The silence that grew inside the carriage that was occupied by Joanna with the man, who seed not bored at enjoying her puffy eyes and felt like infinity, finally over when the carriage slowed down.
Through the window where her eyes had been directed since she had decided to clamp her lips, bearing the intensity of the gaze that ca from the man sitting before her that did not grow low with ti, she caught sight of a two-story house that was not too big in size and was painted white and black.
When the carriage got closer and took a halt to stop at the front of the white-braced wooden path gate, Joanna breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She was relieved, as she could finally breathe wholeheartedly after seeming to hold her breath during the whole trip due to nervousness crawling inside her.
As the carriage took a full stop, Joanna saw Canillas open the door of the carriage before the coachman did for them. As he stepped down the carriage, as predicted, he stretched out his hand for her to take with a smile plastered on his face. This ti, Joanna did not take ti to place her hand on his, as she knew well what was useless to do or not when dealing with him at the mont.
After conveying a thank you to Canillas, Joanna pulled her hand away from his, which, to her relief, he did not resist letting go of this ti.
Standing in front of the gate of Mr. Simone’s tailor shop, which was also his house, Joanna shook the bell that was attached on one side of the gate wall. Not long later, a petite, young woman in her late twenties, whose hair was tied up into a bun, appeared from behind the door.
A bright smile appeared across her face after she stood frozen for about five seconds, as if disbelieving in what she was seeing outside the gate. The smile was still there as the woman made her way down the porch toward the gate.
"Good morning, Lady Joanna. It is a surprise to have you here," greeted the woman with a cheerful tone after she opened the gate and offered Joanna a polite bow.
"Good morning, Gretta," Joanna replied with a kind smile. She knew why most of the people who saw her here in Barasca would be surprised, as she was supposed to be in Archess, where her husband originally ca from.
As if not affected by the surprised look that was still apparent on the friendly woman’s face, Joanna then asked, "Is Mr. Simone inside?"
"He is, my lady. Please go inside. He must be pleased to see you here," responded Gretta with the sa bright smile since she stepped down the porch.
With that, Gretta, one of Mr. Simone’s staff mbers who assisted him not only in taking care of the house but also in sewing, led Joanna and her companion inside Mr. Simone’s shop, which was located on the first floor of the house.
As they arrived in the hallway of the shop, Gretta took Joanna and her companion to have a seat in the waiting room.
"Mr. Simone will take a little bit longer than usual to et Lady Joanna because of his current condition. Please wait here, my lady. I will let him know that you are here." With that being said, Gretta bowed politely and left the two guests, proceeding to inform Mr. Simone about their presence.
Waiting for the coming of Mr. Simone, as she usually did every ti she was there to give company for her father or brother, if Mr. Simone was not able to co to the de Lara mansion for suit asurent because of certain conditions, Joanna made her way toward a bookshelf that stood on one side of the white wall in the room.
She noticed that the layout of the furniture inside the waiting room was still the sa, not even changing a bit since she first followed her father in the shop. What changed was the renewed paint on the wall, as the old one might have faded.
As she stood before the old bookshelf, another realization ca up. She noticed that there seed to be no changes to the books that were displayed as well.
There were more than thirty books neatly displayed on the bookshelf, which was ant to be placed there for entertainnt for the custors who ca to the shop. However, as she searched for a new book that she had not read before, she found none. It seed that Mr. Simone had not updated his book collection, as they were all the sa as when she visited the last ti.
Truthfully, Joanna had no desire to read a book after binge-reading with tears last night. Besides, her eyes were also still not in a good condition to read, as they were puffy and tired.
Moreover, aside from Joanna having read all the books that were displayed there, as she had been to Mr. Simone’s shop quite often for the sake of two n in her family, she had collected all of them on her own bookshelf in her room. However, she had no choice but to act busy at the mont.
anwhile, the reason that made Joanna attempt to look busy was also busy by himself. Since it was the first ti for Canillas to be in Mr. Simone’s shop, he was busy walking and looking around the waiting room at a slow pace as if observing new territory.
Having familiarized himself with the new territory, which, in his opinion, was a modest, cozy room with a warm white and black tone, the sa as he saw outside the building, Canillas stood before the window where he could see many carriages and people pass by.
If Mr. Simone’s house were built in a secluded place, not on the side of a busy and bustling road, the room would be cozier and more comfortable to dwell in.
Feeling enough watching the hustle and bustle outside the window, which took away the calmness in the room, Canillas took a seat on one of the three couches, which were positioned in front of a fireplace. Looking up at the top of the fireplace, he saw a family picture that was painted quite decently, which he believed was that of Mr. Simone, his wife, and his two children.
Smiling as he sat with one leg crossed over the other and one of his arms rested on the back of the couch, he shifted his gaze from the family picture toward his family. He saw the back of the lady who stood in front of the bookshelf, seeming to be engrossed in choosing a book to read.
About ten seconds later, the lady walked toward where he was sitting with a book in her hands. But of course she would not choose to sit next to him, as she took a seat on one couch on the right side of the couch where he sat.
Watching the lady still enjoy reading after crying over a book last night, Canillas smiled before a thought appeared in his mind.
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