Chapter 448 The Feeling Of Falling In Love
At noon, the maid from the Larsons sent some packed lunch over. Despite Laura’s stoic face, Jennifer still cheerily invited Carter to join her for lunch. He had been at the hospital accompanying her the entire morning. Nonetheless, the man shook his head and rejected her kind offer, quoting that he had urgent matters to deal with at the company.
Once Carter left, the ward was only left with Jennifer and Laura.
The smile on Jennifer’s face soon vanished as she stared blankly at the meat in her bowl.
Heartbroken, Laura stroked her silky hair gently as she said, “Let’s go overseas after your discharge. This place isn’t for you.”
Jennifer shook her head.
“Mom, I can’t get him out of my head. I’m sure I won’t be happy even if I go abroad because I’ll still think of him,” She said with a determined tone. “I don’t want to give up on my relationship that easily, Mom. I’ve spent two years on him; I refused to leave so pathetically.”
Laura’s chest rose and fell heavily in anger.
“Why are you still thinking of him when you’re in such as state? Do you want to see me worry for you even in my old age? You won’t fall short of suitors with your looks and family background. Why must you cling onto him like this?”
Jennifer looked up with her reddened eyes and yelled uncontrollably, “You’re the one who asked me to return here back then. You’re also the one who persuaded me to go for the blind date. Yet, you’re saying I’m clinging onto him after I fell in love with him. What exactly must I do to satisfy you?”
Laura’s face went pale instantly as she stared at her daughter in disbelief.
Ruffling her hair in frustration, Jennifer continued in a softer tone, “Mom, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to shout at you. I’m just feeling too stifled with all the emotions in there.”
With an increasingly darkened face, Laura uttered, “Let’s eat. Anyway, I’ve discussed things with your dad. We’ve got in touch with a university in Anglandur and found a spot for you to further your studies. We’ll go abroad right after your recovery. This way, it’ll save you from turning yourself into a lifeless zombie because of your so-called love too.”
Jennifer threw her a cold glance. “Mom, I’m not going.”
“It’s not up to you to decide. I’ve let you do whatever you want for the past two years. I used to hope that you’ll become the daughter-in-law of the Scotts one day, but that isn’t the case now. All I want now is for you to have nothing to do with Carter. He’s unworthy of you.” It was a rare moment where Laura was rather assertive. “You’ve changed because of a man. You are once an obedient girl, but nowadays, you don’t listen to me anymore. I’ve decided; you’ll leave after you recover. The Scotts are clearly out of our league.”
Sick of her mother’s tirade, Jennifer fell back on her bed and covered herself up with the blanket.
“Jennifer, I’ll make it clear to you now. You’ll go overseas once you get discharged. And that’s that. There’s no room for discussion.” Finishing her words, Laura strode out of the room.
Jennifer flung her blanket aside and sat up on her bed, staring emotionlessly at the glaring white ceiling.
Meanwhile, Carter’s phone rang as soon as he strode out of the hospital and got into his car.
Fishing out and glancing at the screen, his gaze flickered as he quickly answered the call.
“Amelia.” Carter sounded extremely gentle.
“Carter, am I disturbing you?” Amelia said from the other side of the phone.
“No. I’m not doing anything right now. I’m glad that you’re calling me.” Carter’s lips curled up instinctively. “Is there something up that you’d give me a call?”
“Not really. I only want to ask about Ms. Larson. I heard she ran into an accident yesterday. How is she doing now?” Amelia asked.
“Everything’s fine except a fractured leg. All she needs is some rest. Don’t worry too much,” Carter assured.
Amelia fell silent at his words.
The man, too, was somehow at a loss for words. A strange and awkward silence began to permeate the air.
“Carter, don’t blame me for being a busybody. Ms. Larson is a nice lady. I hope you’ll learn to cherish someone like her. I have to get back to work. Please send my well-wishes to Ms. Larson. I won’t be visiting her since I don’t think she’ll want to see me either.” Amelia concluded the call after finishing her words.
With his eyes fixated on the black screen, Carter was suddenly overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
“Amelia, I’ll try to accept her if I can forget you, but you’re always appearing in my mind. That’s why I have no other choice but to break her heart,” he mumbled to himself. “I’ve let you down seven years ago. I won’t allow myself to let go of you again now.”
Amelia, who had just made the call to Carter while in the toilet cubicle in her company, certainly did not know that the man was so conflicted. She put her phone back in her pocket and strolled out, only to run into the well-dressed Rory waiting for her outside.
“Rory, why are you standing here?” Amelia cast her gaze at the lady who seemed troubled by her thoughts.
