Cherry and Chesty had known each other for over half a year. They got along very well and were already good friends.
They had already planned to meet when she got back to the States, so she agreed as soon as Chester said that.
Chester asked eagerly, "Which room are you in?"
Cherry was about to tell him the room number when she suddenly thought of something. Instead, she said, "Not tonight, my mom is asleep. Let's do it tomorrow instead."
Chesty suddenly laughed. "Everyone says that you sound like a little girl only because you're using a voice changer and that you're, in fact, a dirty middle-aged man. Can you tell me whether you're male or female?"
Cherry grinned. "It's a secret."
California was in the west of the States, and the humidity in the air was just right. It was mild in winter and dry in summer. With the curtains in the room closed, the room was completely dark, which made it very suitable for sleeping.
It was already in the middle of the day when Nora finally slowly opened her eyes. She checked the time—it was already past one o'clock in the afternoon. Cherry and Mrs. Lewis had already had lunch, so she simply called for takeout.
At the same time at the hotel entrance.
With a complicated look, Angela watched Anthony hurriedly enter the lobby. She clenched her fists.
During the past few days, Anthony's attitude toward her whenever she called had been very perfunctory, and all he asked about was Idealian Pharmaceuticals each time.
A woman's sixth sense told her that something must be wrong.
Thus, she had trailed Anthony early this morning. Little did she expect that she would be here.
Hotel Finest was one of the most expensive and upscale places in California.
Angela quietly followed Anthony in and saw him turning into the bar on the first floor.
He took out a wad of cash, handed it to several waiters, and instructed softly, "…You know what you're supposed to do, right? Act according to my signals tonight!"
"Yes, sir."
After they dispersed, Anthony took a deep breath nervously. Then, he lowered his head and started to draft a text message.
'Hello, Miss Anderson. Sorry if this is a little sudden, but I got your number from the bar on the first floor. I'd like to invite you to the bar downstairs at 8 pm.'
After sending the text message, he raised his head and looked at the setup in front of him with satisfaction.
He didn't know how he had offended the pretty woman last time, but she would definitely fall for him tonight. After all, no woman would be able to resist a romantic move like this.
Seeing that she didn't respond even after a long while after he sent the message, Anthony thought for a while and sent another text message to his friends: "Eight o'clock tonight at Hotel Finest's bar in the lobby. Be there or be square."
He had reserved the whole place and was asking his friends to come over and cheer for him. However, he didn't realize that he had accidentally also selected Angela's name when he mass-sent the message.
After he left, the waiters whispered among themselves.
"What's Mr. Gray intending to do?"
"He's prepared such a huge surprise. He must be intending to propose to his fiancée, right?"
"His fiancée is so lucky…"
An excited Angela's cheeks turned a little warm as she listened to their soft speculations. A warm current also surged up from the bottom of her heart.
How could she suspect that Anthony was being unfaithful? She really shouldn't have!
Buzz…
She received a text message sound notification on her cell phone. She looked down—it was a message from Anthony: "Eight o'clock tonight at Hotel Finest's bar in the lobby. Be there or be square."
Angela couldn't help laughing.
His tone was exactly the same as whenever he asked her out for a date in the past. If she hadn't secretly seen all these, she would never have imagined that Anthony had prepared such a huge surprise for her.
Angela was in a good mood and walked out slowly.
When she looked up again, she just so happened to see Nora, who was dressed in her pajamas and slippers, coming out to pick up her takeout order.
Her eyes were downcast, and her smooth and silky hair draped behind her. She was fair-skinned, and her facial features were impeccably refined. Her sleepy appearance made her seem a little as if she was taking a leisurely stroll.
Despite being dressed like that, the air around her still attracted people's attention, nevertheless.
Angela's hands balled up slightly. She couldn't curb her jealousy.
How could that woman possibly afford to stay in Hotel Finest?
She was definitely just pretending to be rich.
She quickly took a couple of steps toward her and reprimanded her. "You don't even have any clothes anymore, yet you still insist on staying in this hotel. Are you planning to seduce some rich guy here, Nora? How about taking a good look at yourself first? Do you really think you can trick people into paying for you just by using that face of yours?"
Nora, who was carrying her takeout in one hand and reading a text message on her cell phone in the other, looked confused.
She casually tapped twice on her cell phone and deleted the spam text messages sent by Anthony. Then, she said indifferently, "Uh-huh. At least I have a face to be proud of."
Her cat-like eyes swept across Angela's face casually. Those few words of hers were very insulting.
Angela was infuriated.
Was she saying that she was shameless? Or was she implying that she was ugly? Or perhaps… She meant both?
She narrowed her eyes. Then, she suddenly smiled. "Nora, do you want to know where that abandoned child of yours is? If you do, then I'll see you at the bar at 8 pm."
So what even if she was pretty?
Didn't Anthony dump her all the same anyway?!
She wanted Nora to see with her very own eyes how Anthony was going to propose to her!
Angela turned and left after leaving these words.
A slightly chilly look entered Nora's eyes as she looked at her from the back.
8 pm at the bar again.
Hah, she would see what her precious little sister and ex-fiancé have prepared for her!
She retracted her gaze and went upstairs with the takeout.
Although the presidential suite they were staying in wasn't the best of the best, it still had a kitchen. Cherry was still growing; they mustn't eat out all the time. The meals that they ate every day were all made by Mrs. Lewis.
At dinner, Mrs. Lewis prepared a healthy meal with both meat and vegetables.
Nora had been busy all afternoon. When she sat down to eat, she noticed that Cherry had a troubled look on her face.
She propped Cherry's chin up with her chubby hands and sighed deeply. "Mommy, I'm bored."
Nora pinched her face lazily. In a slightly hoarse voice, she said, "Why aren't you playing your games, baby?"
"It's the weekend." Cherry said disdainfully, "All the school kids are on holiday."
"…"
The corners of Nora's lips spasmed a little. She felt that Cherry might possibly have forgotten that she was just a kindergartener.
She passed Cherry her food and asked, "What do you want to do? I'll spend some time with you."
"It's fine. Mommy's busy." Cherry put on a very sensible expression while her round eyes darted about here and there. "Can you get Mrs. Lewis to take a walk around the hotel with me at eight tonight?"
Nora pretended not to notice her sneaky thoughts and chuckled softly. "Sure."
Her daughter was very cheeky and always came up with all sorts of eccentric ideas. She had also always been a smart and sensible child and had never let others take advantage of her. She didn't need to worry about letting Mrs. Lewis go out with her.
After they ate, the trio split up at the door.
Nora went to the first floor for her appointment. When she saw that her mother had entered the elevator, Cherry took out her cell phone and sent a voice message: "Chesty, I'm out! Where are you?"
Chester's reply came very quickly: "Table 28 at the cafe on the first floor. I'll be waiting for you here!"
Cherry grinned. "Okie Dokie! I'll be there right away!"