Bethan closed her eyes and let out a bitter chuckle. “It’s to do with Anne. I just found out this morning that…Brettley was the one who had helped John get out of Banyan City.”
Gwen froze when she heard this. “Does that mean he knows where to find John and little Sammie?”
Bethan rubbed her eyes in exasperation. “We can’t.
“When John left the city, he specifically requested for Brettley not to follow him or attempt to track him down because he wanted nothing to do with any of us, so…Brettley did exactly as he asked. He didn’t send any men to keep an eye on them or track them down. Now…we have no idea where John or little Sammie went.”
This was the reason she had gotten into that fight with Brettley.
She could understand John’s unwillingness to be affiliated with any of them and knew full well that John hated her guts out of all of them, but…
She could not help feeling that Brettley could have done more to protect John and Sammie. Even if he had to fulfill John’s request, he could have secretly sent some men to keep an eye on them so that they could be aware of John’s whereabouts.
Although Bethan did not intend on intruding in their lives…
She sighed. “I just miss them so much.”
All she wanted to do was keep an eye on them from afar, and all she wanted to know was that John and Sammie were alright.
The least she could do was make sure that the last two people who were linked to Anne were safe and sound, and if anything were to happen, she could reach out to offer help if needed.
However, Brettley failed to do so.
He chose to let John disappear without a trace, just because John asked him to.
Bethan was very much concerned about whom John would reach out to for help if he needed it, and when she questioned Brettley about this, Brettley’s reply infuriated her even more.
Brettley had told her that as a man, John should have the responsibility of protecting his daughter at all costs, and if he could not even do so, there was no point continuing to live anymore.
This spiraled into a huge fight that resulted in the both of them refusing to speak to each other.
Gwen was silent for a moment after hearing this.
A split second later, she paused and said, “I think Brettley was right to do this.
“If you were to continue keeping an eye on John, you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from helping should they get into trouble, and no matter how cautious you think you are, you’re bound to slip up, and John will be furious when he finds out.
“And they’d be in even bigger trouble if anyone found out about their whereabouts, so when John told you not to track him down, Brettley was right to oblige.
“Also, I trust that John will be able to raise Sammie all on his own, and besides…”
Gwen paused. “Perhaps he might even remarry in the future, and we should give him our blessings for this. I know that as Anne’s best friend, it’s hard for you to swallow this pill, but we have to try our best to understand. Let’s not overthink this more than we should, Bethan. It’s time to let go.
“It’s been a while since Anne’s death now, and I’m sure she wouldn’t want to see you fight with Brettley over her.”
Bethan was silent for a long time. Then, she curled her lips into a bitter smile. “It’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Gwen…”
She closed her eyes, and her voice began to shake. “My best friend died because of me. Even though Jacqueline also paid the price, I can’t shake off the fact that Anne will never come back. How can I… How can I let this go?
“Can you let go of Luke’s death?”
“Why are we talking about me again?”
Gwen was silent for a moment before finally furrowing her brows and forcing an amused tone. “Weren’t we talking about you? Stop trying to change the subject!”
Bethan could tell that she was feigning nonchalance. “It’s already been six months, Gwen, yet you haven’t moved on from Luke, so how can you expect me to do the same about Anne?”
She still dreamed of Anne, both during and after she got out of prison.
Images of Anne’s shock and pity when she first laid eyes on Bethan’s disfigured face.
Images of Anne keeping her company throughout the night when she could not sleep due to the pain of the surgery.
Anne had been there for her through the darkest days of her life, so how could she forget so soon that she was the culprit of Anne’s death?
Gwen sighed when she heard Bethan’s sorrow and decided not to kid around any longer. She replied in a low voice, “Bethan, we all have to grow up and face reality. As cruel as it sounds…we have to look forward.
“You can’t waste the rest of your life away, engulfed by your guilt and grief, and likewise, I’m slowly learning to let go of mine as well. We’ll both be fine.”
Bethan felt as though something had stirred within her.
For a split second, she could not help feeling that Gwen’s words were even more of a reassurance than any of Brettley’s apologies. She let out a sigh and replied, “Okay. I…I need to go make lunch now. I’ll bring Brettley his lunch and…apologize to him.”
