Lachlan clearly didn’t believe her explanation. Two years had passed, and he had come to understand her to some extent.
“Have a piece of candy. Maybe the sweetness will momentarily help you forget your troubles,” Lachlan suggested, as if coaxing a child. Josie couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not a child…”
Lachlan was intensely watching Josie on the screen. Every frown and smile of hers was so captivating in his eyes that he momentarily lost himself in a trance.
Josie noticed his unusual behavior and quickly found an excuse. “You must have work to attend to. Let’s not chat now.”
She couldn’t reciprocate even the slightest bit of Lachlan’s enthusiasm. All she could do was assert her stance with a firm attitude.
Lachlan was always aware of that.
The two exchanged a few pleasantries before hanging up. Josie tightly clutched her phone, peering out the window. It seemed as if the car outside had a grudge against her, never once leaving. Josie drew the curtains, blocking out all lines of sight.
Lying in bed, Josie tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of Dexter…
Ah!
Josie, you’re truly beyond help.
That night, Josie stayed awake the entire time.
The following day.
Josie rose early from bed, drawing back the curtains. In her sight was the familiar car. Dexter, who was in the car, had kept vigil here all night without sleep. Josie didn’t want to face him.
She had no choice but to pretend she hadn’t seen him.
Inside the room.
Grape turned over and couldn’t find her mother, growing somewhat anxious. With a sudden wail, she burst into tears. “Mommy!”
Upon hearing the sound of crying, Josie pushed open the door in a hurry.
“Grape!”
The moment she saw Josie, Grape’s crying abruptly ceased. Through her tear-filled eyes, she looked at her, then reached out her hand.
“Hug.”
“Good morning, baby.”
Josie held Grape and planted a kiss on the little girl’s cheek.
Today was the second day of the Golden Key Awards, and Josie was still busy with work. Consequently, she had no choice but to take Grape to daycare.
“Grape, you must listen to your teacher at kindergarten… You can’t behave like yesterday, leaving without my permission… It worries me…”
Grape nodded understandingly. “I understand, Mommy.”
Josie was greatly comforted. As she carried Grape and left, Dexter saw them both. He struggled to restrain the impulse to approach them, his gaze firmly fixed on her, fearing she might disappear from his sight again.
He watched as Josie placed Grape in the child’s seat, then promptly drove off.
Dexter hurriedly followed.
He consistently maintained a certain distance from Josie’s car. Josie wasn’t oblivious to his presence. She simply chose to ignore him…
Quickly, Josie drove the car to the front of the daycare center.
Before long, a teacher came out to greet them. Due to the unexpected circumstances yesterday, Josie made a point to greet the teacher and exchange a few pleasantries. Soon, Josie had to leave.
However, she had only taken two steps when she stopped. Turning around, she looked in Dexter’s direction. Their eyes met, and even through the car window, Dexter could still feel the distance in her gaze.
Without any hesitation, Josie turned around, not sparing a glance at Dexter, and left on her own accord. Early in the morning, Larry received a very important phone call from back home.
After hearing the content, Larry’s face turned completely pale. “Are you telling the truth?”
It wasn’t clear what the other party had said.
The usually composed Larry had clearly lost his composure. He quickly added, “No matter what, keep things steady until I return to handle it.”
Then, he ended the call.
Larry assigned some tasks to his assistant and reserved a ticket for the earliest available flight to his home country.
