Chapter 501 Gathering Is Cancelled
The trio drove to a restaurant near the company. After they got out of the car, Shane smiled and said, “I often come to this restaurant with my wife and daughter. The dishes are not bad. The beer-braised duck is exceptionally flavorful. Do have a taste.”
“Of course, we will. Oscar likes beer-braised duck,” Amelia responded.
After entering the restaurant, they requested a private room. Just as they were settling down, Shane received a phone call.
He answered the call and said, “We’re at the restaurant we usually go, Honey. Do you want to come over?”
After receiving a response from the other end of the line, he stated, “Bring our daughter along. We haven’t ordered anything, so you can take your time to come over.”
Shane ended the call and informed with a smile, “It was my wife. She is shopping with our daughter nearby, and they haven’t eaten yet. They’ll be joining us if you don’t mind.
“Not at all. I was just saying I wanted to meet your wife, but I didn’t expect to see her so soon. You had high standards during university, so I’m quite curious to see what kind of woman she is to capture your attention,” Amelia teased.
“You’ll find out later.”
After the trio ordered some food, the atmosphere in the room fell silent, as they did not know what to talk about.
About twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Shane opened the door, revealing a woman standing behind it, holding onto a little girl dressed adorably.
Shane gave the woman a kiss on the cheek, picked his daughter up, and held the woman’s hand. Looking at that, anyone could tell they were a happy family.
Amelia stared at the woman Shane was holding hands with, and a glint of surprise flashed across her eyes. She thought Shane’s wife would be a gorgeous lady, but in fact, she was average-looking. Around 160 centimeters tall, she was slightly chubby. The woman wore a simple and casual outfit. Her skin was fair, but she had some wrinkles in the corner of her eyes. In summary, she looked like a gentle and ordinary woman.
Shane then proceeded with the introductions. “Chelsea, this is Amelia and Carter. I’ve told you about them before, and they’re my friends I met during university. Since we haven’t caught up for so long and it’s so rare for us to gather like this, we decided to have a meal together. Amelia, this is my wife, Chelsea. She’s not as pretty as you thought, right? She’s just an ordinary woman, but I can’t eat or sleep without her by my side.”
Chelsea raised her hand and smacked Shane’s chest. Next, she looked at Amelia sweetly and said, “I’ve heard of you from Shane. He previously said you were the most fascinating and attractive woman he’s ever seen. Now that I’ve met you today, I’d say that’s an understatement.”
Amelia held out her hand to shake Chelsea’s. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. Do you mind if I call you Chelsea?”
As Chelsea and Shane sat down, she responded smilingly, “I’m three years older than Shane. Naturally, I’m older than you two, so calling me by my name is fine.”
Amelia admired Chelsea’s straightforwardness, and she immediately took a liking to her. At that, Amelia could understand why Shane married her. One would not feel pressured being with a woman like her as she was easy to get along with.
The four adults sat down, and Amelia turned to face the adorable girl. “How old are you, little girl? What’s your name?”
“I’m five years old, and I will be in first grade next year, pretty lady. My name is Rebecca, and my nickname is Becca. You can call me Becca,” the little girl chirped.
Ever since she had Tony, Amelia found little girls particularly adorable. “You’re so cute, Becca. May I hug you?”
The girl then spread her arms toward her.
Amelia picked the little girl up and weighed her for a bit. Then, she smiled and remarked, “She’s quite heavy. Haha. Such a precious girl.”
A smile spread across Chelsea’s face. “She’s well-behaved because she likes you. She’s usually quite mischievous, and she jumps around at home like a monkey.”
“Don’t talk bad about me, Mommy,” Rebecca grumbled.
Chelsea glanced at her and said gently, “Stop fussing, Becca. You’ll frighten Ms. Amelia.”
The little girl hugged Amelia’s neck tightly and responded, “I won’t scare Ms. Amelia away, Mommy. I like her.”
With a child’s presence, the atmosphere in the room became livelier.
Soon, they heard knocking on the door. Shane went to open the door and realized it was Oscar with Tony in his arms.
“You’re finally here, Mr. Clinton. Come in,” Shane welcomed them warmly. “You won’t be bored anymore, Becca. Tony has arrived.”
