Although Halma seemed to be participating in their conversation that night, her mind was actually elsewhere. She kept looking at the door and expecting Nathan to rush in and apologize for being late as he had things to attend to. However, that did not happen.
Instead, the door was left untouched for the entire night. She started the evening with high hopes but ended up feeling utterly disappointed.
She pretended to be calm, making jokes and joining in their conversations as if she did not care about Nathan’s attendance or lack thereof.
However, her constant glances toward the door and fidgeting fingers did not escape Olivia’s notice, Olivia knew all too well that Halma was anxious and eager to see him. Forget Halma, even she was starting to feel irritated from all that waiting.
Olivia raised her wristwatch and glanced at the time. It was 11.10PM! Hah! Very well. Very well, indeed! Couldn’t you inform us in advance if you couldn’t join us? Can’t you at least make a phone call if you know you can’t make it? Waiting like this with no sign of anyone showing up is just frustrating, she thought with a scowl.
Her expression turned grim as she dialed Nathan’s number again. Unfortunately, the call was answered by a mechanical female voice, who announced, “The number you have dialed is currently not available.”
Olivia’s frown deepened at that. “Where on Earth did Nathan go?”
Halma knew that the reason Olivia insisted on waiting for Nathan was to help her sort things out. Still, how could she allow Olivia to endanger her pregnancy just for her sake?
So, she spoke up, “Forget it. He probably has something urgent to deal with. Olivia, since you have just returned, let’s not wait up. It’s getting late. Why don’t you go home and rest?”
Olivia also had a gut feeling that Nathan was probably held up by something important as his phone was off. It was just a shame that she could not guess what it was.
The problem was that she could not go searching for him now. If she did, Halma would surely suspect something was wrong. If that happened, Halma would start wondering whether Nathan had actually wronged her this time and that was the exact opposite of what Olivia wanted to achieve through today’s gathering.
So, she deliberately started grumbling, “This guy is so unreliable. He made me wait for so long for nothing. He’s being so unfilial right now, don’t you think?” She looked at Eugene,
Eugene indulged her, saying, “Yes, we’ll make him apologize to you tomorrow. Let’s call it a night for today. It’s really getting rather late. You should rest and our daughter needs to sleep too.”
Olivia felt embarrassed by his comments and shot him a flustered glare.
Soon, the group left the place. Olivia was worried about Halma, so she deliberately spoke in a light and teasing tone, “I will make sure to teach Nathan a lesson when I see him tomorrow. He can go on a date with his girlfriend without any hindrance, but he stood. me up on our first meal together. Talk about priorities.”
Halma smiled and replied, “Sure. When I see him, I will make him apologize to you personally.” Olivia insisted, “No can do. I’ll definitely drag his uncle along for the ride.”
Halma laughed and hugged Olivia, assuring her, “Don’t worry, I will be fine.”
Nonetheless, Olivia’s smile vanished instantly. She could sense the change in Halma’s emotions. How could Halma not realize that she was also trying to comfort Halma?
Damn it, Nathan!
In those few seconds of hesitation, Halma had already released Olivia and said, “You have someone to accompany you, so I will be taking my leave now.” She hailed a cab on the roadside and got in.
An inexplicable bitterness welled up in Olivia as she watched Halma taking the cab alone. She was just about to say that they would be more than happy to send Halma home. A cab stopped by Halma’s side, and she had already gotten in and closed the door.
Olivia watched the departing car and since she was unable to contain her anger, she turned to glare at Eugene, yelling, “What’s wrong with your nephew?!”
Alas, Eugene seemed not to hear her words as his attention was drawn by a passing car.
