lody stirred her mint cooler listlessly, her hand idly tracing the smooth surface as she tried to understand Adam’s coldness towards her. Why did he refused to engage with her beyond the bare minimum? Even now-after she had bared her soul, revealing the depth of her devastation at the shocking discovery of having a sister-Adam had offered not even a perfunctory word to acknowledge her feelings. He had simply listened, nodded occasionally, but when it ca ti to speak, his only reply was that he would see if he could arrange a conversation with lanie about the issue.
He hadn’t even mustered a reassurance that he would indeed arrange a eting, leaving lody to stew. Why did he have to be so blunt about his ’rejection’? She had been so careful to not let him be suspicious today!
Just as she was wondering this, a woman slipped into the vacant chair where Adam had just been seated. lody looked up, her face clouded with puzzlent and irritation. "Can’t you see this table is already occupied?" she remarked in no mood to haggle with the woman for the table.
The woman across from her responded with a knowing smile and said, "Well, I saw, of course. And, I must admit, I also witnessed how Adam deliberately ignored you the very mont you entered. It was a sight that was, in its own strange way, quite pleasing to behold. After all, having observed that scene so clearly, how could I possibly let such a mont pass without sharing my thoughts with you?"
lody’s brow furrowed further. Who exactly was this woman? And how did she know Adam? Moreover, what was the reason behind that smug, self-assured smile that she was sending her way? Could it be that she was, in fact, lanie’s girlfriend, sent over with the ulterior motive of keeping a close watch on Adam and later reporting every detail back to her?
As these questions swirled in her mind, lody felt her irritation surge to the surface. With a disdainful glare, she cast the mysterious girl a look of unmistakable contempt and declared, "I have no interest whatsoever in sharing even a mont with you. So please leave my table."
As these questions swirled in her mind, lody felt her irritation surge to the surface. With a sharp exhale and a steely look, she cast the mysterious woman a glare laced with unmistakable contempt. "I have no interest whatsoever in sharing even a mont with you," she said coolly, her voice clipped and cold. "So please leave my table."
The woman didn’t budge. Instead, she tilted her head, eyes gleaming with amusent, and gave a slow, pitying shake of her head. "Tsk, tsk. lanie," she said mockingly, drawing out the na like it was so kind of joke. "Did you really convince yourself that Adam had actually fallen for a hobody like you? Honestly? With your dull little sweaters and your neatly planned routines? You really thought that was enough to hold his interest? So what if you are smart in business and good at baking? That is not enough to hold a man’s interest."
"Spencer tried to warn you, didn’t he? That Adam was only chasing you because of the will. But you brushed it off, all wide-eyed and trusting. And now? Now that you’ve married him and probably signed over every docunt, every clause, every asset like the good, obedient little wife you are... tell , do you still think he’s going to give you the ti of day?"
She leaned in slightly, her smile growing wider, more poisonous. "You were useful, that’s all. A stepping stone. And now that your purpose is served, look at you—sitting here, abandoned, confused, trying to make sense of his silence. It’s almost tragic. Almost. At least if you had remained with Spencer, he would have given you sothing. He might not have loved you but he did feel guilty towards you. After all, he’d ’married’ you and abandoned you for three years. But now? Now you’ve landed yourself in a ditch..."
She let out a soft laugh, feigning sympathy. "But don’t take it too personally. You’re not the first woman Adam has manipulated, and I doubt you’ll be the last. At least you got a ring out of it. Most don’t even get that far. n like Adam? They are made for fuc*ing and not marrying."
lody tilted her head slightly, and studied the woman coolly. She didn’t fail to detect the faint note of jealous in her tone.. And then calmly, she asked, "Who are you?"
The woman blinked, montarily thrown off by her question probably. Then she let out a sharp scoff and leaned back, folding her arms in front of her. "Don’t go too far, lanie. You can drop the act." Her lips curled into a smirk. "I’m Hallie. Don’t pretend you don’t know . We’ve t-more tis than I care to count. Or would you like a reminder of how I stole Spencer from you?"
lody didn’t flinch. Instead, a faint, almost amused smile played on her lips as she shook her head and realized this woman was not lanie’s friend. How interesting. "Actually, you’re the one going too far. You see, I’m not lanie."
Hallie’s smile faltered. "Oh, co on," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "Don’t try to fool ."
lody remained composed. She reached calmly into her handbag and pulled out her wallet. A mont later, she slid her driver’s license across the table. "Then explain this. lody Thomas. That’s ."
Hallie stared at the ID in stunned silence. Her fingers hesitated before she picked it up and examined it, flipping it over, checking the photo, reading the na again as if her eyes were deceiving her. "How is that possible..." she muttered, eyes flicking between the card and lody’s face.
lody didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, she leaned back in her seat and gave Hallie a small, enigmatic smile- quietly pleased by her confusion. Then she raised her hand and gestured for the waiter. "Can we get another drink nu, please?" she said pleasantly. "My friend here will be joining ."
The waiter nodded and disappeared, and lody turned back to Hallie with a gracious smile. "Go ahead. Order sothing. My treat."
Hallie was still gripping the ID as if it might vanish, but after a mont’s hesitation, she set it down and picked up the nu.
Once their drinks were ordered and the waiter moved away, lody crossed her legs and looked at Hallie with polite interest, as if she were interviewing soone for a job.
"So," she said smoothly, "what was it you were telling about Spencer and lanie’s marriage" She tilted her head slightly. "You said he abandoned her for three years after marrying her? That’s... interesting. And you were the third party probably?"
She watched Hallie carefully now, every flicker of confusion or guarded expression seemingly interesting to her. This woman, she wanted to break apart lanie and Adam. She had sensedAdam’s attitude from far away and co to gloat. And she seed to have so sort of a connection to lanie. She could be the perfect source of information...
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