She was rowdy as usual. “Why did you keep putting your phone in silent mode? I’ve been calling you the whole morning. How are you recently? Do you feel exhausted? You only woke up after ten.”
I glanced at my phone in shock. Indeed, it was already half-past ten. “Have you been here for a long time?”
She nodded. “I’ve waited for a long time. If I hadn’t called Ashton who told me you are still living here, I would’ve thought you moved away. By the way, who is this girl?”
She walked toward the villa and asked about Amy. I helped her with her stuff and answered, “She’s Amy, my adopted daughter. I haven’t given her a proper name as of now.” I asked her, “I thought you went to K City? Why are you back here?”
“It’s all Armond’s fault!” she complained. “It took me some time to find him in K City, but he told me to come to A City instead. He must be crazy! Is it fun to fool me?”
She opened a box of durians. The smell was too much for her, so she immediately complained, “I can’t believe you like durian. It’s so smelly.”
I was quite surprised. “How did you know I like durian?”
She pouted. “Armond told me you are pregnant, and I was to come to spend time with you. I didn’t know what you like, so I asked him. He said you might like durian, so I brought some along.”
“Didn’t Armond come to A City, too?” I was taken aback.
Nora’s lips thinned. “He’s here. He said so himself, but the house next to yours is empty. I don’t know where he is. Is he that busy? Did something happen to him?”
It was clear that Nora had no clue what was going on. I didn’t press on and brought Amy to the bathroom to teach her how to wash herself up. I washed up and sat down to enjoy my breakfast.
Nora must’ve been bored as she extended an invitation to me. “Are you busy later? If you have time, wanna come shopping with me?”
I shook my head. “I need to go to the hospital. My parents brought Summer here as she needed to be operated on. I’m too busy to go shopping with you.”
“Oh, I see,” came her disappointed reply. “Alright. We’ll see. By the way, have you seen Hailey recently? She won’t pick up my calls. What happened to her?”
Shaking my head, I said nothing. Nora differed from me as she was used to leading a comfortable life. She had neither faced any difficulties nor wanted something really bad in life. Perhaps it would be a good idea to be as heartless as her.
As Nora was free, she followed me to the hospital. I had decided to carry on with the surgery even though I would bear the guilt of hurting Amy for my entire life.
Cameron and Zachary were elated to find out that Amy could donate her bone marrow legally. The surgery’s date was set for a week later. Amy was too weak, so the doctor wanted her to rest for a few days in advance. Afraid I would be too exhausted, Cameron hired a caregiver to take care of Amy.
There was nothing for me to worry for they would take care of the children well.
On a Sunday midnight, I received a call from Nora.
The background music was deafening, so I guessed she was in a club or something. Her voice came over the line. “Scarlett, can you come to pick me up? I can’t drive. My whole body has gone limp.”
I hurriedly agreed. “Where are you? Send me your address. I’ll be there soon.”
She mumbled in response. I hastily got changed and drove out. It took her some time to send me the address— the famous Imperial Hotel in A City.
Nora liked to have fun, so it was normal for her to be in a nightclub. She was usually alert, so I wondered how someone managed to drug her tonight.
When I arrived at Imperial Hotel, Nora was lying in the club’s lobby. There were a few attendants by her side. It seemed that someone had ordered them to keep watch on her.
One of the attendants recognized me and hurried over. “Ms. Stovall, you’re finally here. Ms. Oberick is about to tear the place down.”
After racking my brains, I still couldn’t figure out who this woman was. I asked hesitantly, “Do you know me?”
The woman nodded with a polite smile. “Mr. Murphy showed me your photo and told me to wait for you here.”
Huh? My confusion deepened. Armond’s here? Then why didn’t he send her back himself and asked me to come instead? What is he up to?
