Shane reached out and gently embraced her, and Audrey Sutton moved slightly away, but didn’t fully resist.
He said, "I was almost about to quit, but without you around, I couldn’t stop."
Audrey replied, "So you’re blaming , huh."
He nodded seriously, "You could interpret it that way."
Audrey rolled her eyes at him, moved his hand off her waist, and turned to walk toward a nearby pavilion, "Well, that’s your own doing."
In her heart, she recalled those days just after arriving on the island, when she had to have a little drink almost every night to fall asleep in a daze.
Now looking back, she realized that she was already carrying a child then.
She really was a very irresponsible mother...
Shane followed her, noticing her eyes were red, and in the light, his dark eyes glistened with tears. He frowned slightly and softly asked her, "What’s the matter?"
Audrey shook her head, turned away, and quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
Shane cupped her face, not understanding why she suddenly cried. He thought it might have been his words blaming her that upset her, so he hurriedly said, "I was just joking. How could I bear to bla you? I’ll do whatever you say from now on. I won’t touch tobacco or alcohol anymore."
She lowered her eyes and sniffled, suddenly throwing herself into his arms and hugging him tightly.
Shane was taken aback for a mont, his hands stiffened before he embraced her, gently stroking the back of her head, comforting her, "What’s wrong? Your mood swings are faster than the changing weather."
She rubbed her face against his shirt; the fabric wasn’t absorbent, so her tears didn’t dry. She lowered her head and wiped her face with her arm, "...I want ice cream."
The non-sequential words puzzled Shane, "Ice cream?"
She kept her head down, wiped away the tears on her face, then pointed to sowhere downstairs, "Yeah, there’s a convenience store over there. Go buy so for ."
Shane looked at her, confird that her emotions had cald down, and after glancing at the two-story height, ensured she wouldn’t do anything rash. Only then did he nod and agree, saying, "Alright, I’ll go buy it for you. No more crying."
Audrey didn’t want to lose control of her emotions in front of him, but just thinking about that child made her tears unstoppable.
After sending him away, Audrey went downstairs, washed her face, and then returned to the rooftop.
Standing by the wall, she saw him walking back with the ice cream.
Audrey took a deep breath to calm herself, and suddenly saw a tall woman with curly hair calling out to Shane from the roadside.
Watching from afar as the woman smiled shyly, Audrey frowned and turned to walk downstairs.
Shane politely declined the woman’s request for contact information, but she persisted, saying, "Hey handso, it’s fate that we t. Let’s have a drink together; my treat."
They were nearing the Suttons’ gate, and Shane, worried the woman might follow him inside, stopped near the gate. He said impatiently to the woman, "I’m married, and my wife is prettier than you. Her family owns a vineyard, so I don’t need you to buy a drink."
The woman’s smile froze, and in the next second, they heard a sweet voice calling from not far away, "Honey~"
Both turned in the direction of the voice and saw Audrey, in a short skirt, fluttering towards Shane like a little butterfly, erging from the night.
She seed to have experience in dealing with such matters.
Coming over to take Shane’s arm, she looked at the curly-haired woman across from her with a sweet smile and asked Shane in a sugary voice, "Honey, who is this sister? Soone you know?"
Shane raised his hand to draw Audrey closer, staring coldly at the woman opposite, "Don’t know her."
Audrey then smiled at the woman, "Sister, are you asking for directions?"
The woman laughed awkwardly, said nothing, turned on her high heels, and quickly walked away.
As they watched the woman walk away, Audrey imdiately let go of Shane’s arm and sardonically remarked, "Quite popular with the ladies, huh?"
Shane handed her the ice cream he bought, skillfully changing the subject, "Eat it quickly, before it lts."
...
The two sat on the rooftop stargazing until ten, and as they were about to sleep, Shane finally told her he had to leave for a business trip the next afternoon.
The plan Audrey had to go to the beach the next day was shelved.
This ti, he didn’t know how many days it would take before he’d co back, but he still ssaged her every day.
Though Audrey understood he had work to do, she still felt a sense of loss over his departure.
She flipped through the calendar, with half a month of holiday left and only eight days until Qixi Festival.
At this rate, she still didn’t know when he’d be free to co back to the island to see her. The wedding would likely have to be postponed.
Her parents had been busy with sothing outside these days, leaving early and coming back late, so she barely saw them during the day.
Her grandma went fishing at sea with her grandpa, and Norman spent his days hanging out with his friends at internet cafés.
Most days, Audrey was ho alone, feeling cold and deserted, with no one to accompany her. She spent her days shut in her room, drawing.
Countdown to Qixi Festival, four days.
She asked Shane when he’d co over, and Shane told her there were so family matters, so he might not spend Qixi with her.
Audrey felt extrely disappointed but didn’t complain, only asked what was going on, but Shane didn’t elaborate, only saying he’d resolve everything as soon as possible.
Fortunately, Flora and a few others discussed going on a short trip before school starts.
Seraphina ntioned that Audrey’s hotown was a scenic spot, right?
Then Barry Barrett said watching Audrey’s photos made the island seem beautiful, and he’d long wanted to visit.
Audrey had been pretty bored these past days, so she was delighted to hear they were coming over.
She said she’d cover the food and accommodation on the island, so Flora and her friends booked their tickets that night.
Calculating their arrival ti on the island, Audrey inford Norman earlier not to go out today, as they’d need to go to the pier to pick them up later.
Since the last incident, Norman had beco more obedient, agreeing to almost everything Audrey asked him to do, sowhat resembling an older brother.
While he did complain about her having too many troubles, he stayed ho honestly like he promised the next day.
In the afternoon, after receiving a call from Flora, Audrey and Norman headed out to the pier.
A month had passed since the sisters last t, and even though they chatted daily in the group, they had endless things to talk about upon eting.
As Norman drove with a face full of resentnt listening to the girls chatter incessantly in the car, he was too angry to speak and played the role of their little driver obediently, not daring to add a word.
Audrey also ssaged and told Shane about it, sharing her happiness.
Little did she know, Shane was right behind, trailing her vehicle at a distance of four or five car lengths.
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