Chapter 241 A Shopping Spree
“Little Roni is a liar who tells lies to my mother. You promised her, but I haven’t even received your contact number as of today.” Conrad sighed while crossing his legs. He took a sip of water, masking the mischievous side of him with his dashing looks.
“Really? Roni, how come? Quick! Add your uncle’s contact number at this instant.” Elizabeth glared at Veronica as she feigned displeasure.
In the end, Veronica forced herself to nod her head. “It’s because I’ve been too busy recently.”
Next, she rose to her feet and walked toward Conrad before saving his number. Matthew witnessed the entirety of the situation, but he held his tongue until the end of the day, as though he wasn’t there with them to begin with.
As the lively atmosphere reached its height, they enjoyed dinner together.
After that, an energetic Elizabeth even blabbed on and on about everything to Veronica in the backyard. It was only until then that she was willing to let the girl leave, despite the heavy heart.
“I will swing by often to see you, Grandma. Bye bye.” Veronica waved goodbye to the old lady before getting into her own car. Matthew left on his own as well.
Standing abreast of Yura while watching the cars disappear from her sight, Elizabeth heaved a long sigh. “Roni’s so much like Lily. If Lily’s still here, she should be at Roni’s age now.”
Somewhere in Elizabeth’s heart, there was always a place for Lily, her little daughter. Akin to Lily, Veronica was always the boisterous kid, and that was why Elizabeth had taken a liking to her.
“Lily loved martial arts and was good at playing chess. She was quirky but adorable and kind. She always had that happy face like Roni. And they even have dimples whenever they smile.” The tendency to dwell on the past grew as people aged, especially on matters buried in one’s heart with loose knots.
When Elizabeth and Howard got married at the age of eighteen, she gave birth to Matthew’s father, Flavian Kings, the following year. When Flavian was bestowed with the company along with his wife, Jessica Espin, they named the company ‘Spinfluence Group’.
After having Flavian, the old couple had a few more children, and it had been a happy family until the day they welcomed Conrad because of Howard’s mistake. The incident inevitably left a scar in Elizabeth’s heart henceforth.
When she reached the age of 44, she was pregnant with a baby girl. It was a geriatric pregnancy, yet she insisted on keeping the baby.
Lily had been a cheerful girl whom everyone favored because of her quirky nature. It was a disaster when she passed away ten years ago. The terrible accident had cast a pall of regret upon Elizabeth, who took a long time to move on with her life.
That was why she liked Veronica when they first met at Twilight Condominium. Despite the ugly make-up on Veronica’s face, the girl reminded her of her daughter with that same cheerful nature. As she spent more time with Veronica, she was captivated by her kindness and optimistic side.
“Though Lily isn’t here anymore, you still have Veronica by your side. She’s a girl with a warm and tender heart,” Yura comforted Elizabeth. “Let’s head inside. Winter’s coming and it’s getting colder outside.”
…
On the other hand, Veronica, who was oblivious of the family’s past and the reason behind Elizabeth’s affections, had finally achieved her goals. She was sure that Matthew would understand her implicit rejection.
However, she noticed that the man had been following behind her car all the while. Not wanting to reveal where she was currently staying, she simply took a turn and drove to a nearby supermarket for grocery shopping.
Matthew parked his car next to hers in the underground parking lot, and they both got out of the cars. Veronica feigned indifference to hide her helplessness. “Why are you following me?”
“It’s still early and I’m bored.” He primped his coat while striding toward her.
“I need to buy something. Are you sure you wanna join me?” She pointed at his face, as if she was trying to say, Are you sure you’re going to join the crowd?
He pushed her finger lightly. “I’m not that famous. Let’s go.”
Having said that, he took out two black masks for both of them. Despite the fact that he was the sort of person who kept a low profile, everyone in high society knew him, but that wasn’t the case for the ordinary people who were busy slogging through life. Still, in light of the recent wedding incident that had transpired, he reckoned that it would be best for them to wear masks.
“Fine by me.” Veronica wore the mask, and they walked toward the entrance.
Suddenly, a question struck her. “When was the last time you went to a supermarket?”
It was a hard question for Matthew as it took him a while to give a vague answer, “A few years ago?”
“Gosh, I wonder how mundane your life has been.” She shook her head lightly and deemed that his life was devoid of color.
It was 8 p.m., which was the busiest hour in a supermarket. While he went straight into the entrance, she pushed a shopping cart for herself. “You’re not buying anything?”
The man turned around and offered, “I’ll push.”
Veronica gladly let go of the cart and let him do the work. Wandering around the place, she scanned the shelves. When she caught sight of her favorite snack, she took one packet and shook it in Matthew’s face. “Wanna try this?”
Matthew responded without a second thought, “Okay.”
Then, she grabbed a box of nuts. “What about this? Do you eat this?”
“Yeah.”
After taking another two steps, she grabbed a box of chocolate that was on sale. “What about this? We can buy two and get one free.”
“Sure.”
At first, Veronica thought he needed those as well, so she took two packets each. It wasn’t until she raised a packet of spicy chips that she realized that her presumption was wrong. “Do you like this?”
“Yeah.”
She paused momentarily before pointing at the shopping cart filled with a pile of snacks. “Are you sure that you eat these?”