“Amelia, I have a little problem, and it’ll be great if you can help me. Do you happen to be free now?” Rory responded after some hesitation.
“Of course. What is it about?”
“Amelia, I have a slight issue with my blueprint. It feels like it’s lacking something, but I can’t figure out what it is. I have zero inspiration right now. Can you help enlighten me and perhaps offer me some tips?”
“Email me a copy of the blueprint later. I’ll take a look for you.”
“I’ll thank you in advance then, Amelia.”
“You don’t have to be so courteous with me. Get back to work first.”
Because Rory’s blueprint was a tricky task, Amelia could not get off work at six. Eventually, she had to call Oscar and ask him to have dinner with Tony without her since she had to work overtime.
The discussion and brainstorming session for possible ways to perfect Rory’s blueprint lasted for hours. It was almost nine when Amelia finally managed to produce a rough outline and contour of the sketch. The remaining thing Rory had to do was to complete the drawing at home.
“Amelia, thank you so much. I really won’t know what to do without you.” Rory was extremely grateful.
Tidying the documents on her desk, Amelia replied, “Don’t say that. That’s what friends are for, isn’t it? It’s already nine; let’s head home now.”
Rory hurriedly packed her stuff and was about to walk over to Amelia when her high heels gave way, causing her to almost trip over. It was lucky the latter was quick to react and held onto her swiftly. “Are you okay?” she worriedly asked.
A pained expression appeared on Rory’s face. “I think I’ve sprained myself. But not to worry. The pain feels bearable. Let’s head downstairs.”
“Remove your heels. I’ll help you downstairs.”
“There’s no need, Amelia. I’ll do some stretches and walk my way down slowly. Let’s quickly head downstairs. I’m sure Oscar and Tony are missing you already.”
Just then, the phone in Amelia’s bag rang.
Rory teased, “See? I’ve told you. I’m sure it must be Oscar.”
Amelia shot her a look of exasperation but proceeded to fish out her phone from her bag. And indeed, the call was from Oscar.
She answered the call.
“Are you done with work? I’m waiting for you downstairs, in front of your company.”
“You’re here? I’ll head down right now.”
After a quick chat, Amelia hung up the call and looked at Rory. “Are you sure you can handle it by yourself, Rory? Oscar’s here; he’s waiting downstairs.”
“Let’s hurry then. Don’t keep him waiting.”
As the two reached the ground level and exited the elevator, Rory’s gaze instinctively landed on a tall and lean figure leaning against his car. At once, she became a little spellbound. It had been a long time since she last felt her heart flutter and pound like crazy. The last time she had such feelings was when she fell in love with Derrick.
Watching Oscar stand straight and walk toward them, she could clearly hear her heart thumping faster and faster.
Rory grew up in the countryside as a child. Perhaps because of her good looks and excellent scores in her studies, she became very confident and essentially a little smug too as she grew up. As a result, she had higher expectations for her other half, and gradually, she began dreaming about climbing up the social ladder. Even at this age, she still held onto her dream of meeting a prince charming. Having stepped foot into society, she had met all kinds of oddballs, yet she had barely crossed paths with a rich and handsome man. There were, of course, rich men around her, but those were ugly and even had a beer belly. As much as she wanted to marry into a wealthy family, she could not bring herself to marry someone with a lower-than-average appearance. That was why she had stayed single to date. Now that she saw someone of a high caliber like Oscar, it was no doubt she would go through the same feelings she would when falling in love for the first time. Those feelings were so much more vivid than when she met Derrick that she almost thought she had fallen in love with another man. Possibly, she had viewed Oscar as a man so much more stylish and handsome than Derrick.
Without sparing Rory a glance, Oscar went straight up to Amelia and gently said, “Done with work? Let’s go home.”
Amelia smiled. “Why are you here? Where’s Tony?”
“Tiffany is looking after him. She says she’s tired after going through a section of her script and came over to play with Tony instead.”
Rory gave Amelia a light nudge and modestly muttered, “Amelia, is this Oscar?”
Only then did Amelia remember that Rory was beside her and thus quickly introduced, “Oscar, she’s my colleague. Her name’s Rory.”
The man took a glance and greeted placidly, “Nice to meet you.”
Rory quickly tried her best to hide her lovestruck expression and reached out her hand confidently. “Nice to meet you too, Oscar. I’m Rory Sanders. You can call me Rory. I used to work as Amelia’s caregiver while she was in Beshya. If not for her, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to work at such a great company. That’s why I’m extremely grateful toward Amelia.”
Only then did Oscar spare her a few more glances and reciprocate the handshake.
All that Rory felt was her heart racing even faster, as though it was pounding out of her chest.
