Audrey Sutton pricked up her ears and listened. She dialed several tis, but no one answered. However, when her mom dialed, it connected instantly.
"Shane? What ti are you coming ho today? We’re waiting to eat dinner with you."
She couldn’t hear what Shane Warner said on the other end of the line, but then heard Hazel Yates say, "Not coming ho today? Oh... okay, take care of your work."
Seeing Hazel hang up the phone, Audrey imdiately asked, "Is he not coming back today?"
Putting away her phone and walking toward the kitchen, Hazel replied, "Yes, he said he has a dinner eting tonight and won’t be coming ho for dinner."
Audrey’s eyes dimd with disappointnt, wondering if he really couldn’t make it back or if he was avoiding her on purpose.
"I tell you, don’t just play around all day, pay more attention to him."
Audrey mumbled an "oh" gloomily, drooping as she walked to the living room, sat on the sofa, picked up a piece of candy from the plate on the table, and thoughtfully unwrapped it before popping it into her mouth. Then, she got up and went to the kitchen.
She pretended to help Hazel serve the dishes and then said, "Mom, can I borrow your phone for a bit?"
"You ran out of battery on your phone, so you want to use mine?" Hazel said irritably, slightly turning her body to reveal the pocket of her apron to Audrey, saying, "Go ahead, take it yourself."
Audrey smiled, reached over to pick out the phone, unlocked it using her parents’ wedding anniversary, and took it with her to her room.
Shutting the door behind her, she pulled up Shane Warner’s number and dialed.
Just like before, he picked up the call quickly, speaking politely, "Mom, what’s up?"
Audrey swallowed, paused for a mont before speaking, "...It’s . Why didn’t you answer my..."
"Beep——"
Audrey: "..."
Before she could finish speaking, he hung up the phone.
This damn man!
She could understand why he was angry, but what did it an to not give her a chance to explain? Judging her without a trial?
How could such a grown man have the temper of a little girl?
Audrey looked at the disconnected phone in defeat, clueless about what to do.
Not resolving things with Shane left her feeling like the feast on the table tasted like wax.
Afterward, she sat absentmindedly in the living room for a while after eating, then had the driver take her ho.
Standing outside her house, she glanced through the window to find the room dark, confirming he wasn’t ho.
When Audrey changed shoes at the entrance, she suddenly noticed the slippers by the door had changed positions.
Which ant he should have co back at so point.
Audrey turned on the living room light, curled up on the sofa, and turned on the TV with the remote, waiting for Shane Warner to return.
She didn’t want another cold war like last ti, it was too painful to endure.
Right now, she just wanted to explain the misunderstanding to Shane Warner in person, but he seed to not give her such a chance at all.
Perhaps he was still angry, but perhaps by the ti he returned tonight, he would have cooled off a little.
At the airport, near the baggage check.
Lucian Quinn completed the check-in procedures, walked up to Shane Warner, and asked with a bit of confusion, "Weren’t you planning to stay ho with your wife? Why the sudden change of mind?"
Shane Warner let out an almost inaudible snort, turned around and walked toward the security check, saying, "Feel like going abroad for a while."
Lucian, who lacked sensitivity in emotional matters, didn’t connect Shane’s unusual behavior to what he saw today at the restaurant.
He simply assud Shane really wanted to get out or maybe wasn’t feeling secure letting him negotiate the contract alone.
Just before the plane took off, Shane was looking at their WhatsApp chat page, where she had sent him dozens of ssages from afternoon till night, probably piling up to fifty or sixty.
He hadn’t responded because he was intent on teaching her a lesson, to prevent her from neglecting his words or constantly making up stories.
But when the plane took off, Shane’s heart was still tied with worries and reluctance.
Ultimately, he didn’t send her any ssages, switching his phone to flight mode.
Audrey fell asleep on the sofa and woke up at nearly one o’clock in the morning, even missing out on the limited edition figurine she had been waiting forever to purchase.
It was like misfortune never cos alone, adding more frustration when everything seed to be plotting against her.
The TV was still on, General snuggled in its spot, while Pea slept on the sofa by her feet.
And him, he still hadn’t returned.
Was it going to be like last ti?
Audrey sat up on the sofa in disappointnt, picked up her phone from the coffee table, and glanced at it. There were a few unread ssages, but none were from him.
After staring at the screen in hesitation for several minutes, she still turned up Shane Warner’s number and dialed. Instead of his voice, a cold, chanical female voice inford her that the phone had been turned off.
Audrey was completely deflated, getting up and standing on the balcony for a while.
The ice in the creek lted, and the sound of flowing water was constant.
The windless, snowless night remained cold as ever.
This night was destined to be sleepless.
She didn’t wake up until after nine the next morning, feeling the cold emptiness both inside and outside, lacking the motivation to get out of bed.
She got up after ten, drank a glass of milk, changed clothes, and headed straight to his office.
Both sides were already on holiday, the office doors locked.
Not at the office and not at ho, where could he be?
Standing by the roadside with her head down, Audrey felt dejected and bothered.
At eleven, she received a call from her mom, which made her adjust her mood before heading back ho.
Shane Warner usually didn’t co ho for lunch, so her parents hadn’t noticed anything unusual yet, but while eating, Hazel said, "Shane really is working hard, even with the New Year coming up he remains occupied. Little Audrey, rember to take care of him; we don’t want him collapsing from overwork while still so young."
Before Audrey could speak, Norman Sutton chid in, "Mom, aren’t we your actual sons? Even our second brother remains busy year-round, yet no one hears you expressing concern for him."
Samuel Sutton, protective of his wife, glared at Norman, "When does your mom talking give you the right to interrupt?"
Norman pressed his lips together and quietly continued eating.
"Hey sis, if you’re free this afternoon, co with your brother to get a haircut? It’s on ."
Audrey glanced at Scott Sutton but hadn’t responded before her dad scolded Scott, "No haircut, go to the barbershop and get your hair cut! I’ve had enough of you!"
Hazel chipped in, "If the child likes it, let him keep it, what harm does it do to you? I’ll go with you guys this afternoon too, I want to change my hairstyle."
Samuel secretly glared at Hazel but didn’t say anything.
After all, what could he do but spoil his wife?
Even with his long hair, Scott exuded a gentlemanly aura, just like a noble young man from an ancient neighborhood.
He generally liked wearing suits and Audrey was quite fond of this type of brother. She had even designed a character based on her fourth brother and shared it on X, receiving positive feedback suggesting she try a modern style comic next.
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