She knew she had overreacted the last few days, but she did not want to apologize to Brettley out of ego.
However, Gwen’s words had changed her mind and helped calm her down, and it was about time she reflected on her mistakes.
“Alright. Go, go.”
Gwen chuckled when she heard this. “I need to go make some food too. Stefan and Kurt might come home for lunch soon.”
With that, Bethan hung up the phone and headed into the kitchen.
She spent the rest of the morning cooking in the kitchen and finally prepared a delicious feast to bring to Brettley’s office.
However, to her surprise, when she arrived at his office, she was welcomed by the sight of Brettley sitting at his desk, having lunch with a beautiful woman.
The woman was slender and attractive and appeared to be a few years younger than Bethan.
The two of them were engaged in casual conversation while having their meal, and for the first time in a few days, Bethan saw Brettley smile again.
All her excitement dissipated at the sight of this.
As certain as she was that after going through so many ups and downs together, Brettley would never cheat on her, she still could not help feeling uneasy at this.
During the past few days, he refused to talk to her–apart from his apology–much less dine together with her.
She could not believe that after whipping him a hearty feast, he would turn out to be enjoying lunch with another woman!
“Ma’am.”
All of a sudden, Lucas appeared in front of her, having just come out of the elevator, clutching a stack of documents. He caught sight of Bethan standing at the door and quickly greeted her. “Are you here to have lunch with Sir?”
Bethan glanced at him, frowning. “No, not him.”
She shoved the thermal food container into his hands and said, “Here. I made this for you. Better eat while it’s still hot.”
With that, she turned and strode away.
Lucas was frozen in shock as he watched Bethan saunter away.
After Bethan disappeared into the elevator, he finally broke out of his stupor. He glanced first at the food container in his hands, then at the sight of Brettley chatting with the woman in his office, and immediately understood what had happened.
He smacked his forehead in regret and quickly strode into the room.
“Mr. Bean, why did you bring an extra portion of food when Brettley and I are almost done with our meal?” the woman asked, frowning as she glanced at the container in Lucas’ hand.
Lucas rolled his eyes at her–just out of her sight–and placed the container in front of Brettley. “Sir, I ran into Ma’am outside the door just now. She came to bring you your lunch.”
With that, he glanced at the woman and added with a hint of contempt, “I’m thinking that Ma’am must’ve arrived just in time to see you enjoying your lunch with Ms. Moore here and got the wrong idea.”
As he said this, he could not help rolling his eyes at the woman. “Ms. Moore, you shouldn’t have done this. Since you came all the way to visit your cousin, why did you choose only to visit Sir here at his office instead of visiting Ma’am as well? Now that Ma’am has misunderstood, they might even get into a fight, and if that happens, how are you going to continue working here?”
With that, Lucas turned to stare at Brettley. “You, too, Sir. Even if Ms. Moore here is just your cousin, you shouldn’t have chosen to have lunch with her in private, in your office like this. Everyone else will get the wrong idea. And besides, it’s clear that you didn’t tell Ma’am that your cousin, Ms. Tara Moore has come to visit! Seeing that Ma’am wasn’t aware of Ms. Moore’s arrival, she must’ve misinterpreted things when she bumped into this!”
Brettley furrowed his brows, glancing at Lucas.
Lucas had been working for him for so long that they had gotten way too comfortable with each other. Although Lucas was the assistant and he was the CEO, he could not believe that Lucas had assumed a position of criticizing him.
Regardless…
Brettley glanced at Tara with a frown. “You’re right.”
With that, he stood up, grabbed his coat, and snatched the food container that Lucas brought to him. “I need to go home now.”
Tara froze, then got to her feet as well. “Brettley, are you going home to sweet-talk your wife? Do you need me to go with you and explain everything? Since this was all my fault, I should bear responsibility too, right? Come on, let me go home with you.”
Lucas rolled his eyes when he heard this. He could not believe how shameless Tara was!
He thought Christian was bad enough, but it turned out the other member of the Moore family, Tara, was even more shameless than him!
“There’s no need for that,” said Brettley as he sauntered out of the room. “I can explain it to her by myself. Bethan isn’t an unreasonable person.”
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.