Chapter 378
Pearl rapped her head. “That’s not a classy thing to say.”
“I’m just trying to cheer you up. Wasn’t thinking about it.” Esther rubbed her head and pouted.
Pearl suddenly realized something, “Did you tell Mobius that you’re coming here?”
Esther bit her fork. “Yes, he said he wanted to come along because school is out, but I don’t want that, so I just came over without telling him the exact dates.”
“Why? Don’t you want to spend time with him every day?” Pearl teased.
Esther frowned and sniffled. “I thought so too, but he feels like my dad. He even cares if I applied hand lotion before leaving home. I can’t stand that!”
While Esther expressed her frustration, Pearl understood that Esther still loved Mobius, but her love was no longer passive; it was starting to become more equal.
“I’m going to tell Mobius to stop caring so much,” Pearl teased once more.
Esther’s expression changed. “Don’t, Pearl!” Then she realized Pearl was just teasing her, and she blushed before rushing back to their room.
Pearl didn’t want to return to the room yet, so she decided to take a walk in the garden. Suddenly, she received a text message from Raymond.
[Where are you? Can we meet?]
Pearl turned off her phone and pretended not to have received the message.
Just a moment later, Raymond appeared out of nowhere in front of her. “Hello, nice to see you again.”
Pearl replied with a dry chuckle, “It’s not nice for me,” and attempted to leave.
Raymond, however, grabbed her wrist and noticed how slim it felt. Concerned, he asked, “What’s going on? Why did you lose so much weight? Is Richard starving you?”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “I don’t need him to feed me.”
Raymond touched his nose in understanding. Then, he looked at Pearl and grinned playfully. “I heard some big news when I got to Hazelton.”
Pearl shook his hand off. “What?”
“I heard Richard is here too,” Raymond said as he stood by the lake, watching the fish. His smile shifted from warm to cold.” And he came all because of Jenny.”
Pearl didn’t say anything. Even though she had expected this, hearing it again made her heart ache.
“Whatever he does or how he does it has nothing to do with me.”
Raymond raised an eyebrow and looked at Pearl. “You’re not angry about it? Your fiance is going to be with a different woman. How can you be so calm? I’m impressed, Pearl.”
But it made sense. Pearl wasn’t like other women. That was why she was… mesmerizing.
Pearl forced a smile. “It’s impossible that I don’t mind at all, but if you keep talking about it, I’m going to push you into the lake.”
Considering the chilly December weather, being pushed into the lake would be quite uncomfortable.
Raymond responded with an “Oh.” Then he continued, “Well, how have you been lately?”
Pearl chuckled. “Don’t you guys have your eyes on me? I’m sure you know my whereabouts the first day I came back.”
