Shirley Grant sat there with an impeccable smile on her face, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
"Mrs. Peary," Shirley Grant said, her tone casual as if discussing soone else’s affairs, "I’m here to bid you farewell today. I’m preparing to leave Capital Town."
"Leave?" Nia Mitchell asked. "Isn’t your job at MC going well? Could it be because of Special Assistant Morgan?"
The smile on Shirley Grant’s face stiffened, and her hands began to tremble slightly.
"There’s no connection between him and anymore," Shirley Grant said. "It was a mistake from the start, so we shouldn’t perpetuate the error. Leaving is better for both of us."
She turned and looked at this young woman, still sowhat incredulous that she was actually Mrs. Peary.
Could such a naive person cope with what Maxwell Peary faces?
"Actually, I ca here today because there’s sothing I hope you can give him for ."
As she spoke, Shirley Grant took a wooden box from her bag.
"Why ask for my help?" Nia Mitchell inquired. "You could give it to him yourself."
Shirley Grant gave a bitter smile. Alan Morgan probably doesn’t want to see right now, she thought.
"Please keep this box for , Mrs. Peary," Shirley Grant continued. "If, starting three months from now, Alan Morgan personally says he loves , likes , and wants to find , then please give this to him."
Shirley Grant struggled to suppress her tears. She knew better than anyone that the chances were minuscule, so small as to be hopeless.
"One year. I’ll only wait one year. Mrs. Peary, if that doesn’t happen after a year, please throw this box away."
Shirley Grant set a deadline for herself. If he still hadn’t appeared in her life after one year, it would an they weren’t fated to be together.
Nia Mitchell furrowed her brows, unsure if she should agree. Seeing Shirley Grant’s distress, however, made her heart ache.
She didn’t know what had transpired between Alan Morgan and her, and she was in no position to comnt.
"Alright," Nia Mitchell said, "I promise. If, after a year, he hasn’t said those words and isn’t looking for you, I’ll throw this box away."
Shirley Grant nodded, tears trickling down her face. She gently stroked the box before her for a long ti before bidding farewell and leaving.
Shirley Grant’s visit left Nia Mitchell with a complicated feeling, tinged with sadness.
From then on, Shirley Grant completely disappeared. No one could find her. The box, much like Pandora’s Box, piqued Nia’s curiosity, but she never opened it.
As evening fell, just as Maxwell Peary was getting off work, Nia Mitchell received a long-awaited phone call.
"Hello?"
Nia Mitchell was excitedly watching the Chef make Sweet and Sour Fish through a large glass window.
Upon hearing the phone ring, she picked it up without even looking at the caller ID.
After a mont of silence from the other end, she moved the phone from her ear, puzzled, and glanced at the caller ID.
Charles Northwood!? she thought, surprised.
"Charles Northwood?" she asked aloud.
"Why didn’t you tell ?"
"What?"
Nia Mitchell was a little slow to react. What did Charles Northwood an by that abrupt remark?
"Why didn’t you tell about what happened with Hendry Hampton?"
Charles Northwood’s voice on the other end of the phone had lost its usual elegance; it was raised and filled with myriad emotions.
Nia Mitchell was stunned. It was as if she were just now snapping back to reality. She remained silent for a long ti, unsure how to answer his question.
"You’re so far away in the USA," Nia Mitchell finally said. "Even if I had told you, it wouldn’t have helped. Besides, you went to the USA for work, and I didn’t want to distract you. Plus, all of that is in the past..."
"Nia Mitchell!"
Charles Northwood’s furious roar ca through the phone, feeling like a giant net tightening around Nia Mitchell’s heart, making it constrict.
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