ran to Beatrice happily and called her ‘Bea’. Later, the two of them just hugged intimately RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! Can you believe it?! And then I heard Beatrice say, ‘You’re even taller than I am. I remember you were still a chubby kid when I first met you. You’re a lot more attractive than you used to be. Wow! I love your moustache!’”
“She actually likes his ridiculous mustache! I wondered why he suddenly wanted to grow a beard, and now I know why. They must have stayed in touch over the years. He knew his ex-girlfriend was coming back, so he dressed up for her. These two pretended they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. It’s disgusting!” Peace said with gritted teeth.
Anna immediately imagined that scene after hearing Peace’s vivid description. Since she was an outsider, she was more sensible than Peace. “You said Karl called her Bea?” she asked.
“Yes! It’s so disgusting!”
“Actually, I don’t think you should be worried about the relationship between Karl and Beatrice,” Anna said.
“What do you mean?” Peace asked in surprise.
“Beatrice said that her grandfather and Wayne’s grandfather were old friends, so she spent a summer in Birmingham and met Wayne and Karl. Isn’t she older than both of them?”
“What’s the problem with that? He dated many women who were older than him.”
“That’s not what I mean. Karl may have had feelings for her in the past, but she didn’t feel that way about him.”
“What?” asked Peace, surprised.
“Young adolescent boys are always drawn to women who are older than them. Anyway, I don’t think she’s his ex-girlfriend. You said Beatrice is much older than Karl, so she probably just thinks of him as her younger brother. Even if Karl had once liked her, so what? That happened almost twenty years ago. Why do you think so much about it?”
“Then why did he keep her picture?” Peace asked angrily.
“Karl left home after starting junior high school and rarely came back. If he truly valued that photograph, he would have brought it with him to his own home.”
“Nah. I don’t believe you. He did so because he was worried his girlfriends would find out.”
Hearing Peace’s words, Anna chuckled and said, “Well, you can just talk to Karl about it if you can’t let it go. Perhaps things aren’t as bad as you think.”
“Anyway, he lied to me and said she’s already dead. I’m not going to let him off the hook.”
Anna wanted to say something else to persuade Peace, but she gave up when she realized her friend wouldn’t listen to anyone’s advice right now. Then, with the purpose of helping Peace shill, she asked the waiter for two glasses of wine and handed one to Peace.
“Here you go. It’s a big day today, so let us not dwell on unhappy things.”
Peace gazed at the glass in Anna’s hand for a while before reaching out to take it. She then finished it all at once.
“Hey! Don’t drink so quickly!” Anna immediately said.
Peace felt dizzy after drinking, but she became much more sober and calm. She shook her glass and looked down, lost in thought. “Anna, do you think I treat Karl too harshly?” Peace asked.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.