Chapter 34

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. The three people I liked least in the world had all managed to annoy me in one day.

“Seema, L,” Elma began, her voice trembling and teary. “I was the one who asked Julian to call you.” This number could simply be marked as spam and blocked.

“Serena, I made a mistake in a moment of confusion. I want to ask you out for a meal to apologize, and I hope you can forgive me,” she sobbed. I hated people who always seemed on the verge of tears; it felt so hollow and manipulative. She was just trying to create a weak, pitiful facade to force others to be strong for her and protect her. Wasn't this just a new form of emotional blackmail?

“There’s no need. I won’t pursue what you’ve done in the past. But please stay out of my life from now on. That includes Julian as well. At the very least, don’t go out of your way to appear in front of me.” After saying that, I hung up in anger.

“Let’s think about this. What’s their angle this time?” Lila said, sitting cross-legged on the chair opposite me.

I tossed my phone onto the bed and scoffed. “It’s just Elena’s usual scheming. She unintentionally revealed her darker side to Julian. He’s clearly rotten to the core, but he still demands protection from others. Naturally, she needs to earn my forgiveness if she wants him back.”

Lila felt that what I said made sense.

The phone rang again, and both Lila and I recoiled in horror. It rang for a long time before I finally summoned the determination to answer it.

“Hello?” I called out tentatively.

“Hello, is this Ms. Ashford?” a sweet voice inquired.

“Yes, this is,” I responded.

“The Patek Philippe watch you sent us for repair has been fixed. When would you like to pick it up?”

I checked my watch. Tomorrow was Saturday, and the coffee shop was closed for the first half of the day.

“I’ll come by tomorrow,” I said.

After hanging up, Lila looked at me seriously. “I’m coming with you.”

“There’s no need. It’s close by; I’ll be back quickly,” I said, lying on the bed.

“No, I want to go with you,” Lila said stubbornly.

I knew Lila was worried about me. She had been cooped up in the dorm studying lately. It was a good idea to get some fresh air, so I nodded. “Alright. We can go shopping afterward.”

However, when I got the watch the next day, I lost all desire to shop. Lila, incredibly excited, turned to see my glum face and immediately approached me.

“What are you doing?” she exclaimed. Her sudden sadness startled me, and I playfully smacked her on the head with a smile.

“I knew it!” she declared, pointing at me with narrowed eyes. “Let me guess what you’re worried about.”

Before I could reach out to grab her, she spun away. “You’re worried about how you’ll return that watch to Alex.”

The smile disappeared from my face. It was a pity Lila wasn’t some kind of fortune teller; she seemed able to figure out my thoughts so easily.

“Is there anything to be worried about? Just get a courier to send it to him,” I mumbled.

I stared at the watch in my hand—worth a million dollars—and my frown deepened. “I don’t even know where Alex lives.”