We’ll have lunch before we shop.” “Sure.” Around eleven, the two met up at Pearl Plaza. Giving Amelia a huge hug, Tiffany chuckled, “Babe, did the little sweetheart in your tummy annoy you last night?” Amelia shook her head. After giving Amelia a once-over and realizing she seemed well and in a good mood, Tiffany teased, “Babe, be honest with me. Did something good happen to you last night? Look at how happy you look. You look as if love has entered your life.” Tapping her forehead, Amelia laughed, “You must have written too many novels for you to think that.” Tiffany laughed along with her. “Babe, what do you want to eat today?” “Let’s have stew. I’ve been craving to have it today.”
“Look at you and your meager requests. All right, since your sweetheart baby wants it too, we’ll have stew today.” Tiffany booked the reservation for them before they headed toward the restaurant. Right as the two sat down, Amelia’s phone rang. It was a call from an unfamiliar number. Noticing her hesitation, Tiffany asked, “Who is it?” Amelia shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t recognize the number.” In the end, Tiffany decided for her by taking her phone and ending the call. “Since you don’t know the number, don’t pick it up. It’ll save your time if it turns out to be a telemarketer on the other end of the line.” Amelia nodded. Amelia’s phone rang again when the two were ordering, and she reached out toward the other woman.
“Tiff, hand me my phone. I’m thinking that someone I know should be trying to call me with someone else’s phone.” Taking the phone back from Tiffany, Amelia then accepted the call. “Hello, may I know who this is?” “Amelia, right? I’m Carter’s mother. We’ve met several times a few years ago. Do you remember me?” Amelia’s face turned ashen, and her grip on her phone tightened. She never thought that she would receive a call from Faye nearly five years later. Faye’s voice was a reminder of the nightmare she once had. The wily woman, who had an elegant exterior, was the reason she became the supposed traitor of her company — they accused her of having conducted corporate espionage.
Back then, she was nearly imprisoned. All of her pain back then was due to Faye, which was why she was frightened to hear her voice again. Only after Amelia took in a deep breath, then could she tamp down the fear growing in her heart. Calmly, she uttered, “Hello, Mrs. Scott. May I know why you’re calling me?” Upon hearing that form of address, Tiffany widened her eyes as she stared at Amelia’s phone. Then, she gritted out, “Amelia, hand me the phone.” However, Amelia waved her hand and gave her a look, signaling her to stay silent. She then said, “Mrs. Scott, is there something I can help you with?” “Are you free now? I’d like to invite you to a meal; I have some things to talk to you about,” Faye replied. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Scott.
I’m eating with my friend right now. I don’t think I can accept your invitation,” Amelia rejected. Her trauma was still fresh in her mind, so she did not want to see the other woman. “It’s fine. I can eat with you and your friend. Just tell me your address, and I’ll come to you,” Faye insisted. Amelia frowned before opening her mouth, about to reject again. “Mrs. Scott, I’m afraid my friend won’t feel comfortable with you around while we eat. What about this instead? I’ll be free tomorrow at noon, and we’ll arrange to meet at another time. What do you think?”
Faye insisted, “I can eat with your friend. Although I’m much older than you, I can still chat merrily with young people.” If Amelia were to continue rejecting Faye, it would seem rude. Hence, she gave her the address before ending the call. Tiffany asked, “She’s coming here?” Amelia nodded. Promptly furious, Tiffany seethed, “Can’t she feel a little more shameful about what she’s doing? She’s the reason for your suffering, and now she’s still calling you so shamelessly.” Amelia consoled, “Tiff, don’t be angry. It’s been a long while since then. I’ll only be making life difficult for me if I were to still hold them accountable for this.” Smacking the menu onto the table, Tiffany fumed, “What’s wrong with me getting angry?
The Scotts were crossing the line back then! They nearly forced us to a dead end. If you didn’t meet Oscar and had a contractual marriage with him, you might now be in jail. I’ve never seen such a lowly, despicable person like her. I wish I could spit on each and every one of them. What kind of wealthy people are they? They’re worse than thugs. Even thugs’ misdeeds are done in broad daylight!” “Hey, don’t get mad.” Amelia patted her hand and consoled. “Since you know how terrible they are, why are you still wasting your strength getting mad at them?
It’s not worth it. We won’t come into contact with them as frequently in the future, so don’t worry. We’re just having lunch with them.” “I’ll lose my appetite just by looking at their freaking faces. I have no idea how you’ve got such great patience for them to have agreed for her to join us for the meal. What’s going on in that head of yours?” At that very moment, Tiffany wished she could pry open Amelia’s skull to examine whether her brain was shaped differently from everyone else. Why else would she be able to have lunch with the Scotts as if nothing’s wrong? “She’s irrelevant, so it’s meaningless for me to feel angry at her. Moreover, they won’t know that I’m mad at them, so why should I?”
