Only then did Gwen notice she was still wearing the pair of shoes from the shops. Well, that explained why the sales attendant came out to comfort her.
She smiled awkwardly and went back to the shop with the sales attendant. In the end, she bought the shoes that she was wearing and also another pair that she picked, feeling bad about her outburst.
“You have such good taste.”
The sales attendant smiled. “Ms. Miller and Mr. Hughes were here just now. Mr. Hughes picked these shoes for Ms. Miller too, but I think these shoes match you better.”
Gwen smiled and paid for the shoes. It was already 8 p.m. when she left the mall. Gwen walked down the street in the snowing weather with the new pair of boots she just bought. Her heart felt empty as she gazed at the couples walking in the street.
“Did you cry?”
When Gwen returned to the hotel, Bethan noticed Gwen’s red eyes.
“I didn’t,”
Gwen answered, sniffling. She passed a bag to Bethan. “I underestimated the temperature, and the shoes I brought with me weren’t warm enough. I walked on the street for a long time and I was so cold that my tears fell before I finally found a shoe shop in the mall.”
Bethan furrowed her brow and took a look. Gwen did change to a thicker and warmer pair of shoes. She pursed her lips and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of warm water for Gwen.”
Was it so cold that you had to cry?” said Bethan helplessly. “And when did you start to roam around?”
After that, she passed the warm water to Gwen. “Did you see anything interesting walking for the whole afternoon?”
“I met someone with the identical voice as Luke. Does that count as interesting?”
Gwen held the glass. She drank and added, “Of course, he’s not handsome. Luke is far more handsome than that man.”
Bethan pursed her lip and did not know how to continue with that topic. The room became silent.
Gwen probably felt how awkward Bethan was. She sniffled and took the remote to turn on the television. The channel was showing the news of Saigen City. “Our reporter had seen the eldest young miss of the Miller family, Kate Miller, going shopping with the eldest young master of the Hughes family, Steven Hughes! Here’s the picture our reporter had taken.
“From the look of it, we could be hearing good news from them soon…”
Along with the voice of the reporter, a photo appeared on the television. It was a photo of a woman and man hugging together. Due to the angle problem of the photo, they could only see the woman’s face while the man’s face was hidden in the dark. Gwen furrowed her brow as she saw the photo on the television. “Bethan, look. Is that Kate?”
Bethan furrowed her brow and looked at the television. It was Kate. The woman’s face was very clear from the photo on the television while the man’s face looked blurred.
Who else could that woman be other than Kate? In addition, the reporter had mentioned ‘the eldest young miss of the Miller family’ over and over again, so this had to be Kate. Gwen was sure of this.
Bethan pursed her lips and looked at Gwen. “In the first place, you even wanted her…”
Bethan did not finish her sentence because she realized she should not mention Kate and Luke in front of Gwen.
“Let her take my place and date Luke, keeping him company?”
Gwen raised her head and looked at Bethan. “I got dumped by Luke, that’s all. I’ll live. You don’t have to be so careful.”
After that, she smiled brightly. “I’m not that fragile.”
She said it like it was not a big deal. The person who cried while squatting on the floor in the mall was not her.
Bethan finally felt relieved to see Gwen was not bothered by it. She turned around and sat beside Gwen while holding Gwen’s shoulder and sighed. “I’m just afraid you can’t let it go. Mentioning Luke and people related to Luke will only make you feel sadder. But since you really… really don’t care anymore, it’s a good thing.”
After that, she looked at Kate on the television and narrowed her eyes slightly. “Brettley told me that apart from meeting Thomas and completing a deal with him, there is something he needs to settle with Kate.”
They had not forgotten how Kate hired Malcolm and nearly killed Bonnie. When Kate was hurting Bonnie, it was the same time when Gwen’s condition dropped dangerously, prompting Luke to bring forward the surgery. Brettley and Jim, at that time, had all their attention on Luke and did not have the time to care about Kate. With everything settled, it was time to make Kate pay for what she did.
Gwen barely reacted to Bethan’s words, however. “I kept on defending her and didn’t think she was the person all of you said because of Luke.”
At that time, Gwen had planned to leave Luke but was worried he would fall into despair if she did. Thus, she aimed at Kate and thought she had feelings for Luke. As long as Kate was beside Luke, she would take care of Luke, even if Luke did not like Kate.
Nonetheless…
It was after she had her surgery and Luke’s death that she discovered everything was a lie.
Kate kept saying she liked Luke. Over the past year, she had followed behind Luke every day and did not complain about anything. However, after Luke died, she left Merchant City immediately. Because of that, Gwen did not trust her previous judgment anymore.
