Henry quickly fell silent when he was met with yet another bone chilling stare. Luckily for him, another message popped up just before Mason could reveal his true nature.
Janet: ‘Are there antique markets in Sandfort City?’ She wanted to buy a nice gift for Sarah at the antique market. Knowing that that silly girl liked spiritual stones and after six months of not meeting up, she would be delighted to see what Janet got for her.
The chilly air around Mason seemed to dissipate as he read the message. Under Henry’s curious stare, Mason grinned as he picked up the phone. ‘Of course; let me take you there!’
Janet: ‘Thank you. I’ll come over to the Lowry’s after school at around 5pm.’
As Mason smiled, his sloe eyes seemed to glint in excitement as he replied: ‘There’s no need for that. I’ll come pick you up at Star High School.’
Janet nonchalantly replied: ‘Thank you then.’
When Henry saw Mason’s starry eyed smile, he knew that the little girl must have succeeded in cheering Mason up. “So did you manage to get a date, Young Master Mason?” Henry probed.
Mason’s smile disappeared as he turned off his phone and glared at Henry. He was feeling happy despite Janet’s reluctance on accepting him because at least she thought of him as a friend now.
…
After school, Mason was already waiting for Janet who rushed over when she recognized his car. As soon as he saw her, the blank look on his face was slowly replaced by a mischievously smile.
When she got into the car, Mason suddenly leaned toward her and seeing this, Janet tried to dodge him. “Don’t move! There’s a leaf on your head,” he said in a sultry, husky voice next to her ear. Her heartbeat raced as she lowered her gaze and let him take the leaf out.
Just then, Emily who was leaving school happened to witness the intimate scene. “She’s dating?” she mumbled to herself. Watching the fancy Rolls Royce drive away, she quickly dialed Megan’s number. “Mom, I just saw Janet.”
“What is so surprising about seeing her?” Megan felt irritable whenever she heard Janet’s name.
“There was a Rolls Royce that picked her up from school; I think that might be Janet’s boyfriend!” A feeling of uneasiness washed over Emily as she said that. If that was really her boyfriend, then would that mean that the pheasant has risen from the ashes like a phoenix?
Megan was frowning on the other end. “Boyfriend? Are you sure?”
“Not really, but it definitely looks like it. It’s no surprise that Janet would meet a rich boyfriend with her good looks inherited from you, Mom.”
“Stop bringing Janet up.” Megan felt uncomfortable when she heard that Janet resembled her. “If she really is dating someone, then I will tell your father to banish her from the Jackson family.” What a disgraceful child, bringing shame to the Jacksons!
Just to add salt to the wound, Emily continued, “Mom, Janet is already 18. She might not even listen to you.”
Hearing this, Megan remembered the times when Janet would treat her coldly and sighed deeply. “Let it be then. I can’t be bothered about so many things.” After a brief silence on the phone, Megan chimed in, “Remember to inform me if there’s any updates on your sister.”
Emily nodded. She would tell Megan every little piece of information for she had to make sure that Megan saw Janet for who she really was. Besides, the drawing competition would be in a couple more days. By then, she would be the brightest star of the day while Janet could only sit in a corner and stare at her in envy.
On the other side, it was around evening when Janet and Mason arrived at the antique markets and the stalls were just setting up for business. The market was bustling with energy as the vendors pulled their carts around carrying antiques.
Janet was almost knocked down by one of the carts when Mason quickly pulled her into his arms. Instantly, she was engulfed in his warm embrace and they were standing so close that she could smell Mason’s masculine scent; it was the kind of scent that people would get addicted to. He sure smells good.
Realizing that she was behaving weirdly, Janet tried to wiggle out of his arms.
