In the car, Miles Sterling slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look out the window.
He rembered bringing Vanessa Sterling to that restaurant by the roadside.
Vanessa was always particularly reserved in front of him. Whenever they went out to eat, she never voluntarily said what she wanted to eat. Whatever he ordered, she would eat, so much so that he still didn’t know what dishes she liked.
"President Sterling, awake?"
Miles dismissed his thoughts and turned to look at Cynthia Ramsey beside him. She smiled and said, "We’ll be at the hotel soon."
"How old are you?" Miles’ voice was hoarse.
Cynthia replied, "Twenty-seven."
Miles fell silent, not speaking further.
The car reached the hotel, and the two entered the room one after the other.
As Miles entered, he casually picked up a bottle of high-proof liquor from the cabinet beside the door. Cynthia gently closed the door and glanced at Miles, asking in a low voice, "President Sterling, you don’t seem to be in a good mood?"
Without getting an answer from Miles, she just saw him opening the bottle with an opener and going to sit on the sofa by the window, drinking directly from the bottle.
Cynthia stepped over in her high heels, her slender fingers took the bottle from Miles’ hand. She sat beside him and asked, "President Sterling, if you drink any more, you’ll really be drunk."
Miles looked at Cynthia with a hazy gaze, staring at her quietly for a few seconds before speaking in a husky voice, "Don’t call President Sterling."
Cynthia was taken aback, and before she could speak, Miles suddenly leaned over, the fragrance of alcohol getting closer to her. His nose lightly brushed against her neck, leaving a numbing sensation.
Realizing Miles’ advance, Cynthia leaned back and lay down on the sofa, wrapping her arms around Miles’ neck as she kicked off her high heels.
Her long legs, clad in stockings, hung over the edge of the sofa, while Miles roughly grabbed her curls, planting kisses on her fragrant neck.
Vanessa never wore perfu. When close to her, all Miles could sll was the faint scent of her body wash.
So the perfu on Cynthia, although not strong, made Miles frown in displeasure.
Cynthia, unaware of Miles’ change in expression, wrapped her legs around him. She thought the previous request to not call him President Sterling suggested a dislike for such formal titles.
Thus, caught in the mont, she said in a sultry voice, "Miles..."
Those two words instantly shattered the illusion Miles had painstakingly built.
Looking at this face so much like Vanessa’s, yet showing such a lustful expression, Miles couldn’t even deceive himself anymore.
He knew very well, Vanessa would never cooperate so obediently, nor would she cater to him, and she would never call him "Miles."
Everything seed to awaken him, telling him that the person before him was not Vanessa, the real her was already dead...
Noticing Miles’ displeasure, Cynthia sat up with a concerned expression and asked, "What’s wrong, Miles?"
"Get out."
Miles shook off Cynthia’s hand from his arm, got up and walked to the window, pulling out a cigarette box and lighter from his clothes, lighting a cigarette, and taking a deep drag...
Cynthia stood confusedly behind Miles, cautiously asking him, "Did I do sothing wrong?"
Miles glanced at her, just swallowing and exhaling smoke without speaking.
Cynthia moved a half step closer, looked up at Miles, and said, "Pres... President Sterling, if there’s anything about you’re not satisfied with, tell and I can change."
Hearing this, Miles’ brow furrowed more deeply, his voice clearly unhappy as he said, "I told you to get out."
Cynthia paused, Miles’ expression beca more fierce, and he directly reached out, roughly dragging Cynthia towards the door.
Cynthia, unsteady on her feet, was dragged down to the floor, yet Miles showed no tenderness, continuing to drag her out of the room before shutting the door firmly behind her.
Alone in the dead of night, he finished the remaining half pack of cigarettes, unable to relieve the lancholy in his heart.
He had once believed he had tightly locked Vanessa by his side. Without his permission, she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere. She was his possession. No one would steal her from him. Hence, she would never escape his grasp.
But he never imagined she would leave him in a way that could never return.
To this day, he couldn’t believe she was no longer in this world.
He wished she were still alive, wished she was simply scared to return to him and hiding sowhere unknown to him, living well.
But he knew, that possibility was slim enough to be just his self-deceptive wish.
In January, Rivia was covered in white snow.
The Suttons had completely turned into a children’s playground.
Toys were everywhere, along with the babbling sounds of children.
Shane Warner was busy rushing the holiday schedule, going out early and coming back late these days.
Stephen Sutton was busy with exams, and had been out of town for these past few days.
Audrey Sutton moved back in with Phoebe King to the Suttons.
Laura Yates planned to return to work after her baby weaned after the New Year. These days, she beca a full-ti mom. Her son’s na was given by Samuel Sutton, nad Clara Sutton.
Anna and Sumr took on the roles of older siblings, but as less than one-year-old older siblings, they were crawling around, finding everything novel, while Clary went through days of just eating and sleeping.
Hazel Yates ca out of the kitchen, followed by a maid carrying a tray with several bowls of steaming chicken soup. Hazel said, "Fresh from the pot, have a taste before dinner. Audrey, you can call Shane to co back."
Audrey picked up a soup bowl, took a small taste before saying, "I just called, he said he won’t be back for lunch."
"Not coming back? I even made extra because I wanted him to co back and have more, seeing that he’s been busy and needs nourishnt."
Not wanting her mom’s effort to be wasted, Audrey smiled and said, "Then I’ll dish so out and bring it to him later, and maybe take Anna along to play."
"Okay. I’ll go to the conservatory and call your dad, Lana should be arriving soon, help with the reception later."
Audrey nodded obediently, just as Norman Sutton ca down from upstairs.
Hazel, seeing Norman, walking toward the door, instructed him, "Lana will co for dinner soon, be mindful of your words."
Norman replied unhappily, "Be mindful of what? I’ve told you not to keep inviting her over, she’s just an outsider!"
Hazel glared back at him, saying, "I think you should take your al upstairs, don’t co down later."
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