Maybe what Bethan and the others said was the truth; maybe she fell for Kate’s lies after all.
“It’s best if you can think this way.”
Bethan sighed.
She wanted more to say when all of a sudden, her phone rang. It was from Brettley, inviting her on a video call with Nigel, Neil, and Nellie. She thus quickly answered the call and excused herself to Gwen as she went back to her room. Gwen sat on the sofa in the living room as she looked at Bethan leaving. She sighed deeply. When Bethan went back into her room, Gwen recalled the events that happened and looked at the television once more.
It was still the photo of Kate and the man on the television. This time, however, it was a new photo from another angle.
Though the man’s face was still blurred, Kate’s beauty shone in the new photo. Happiness was written all over her face, too.
Gwen furrowed her brow. From the angle of the photo, she felt a slight familiarity.
From this angle, she could clearly see the man who was hugging Kate had the same height and body as Luke. Even without knowing how the man looked, Gwen could tell the man’s body, movement and temperament…were similar to Luke’s.
She stared at the television for quite a while before switching it off. This explained why Kate was not upset when Luke passed away; she found a replacement and no longer wallowed in sadness about losing Luke.
‘What about me?’ Gwen sighed and took out her phone. She logged into her Tweeter account which she had neglected for a long time. She posted a selfie photo of herself walking in the snow today with a caption.
[It has been almost two months. When can I finally let it go?]
After posting it, she stretched her body and went back into the room to rest.
Elsewhere, in a luxury mansion in Saigen City…
The man had just finished talking with Kate when notification appeared on his phone. It was a suggested post from Tweeter.
After being in a coma for far too long, he had little knowledge of what was happening in the outside world. Thus, Kate helped him to download a lot of apps on his phone for him to read the news, and
Tweeter was one of them.
In the past, he would never click open the suggested post. Nonetheless, he decided to open it today.
It was a woman taking her selfie while standing in the snow. Her caption was quite emotional, and it was something he would not even glance at in the past.
However, he thought the woman looked familiar, Very familiar, in fact. He stared at the woman’s thin face that sported a smile. Frowning, he fell into deep thoughts but failed to remember when he knew a woman like her.
The familiar feelings had him click into the woman’s profile as he started to flip through her page. It seemed like she was experiencing something bad and wanted to cheer herself up through Tweeter. By the looks of it, that did not seem to work.
This reminded him of himself.
He…also had a thing that he wanted to do but could not do. Everyone kept telling him Kate was his fiancee and the love of his life. When he was unconscious and bedridden, Kate had worked very hard to wake him up, and it was because of her that he could finally wake up.
He could not explain it, but he just…could not grow fond of Kate. Maybe he had been unconscious for far too long that he lost the ability to like someone.
It was a night without nightmares. In the early morning of the second day, someone knocked on the door of Bethan and Gwen’s room. At that moment, Bethan was busy cooking breakfast in the kitchen while Gwen was planning their itinerary for today.
Hearing the knocks, Gwen guessed it was Brettley. Thus, she looked back at the busy woman in the kitchen. “Hey, you should go open the door.”
Bethan stopped cutting the vegetables and looked at Gwen, who was sitting on the sofa curiously. “And why should I open the door?” she asked while she made her way regardless.
“Because that person must be looking for you,” said Gwen without looking up. “How long have you been with Brettley? Why are the both of you still so lovey–dovey?”
Bethan pursed her lips and opened the door. “How did you know it’s Brettley?”
Just as she finished talking, a man asked in a deep and sexy voice from the door, “Why can’t it be me? What are you two talking about?”
Bethan paused and looked at the man in front of her. He was wearing an ash gray–colored windbreaker with snow on his shoulder. Although he was tall, he looked quite gentle with a slightly solemn expression on his face. He was holding the breakfast he prepared for Bethan and Gwen.
Bethan pouted and did not know what to say.
“See. I’m correct, aren’t I?”
Gwen continued to plan their trip with her head lowered. “I told you it’s for you.”
As she talked, the speed of her writing gradually slowed down. If Luke was still alive, he would have done the same as Brettley–bringing her breakfast even if it was a blizzard.
Luke had treated her very well during his lifetime, and it was her who did not know to appreciate him. Heck, she even wanted to distance herself from him because of some gossip and rumors. She even wanted to leave him forever…
Now that Luke had permanently left, she could only feign obliviousness. She did not even have the courage to go to his grave and cried for him. “You’re cooking?”
Brettley saw Bethan was wearing an apron and sounded helpless while he was at the door. “I guess I was still too late.”
Bethan paused and smiled as she took over the breakfast from him. “No, you’re not. I just made some oats. We can have it together.”
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.