Chapter 123
Smiley is a friend Robert met online, their friendship blossomed on a “photo restoration” forum.
Two years ago, Smiley was on the forum looking for someone to restore photos. By chance, Robert noticed that her profile indicated she was in Stonebridge City. He saved her contact info.
After a lot of chatter, they had become good pals who can talk about anything.
On the day Smiley was coming back, Robert wanted to surprise her at the airport. But due to family issues, he couldn’t risk giving away his whereabouts, so he stayed incognito.
But he was curious about this online friend he had never met. What did she look like?
He thought about it, worried that Smiley might get the wrong idea. He quickly explained, “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t want to see you. I’ve got some stuff going on and it’s just not a good time.”
Smiley chuckled, “You’re overthinking this. I didn’t misunderstand. I get it, you can tell me when you’re back.”
Behind her voice message, there were car horns.
Robert figured Smiley was probably driving. He wanted to warn her to be careful, but her voice message arrived first.
“Alright, I’ve arrived at my friend’s place. Let’s catch up later. Bye for now, Mr. Fitzgerald.”
She spoke quickly, as if she wanted to end the conversation.
So, Robert didn’t get to say “be careful“. Instead, he just sent a message:
[Have fun, see ya.]
After sending the message, he stared at the screen for a while, but didn’t get a reply.
He suddenly felt a sense of loneliness, shook his head in self–mockery, and left the lounge to take a break before coming back to help Smiley with the photo restoration.
As he walked out of the lounge, he noticed Marguerite’s desk was empty. He asked Frederick, “Where’s your wife?”
Without looking up, Frederick replied, “She’s on her way to meet a friend.”
Huh…
Robert cracked open a soda and took a big swig, thinking, “Do all girls these days have a BFF?”
Meanwhile, in the Winston Group’s underground parking lot.
As soon as Marguerite got into the white BMW, she noticed the smell of chicken soup.
Miley had a thermos. She blew on the soup to cool it down, then carefully handed it to Marguerite.
“I had my nanny make it especially for you. Drink up.”
As she spoke, Miley was rummaging through her bag, probably for some medicine.
Marguerite held the thermos of soup, her eyebrows furrowed in hesitation. “Do I have to drink it?”
Miley pulled out some folic acid and a few bottles of supplements, her eyes wide open.
“Absolutely! You’re pregnant now, you need the nutrition. You must drink!
Also, I’ve heard pregnant women often feel nauseous and vomit in the early stages, so I bought you some folic acid and other medicines. Take two pills each time in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Remember, the bottle labeled VC is folic acid, and the one labeled VB is for pregnant women. Don’t mix them up.”
Even though Miley usually seemed casual, giving off a laid–back vibe, she was actually quite reliable and trustworthy in her actions.
Frederick didn’t know about Marguerite’s pregnancy, so to avoid blowing her cover, Miley carefully replaced the packaging of the pregnancy supplements and folic acid with vitamin labels.
Seeing this, Marguerite was touched.
Not wanting to let her bestie down, she braced herself against the nausea, finished the soup, and took the opportunity to take the folic acid and pregnancy supplements.
Afterwards, she returned the thermos to Miley. While putting away the thermos, Miley asked,
“Aren’t you going with Frederick to his dad’s 60th birthday celebration in a few days?”