As they entered the room, the little boy immediately noticed someone hugging his mother, and he shot the girl a glare. He struggled to get out of Oscar’s arms, trotted toward Amelia, and hugged her leg.
“Who is she, Mommy? Don’t hug her; hug me.” Tony pouted.
Amelia was amused by that. She wanted to put Rebecca down, but the latter hugged her even tighter.
“Hug me, Ms. Amelia. Don’t hug him.”
“Hug me, Mommy. Don’t hug her.”
The two children started fighting over Amelia.
Thus, Amelia put Rebecca down, and Tony instantly hurled himself at Amelia. He pushed Rebecca aside and hugged Amelia possessively. He turned his head and shouted, “Go away! Mommy is mine. Don’t even think about stealing my mommy, or I’ll fight you.”
Rebecca, who was shoved to the side, felt hurt.
She sobbed loudly, and Chelsea instantly ran to her. Rebecca hugged Chelsea tightly and complained, “Mommy, he is bullying me!”
Amelia and Chelsea exchanged looks, and they were baffled by the scene.
“What did you do, Tony? Apologize to Becca. Otherwise, I will be angry at you,” Amelia said sternly as she grabbed his shoulder.
Tony looked at Amelia with teary eyes and said sobbingly, “No. If you hug her, I’ll get jealous.”
Amelia was rendered speechless. He’s just a kid. Does he even know what’s being jealous?
With Tony in her arms, Amelia approached Chelsea and said, “Apologize to Rebecca, Tony. Good children don’t hurt others.”
Tony noticed Rebecca was bawling her eyes out. He hesitated for a moment and spoke up. “I’m sorry. If you don’t steal my mommy away, I won’t fight you.”
Rebecca stood up from Chelsea’s embrace, glanced at Tony and Amelia, and cried louder.
Chelsea hastened to comfort her.
Amelia frowned and asked, “What’s the matter with Becca, Chelsea?”
“Nothing. She’s just throwing a tantrum. She’ll be fine soon,” Chelsea explained gently.
In the end, everyone decided to part ways because the two children could not see eye-to-eye.
After they exited the restaurant, Chelsea said apologetically, “I’m really sorry, Amelia. You couldn’t have a meal because of Becca’s tantrum.”
“Don’t say that, Chelsea. Tony’s at fault too. I’ll lecture him when we get home. We can meet again in the near future,” Amelia assured.
Rebecca, who had buried her face in Chelsea’s chest while crying, raised her head and looked at Amelia with teary eyes. “I really like you, Ms. Amelia. Next time, I want to hug and play with you. I don’t want him around.”
Upon hearing that, Tony hugged Amelia tightly, like a cat throwing a hissy fit, and argued, “She’s my mommy. You can’t steal her away, or I’ll fight you.”
The adults were left with no choice. Chelsea could only take Rebecca away while Shane offered Amelia an apologetic smile as he left.
While hugging Tony, an awkward look appeared on Amelia’s face.
“Sorry you couldn’t take your meal, Carter,” Amelia said after remembering the man was there as well.
Carter looked deeply into her eyes, offering the most gentle gaze to her.
“It’s getting late, so let’s have a meal here. It’s my treat. Didn’t you say you love beer-braised duck?” Carter suggested, deliberately ignoring Oscar.
“Let’s go home, Mommy. I don’t want to eat anything,” Tony grumbled before Amelia could respond.
Amelia stared at Carter sheepishly as she uttered, “As you can see, Tony is in a terrible mood, so I’ll be taking him home now. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”
“Really? I’m worried you’ll avoid me when you see me, like today. You’re distancing yourself from me as far as possible, like a mouse that spotted a cat.” Disappointment flashed across his eyes, but he pretended to appear relaxed.
After hearing his words, Amelia felt even more awkward.
Then, Oscar put his hand around her and reminded Carter, “The kid still hasn’t eaten anything, Mr. Scott. We can’t stay for long. Let’s chat next time.”
With that, Oscar dragged Amelia and left.
Frozen on the spot, Carter stared at their retreating figures as a trace of sadness flashed across his eyes.
