"Quit pretending." I outed Damon, "I’m just a bit puzzled why you’re doing this."
Damon responded calmly, "I just don’t want you to waste any more ti."
"Alright then," I didn’t press the issue.
If Damon admitted he was doing this on purpose, I wouldn’t know how to react.
On our way back, Damon’s phone rang, it was a call from Catherine.
He didn’t use a headset, he answered directly, so I could hear their conversation clearly.
"Damon, are you at Mitch’s place?" Catherine’s voice was soft.
"Uh-huh, what’s up?" There was sothing about Damon’s deanor that always seed off to .
Sotis it seed like he was really in love with Catherine, yet his tone always felt distant. Sotis I thought he was with Catherine out of a sense of duty, but then there were tis when I caught the way he looked at her, and it was unlike how he looked at other people.
It was all too confusing.
Catherine must have been in the hospital corridor, every once in a while, you could hear soone calling for a nurse and so background chatter. But her voice was still clear, "Will you be ho for dinner then? Leo has been nagging about wanting you to take him to the carnival, there’s an event going on tonight."
Just as Damon was about to reply, my phone also rang. It was a call from my mom, I chose to decline it and sent a text ssage instead.
But Catherine was no fool, after a brief pause, she asked, "Why is Ms. Brooks at your place?"
Damon and I exchanged glances, and Catherine chid in, "It’s no big deal. I won’t overthink. I just heard her ringtone and figured she was there. She and Luna are good friends, so it’s normal for you guys to have dinner together."
"Yeah, I’ll be ho for dinner," Damon didn’t keep the conversation going but answered Catherine’s earlier question.
"Alright, Leo and I will be waiting for you." With that, Catherine ended the call.
She was definitely more composed and patient than Ariel. Here I was with Damon, and she was so nonchalant about it, no accusations, no suspicions.
I couldn’t tell what she was really thinking.
When I got back to Luna’s place, I knew sothing was off.
The living room was filled with an invisible tension. Luna was sitting on the couch, legs crossed, glowering at Ariana.
Ariana, on the other hand, had red-rimd eyes and kept glancing at Mitch.
Mitch looked deeply troubled, his face a mix of emotions.
"What happened?" Damon asked as he walked in.
The man who had accompanied Ariana explained in a low voice.
Apparently, while waiting for Damon and I to co back, Luna had co out for a drink and saw Ariana using her personal mug. This set Luna off, and she smashed the mug on the floor, leading to an argunt.
My eyes imdiately darted to Mitch. I wanted to know where he stood amid all this. Was he siding with Luna or Ariana?
If he was siding with Ariana, then he could go to hell.
Mitch deliberately avoided my gaze when he felt it on him.
"Mitch, let’s get a divorce," Luna proposed this in front of Damon and I, and Ariana.
She looked incredibly upset and disappointed.
Hearing this, Mitch looked shocked and disbelieving. "Divorce? You want to divorce over this?"
"It’s not just about this, Mitch, you’ve changed," Luna was convinced that Mitch had stopped loving her.
It seed that Mitch, the scumbag, had been siding with Ariana.
A surge
of anger welled up within . I turned to Ariana and said, "Ariana, you’ve caused enough trouble for this family. Isn’t it about ti you leave?"
"But it’s not my fault," Ariana argued, "I just wanted a drink of water. I didn’t deliberately choose that mug, I just picked one up. I didn’t think Mr. Mitch’s wife would mind so much!"
I glanced at the shattered pieces of the mug on the floor. On the larger pieces, you could clearly see the pattern. On the table was another mug, with a similar pattern, clearly a couple’s set. Many of the things here were bought by Luna on a whim.
Couple stuff is important because of the aning behind them.
Any person with normal intelligence and vision could tell it.
I picked up the mug from the table and asked Mitch, "This is your mug, isn’t it?"
"Yes," Mitch’s face was now a shade of
green.
"And this one?" I picked up the largest piece from the floor. The pattern was a pink bear with a bow tie; Mitch’s mug had a blue bear.
"Ariana, you’re a divorced woman with a child, aning you’ve been in a relationship and marriage before. Can’t you tell the difference between these obviously different items? You drink from the lady of the house’s couple mug, in front of the man of the house. You’re pretty good at sending subtle ssages, aren’t you?"
As soon as I finished, Ariana turned pale.
She still wouldn’t back down, "I never buy couple stuff, so I really didn’t notice. Not everyone pays attention to these things. Gregory, Mr. Coleman, would you notice sothing like this? It’s just a drink of water!"
The man nad Gregory must be close to Ariana, so he had no choice but to side with her, and nodded, "Sotis we just don’t pay attention."
"How did you get into this project if you can’t even notice sothing so simple?" Damon’s words froze the room.
His gaze was icy as he scrutinized Ariana.
Being the imposing man that he is, when he uses his stare of authority and power, it exerts a huge psychological pressure.
Even I felt a bit uneasy. It reminded of when I used to daydream in class and got caught by the teacher. For a mont, I couldn’t et his gaze.
"I..I..." Ariana stamred, feeling cornered. Without Damon’s support, she was at a loss for words.
"Really, Ariana? Can’t even stand your ground, can you?" I chid in, riding the wave of Damon’s words.
Ariana was left speechless; her gaze fell on Mitch for support.
But Mitch was preoccupied. Luna had just dropped the divorce bomb on him.
Mitch wouldn’t give up his family that easily. Divorcing Luna for Ariana was out of the question.
Finally, Gregory showed so initiative. Hastening to Ariana’s side, he said, "Ariana, let’s get out of here."
Ariana allowed herself to be led away with a trace of defiance in her eyes.
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