Chapter 51

51 51. Gloomy Pretty Woman

Monica had shared Paula’s mementos with everyone one by one. However, they could only hold onto the items with immeasurable sadness. They had also prepared mementos for Paula. However, none of them managed to give the stuff to her.

“Stay cool, everyone! We collect all the items and we’ll ship them to her,” Monica said, trying to calm the others. “Besides, she will be even happier if we worked with more enthusiasm here. Come on, let’s shoot a video and we’ll send it to her so she will do her best there, too.”

Succeed. Indeed, Paula was not wrong to entrust her bakery to Monica. The girl managed to get the others excited, soothing their sadness. One by one, they made farewell messages to encourage their boss.

“Paula, make sure you learn Japanese, okay? Not many people there can speak English.”

“Paula, don’t be surprised if you become a spot of attention on the street, okay? They don’t mean to be rude. They just think you’re beautiful.”

“Paula, quickly finish your business in Tokyo! I miss you.”

“If you still want to see me at your bakery, hurry back because I don’t like the chatty Monica.”

“Paula, you won’t find a cotton cake as delicious as mine there. So make sure you come back soon because I’ll be waiting for you here.”

There were many more farewell messages from the other staff, including the temporary janitor, Samuel. That night, Monica sent the video to Paula, hoping that Paula would watch it later when she was free in Tokyo.

.....

“Paula, why didn’t you tell me that you went earlier?” The last message came from Samuel. He was venting his anger by kicking everything around him.

Poor Samuel.

***

Friday night when the Mark Stevens family party finally came. William buttoned up his black Armani suit dispassionately. Looking neat, William then put on a pair of black gloves for both hands, covering the wound on his right hand. He had been wearing gloves for days so he wouldn’t be bothered answering when someone asked about his wound.

That night, William planned to invite Paula to come to the party. However, how was he going to invite her? She didn’t even thank him for the flowers and chocolates he sent. No response at all.

‘She’s just shy, maybe! Soon enough she will contact you. Keep sending her flowers every day so she knows you’re serious,’ was all Danica always said when William was worried. Still, he couldn’t calm down. Unfortunately, his failure to win Paula’s heart was still going on until it was time for Mark Stevens’ party.

What kept William coming to the party was that he would meet Mark Stevens who said he would sign the MOU there. In addition, Danica said that Dave would also come to the event. So, William planned to fulfill his parents’ request to bring Lea along-to meet Dave in person.

Frankly, William was worried about Lea. Dave didn’t take any action after he told him that Lea was pregnant with Dave’s child. Moreover, Vanessa said that Lea had always been gloomy since the previous incident with William. Whenever someone talked to her, she would only answer with a short answer.

By bringing Lea to meet with Dave tonight, William hoped that they would resolve the issue that befell them soon. For the sake of their innocent child.

After tidying up everything, William drove the car to go to his parents’ house. He planned to go together with them because he didn’t want to be seen attending the party with Lea only.

Vanessa, who looked very bright in a baby pink sleeveless dress, greeted William cheerfully. Instantly, the burden in William’s mind felt lessened when he saw her sister’s cheerful smile.

“William! How do I look?” said Vanessa who now looked gorgeous as a Disney princess.

“Wow, my baby sister looks so stunning in this dress!” said William graciously.

“Good! At first, I was confused about whether I should wear a long dress or a short one. In the end, I chose the short one so I could run away quickly if a bad guy wanted to do a nasty thing to me,” Vanessa explained. Her smile complemented her stunning appearance. Her shoulder-length hair was curled in a beautiful and adorable arrangement, making the girl look beautiful and cute at the same time.

“Oh! How’s your hand? Is it okay?” Vanessa asked, curious about the condition of her brother’s wounded hand.

“Of course! I was healed immediately!” William lied, jokingly.

“Liar!” Vanessa was wide-eyed in disbelief. The girl remembered that his hand-a solid proof of William’s love for Paula-was injured in the past few days. It was impossible to recover?

Seeing her sister who couldn’t believe it, William then held out his left hand. “Just see for yourself!”

The impatient Vanessa immediately pulled her brother’s black glove. How surprised she was to find his brother’s hand was not injured at all.

“How could that be?” she screamed. “Are you a vampire? A werewolf? Naruto?”

William just laughed at Vanessa’s reaction. The girl didn’t seem to remember that the wounded one was his right hand.

“Oh, it’s disappointing! I hope the wound will remain forever. So that it can be a memento of your love for Paula.”

William laughed out loud, he was about to grab Vanessa’s head. However, the girl swiftly dodged because she did not want her hairdo to be damaged.

“Keep your hands off! I spent an hour doing my hair!” Vanessa screamed as she slapped her brother’s hand.

Vanessa then pulled her brother inside to meet their parents and Lea who was also waiting in the living room, Lisa who was beautiful in a long emerald dress looked so lavish wearing luxurious jewelry which was made of solid gold and the finest quality of emeralds.

While Lea who wore a long gray sleeveless dress looked very hot with her full chest and open shoulders. Unfortunately, her gorgeous appearance was not complemented by a cheerful face. She was beautiful but gloomy and cold as ice.

William’s chest tightened at the sight of Lea’s sad face. Unfortunately, he had decided to fight for his marriage, no matter what. Even so, he was willing to help Lea face her problem.

“Mom, you’re so beautiful. Dad, you have to keep clinging to her so no one thinks that she’s single,” William said, jokingly. He was very good at praising his mother’s looks.

“Which is more beautiful, me or Lea?” Lisa asked to tease him.

Awkwardly, William turned to Lea.

“Lea, you look so pretty,” William complimented, hoping that Lea would be pleased with such praise. However, of course, she was not. For Lea, it was no use if William didn’t choose her over Paula.

“Thanks,” Lea answered shortly, causing Lisa and Alex to only look at each other because they didn’t understand what was going on.

William, who felt guilty, finally turned to his parents. “Let’s go, dad, mom!”

Then, they left the house, chatting casually, without knowing what was waiting for them in the next few hours.