Tiffany could only glare at her friend, who always came up with all sorts of excuses that she could not refute. “Tiff, don’t be mad anymore. It isn’t worth it to feel angry for someone unimported,” Amelia coaxed. Tiffany’s response to that was to furiously order dozens of dishes. It did not take Faye long to come. Soon, she entered with her branded bag slung on her shoulder. Striding toward Amelia and Tiffany’s table, she sat down without needing any prompting from either of them. “Why did you feel like eating stew? The smell here in this restaurant is pungent.
Even if you’re hungry, you should be going to a higher-end restaurant.” Tiffany scoffed, “We’re ordinary people, and we’re no rich lady like Mrs. Scott. If you can’t stomach this, the exit is right there.” Looking toward Tiffany, Faye hesitantly uttered, “And you are…? You look familiar, but I can’t recall where I’ve met you.” “Mrs. Scott, your memory isn’t that best, is it? My life was affected by what you’ve done back then, too,” Tiffany mocked. “But it’s fine. Mrs. Scott seems familiar with doing those unsightly things anyway.” After pretending to mull over her words, Faye voiced, “Oh, now I remember.
You’re Sienna Winters, right?” “I’m really sorry, but I’m Tiffany Winters, not Sienna Winters. I hope Mrs. Scott doesn’t have the tendency to change other people’s names.” Faye let out a fake chuckle. “Mrs. Scott, may I know why you’re looking for me?” Amelia asked, returning to the original topic. With a fake, vague smile, Faye replied, “Nothing much, really. I just heard from Carter that you’re now working in his company, so I’ve come to meet you. After all, it’s been almost five years since we last met.” At that, Amelia responded, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Scott. I’ve left Mr. Scott’s company, and we rarely contact each other. Moreover, I’m married, and I have a kid, so it’s impossible for Mr. Scott and I to still be in contact. Rest assure.”
Faye let out another feigned chuckle. “Amelia, I think you must have misunderstood me. I’m just here to have a look at you. I hope I’m not disrupting you.” Hearing those words from Faye, a disgusted look crept upon Tiffany’s face, and she suddenly lost her appetite for the stew that was just served. “Mrs. Scott, speak your mind. You look so unconvincing, and I’m losing my appetite just by hearing your voice.” Tiffany mocked. Faye’s expression darkened as she said, “I didn’t think that Ms. Winters would become snippier after not meeting for a few years.” “Thank you for the compliment, Mrs. Scott, but I’d like to let you know that I’m only snippy toward people I don’t really like.
My brain turns on that mode by itself whenever I’m looking at someone I dislike.” Faye’s expression darkened even more. Meanwhile, Amelia stayed silent and stirred the stew, she asked, “Mrs. Scott, would you like me to leave the cilantro in?” As she pulled her bowl closer to herself, Faye responded, “No thanks.” Amelia nodded and scooped a spoonful of stew for Faye, avoiding the cilantro. “Mrs. Scott, please help yourself to it. Since you still remember me, I hope you’ll have a happy lunch today.” As she stirred her bowl, Faye asked, “Amelia, your stomach still looks quite flat. How many months pregnant are you now?” “Around six to seven.” “Soon, then. Have you checked whether it’s a boy?”
Faye queried, seemingly caring. No one would have thought a woman like her had been the one to have done such terrible things to Amelia back then. “No. I’ll like my baby regardless of whether it’s a boy or a girl.” “That’s what you say, but the Clintons only have Oscar. I’m sure they hope his first child would be a son. Why don’t you have a checkup? I know some people in the hospital. Would you like me to make arrangements?” Faye offered maliciously. Before Amelia could say anything, Tiffany put down her spoon with a loud noise and glared at her. “Mrs. Scott, what do you mean by this?” Instead of turning aggressive, Faye feigned a smile. “Ms. Winters, don’t be mistaken. I’m just concerned.
After all, if Amelia gives birth to a son for her first child, it would make her status rise among the Clintons. Am I not right?” The corner of Tiffany’s lips curled as she jeered, “I’m sure that’s the Scotts’ tradition. Do you abort the baby if it’s a girl? I do not doubt that you, Mrs. Scott, are more than capable of doing a horrendous thing like this.” Faye’s facial features twisted in fury. “Is this how Ms. Winters speaks to someone senior to her?”
“Not really. It’s dependent on who I’m talking to. This is how I usually talk to the bad people,” Tiffany retorted. Taking out a clean handkerchief to wipe her mouth, Faye uttered, “Amelia, don’t you think that your friend here is a little too sharp-tongued? At the end of the day, I’m still Carter’s mother. Is this how you treat a friend’s mother?” As she continued to eat, Amelia muttered, “I’m sorry. Mrs. Scott, if you can’t take the way my friend speaks, I’ll apologize to you on her behalf.”
