Audrey Sutton’s first reaction was to think that Shane made sense, but then she felt like he was implying she had just disrespected that girl’s work and deliberately embarrassed her.
She wasn’t really abusing her power, just reacting reasonably to soone trying to steal her thunder.
Glancing at Shane’s expression, it didn’t seem like he was blaming her; he wasn’t taking the matter to heart either.
Audrey didn’t dwell on the matter, asking repeatedly, but instead reflected on her behavior and thought she should handle similar situations more calmly in the future.
They arrived in Serephina at around 1 PM Serephina ti. It was quite cold, but the weather was sunny.
Soone was there to pick them up at the airport. Seeing Chloe Swift alone and having heard she hadn’t booked a hotel yet, Audrey spontaneously invited her to share a ride.
Chloe said she was there for sightseeing, but to Audrey, she seed burdened, like she had sothing important to do.
Since Audrey and Chloe weren’t that close, she didn’t pry into these secrets.
After checking in at the hotel, they went to their respective rooms in the elevator, and Audrey didn’t ask about Chloe’s plans.
Presumably having known in advance that Audrey was coming too, Shane had booked a suite.
Audrey wasn’t as excited about sharing a bed with him now, considering she found him to be like flammable material—easy to ignite. Once the fire started, it was uncontrollable, like a caged beast suddenly pouncing on a sparrow that flew into its trap.
Ravenous and insatiable.
The exhibit was scheduled for the next day. Having had ample rest on the plane, Audrey was feeling invigorated, and with the sun shining brightly outside, she wanted to go for a walk.
She was about to knock on Shane’s door to ask about his afternoon plans when there was a knock at her own door.
She quickly got out of bed, opened the door, and saw Shane standing there, looking down and asking, "I’m going to et a friend. Want to co along?"
Audrey looked him up and down; he had changed clothes—so ticulous...
"Is it a boyfriend or girlfriend?" she asked teasingly, her eyes playful.
"A friend from college my brother knew."
On hearing it was related to his brother, Audrey dared not joke further.
She wanted to go with him, hoping to hear him introduce her to his friends as: "This is my wife."
But not knowing if it was related to his brother, Audrey still asked him, "If it’s convenient, I’ll go. If not, I’ll... take a nap."
Hearing her say "take a nap" so softly, Shane knew she wasn’t truly sleepy, and he knew how much she had slept on the plane.
He glanced at his watch and said, "We’ll leave at 2:30."
Audrey grabbed his arm, tilted her head, and glanced at the watch on his wrist: "Twenty minutes left, I’ll put on so makeup, so wait for a bit."
Shane knew her well enough to avoid saying to leave imdiately.
Though he thought she looked great with or without makeup, it seed most girls had this mindset—feeling good when stepping out with a perfect face and walking with confidence, thinking they outshine everyone.
At an afternoon tea restaurant by the sea, tables were set up in an open-air glass room, and turning around, one could see the cobalt blue ocean.
Shane and Audrey arrived at the restaurant first, and within minutes, they saw the others arrive.
It was a family of three; when they arrived, both the man and woman greeted Shane like they were very familiar with him, so Audrey couldn’t tell which one was his brother’s friend.
The child was a little boy, appearing to be about two or three years old, shy and introverted, clinging to his dad and refusing to let go.
"Shane, is this your wife?" the boy’s father asked.
Shane nodded, smiling as he simply introduced his wife: "Audrey Sutton, just call her Audrey."
The woman opposite Audrey was a bit surprised: "Audrey? Like an illustrious figure? Could your brother be Stephen Sutton?"
Audrey was taken aback, not expecting her brother to be ntioned, puzzled yet honest, she nodded and smiled, asking, "Do you know my brother?"
The woman softly smiled, gently tucking the windblown hair behind her ear, saying, "Your brother is still teaching, right?"
Audrey dryly chuckled and nodded, still unable to piece together the relationship.
The child’s father sitting next to them intentionally rolled his eyes at the woman, clearly displeased with her ntioning Stephen Sutton.
Shane seed to be realizing the connection to Stephen Sutton, chuckling softly as he asked, "Got a story?"
The man sighed and began recounting the past: "Back then, there were Sean, Stephen, , and... Vincent."
The man seed reluctant to ntion Vincent Warner’s na in front of Shane, glancing at Shane’s expression before continuing: "We were pretty good friends; if it weren’t for Sean’s incident, I might not have married Ivy."
The woman apologetically looked at Shane: "About your brother’s matter... I’m very sorry."
Shane smiled lightly, saying, "You have nothing to apologize for; after all, my brother’s personal issues had no direct connection to his death."
"Sean t Ivy first. He was the kind who ward up slowly. Moreover, rumors were circulating in school about Ivy and Stephen, but Stephen claid he wasn’t close to Ivy and had rely encountered her a few tis during student council activities. Your brother might have been sowhat uneasy because of this, so he never dared to pursue Ivy boldly, although I knew he liked her a lot."
The woman wiped the chocolate from the child’s face with a tissue, smiling as she told Audrey, "Actually, I really liked your brother back then, but I was too timid to make a move."
The man rolled his eyes at her, yet their actions radiated happiness and sweetness. Indeed, being able to openly discuss such things after marriage ant they didn’t care about that past.
Young adulthood always carries a lot of regrets and missed opportunities; who ends up with whom is sothing you only know later.
"We and Ivy were two years apart. It was on the eve of Sean’s graduation that he confessed to Ivy. Ivy hesitated for two days. The funniest thing was that I was the middleman between them, and Ivy ca to ask what to do about Sean’s confession. Damn, my heart broke hearing that, but Sean was my long-ti buddy. I even advised Ivy that Sean was a nice guy, and she could accept him. Damn, that was the first ti I drank all night at a bar."
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