Chapter 928 The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
“Princess, I’m sure you can empathize with the hardships a mother has to go through to transform from a spoiled little princess into a strong, independent woman. I’m glad you survived. You’re fortunate to have met me. Do you know that?
But we don’t know if mommy will be as lucky as you. So, in the future, you need to accompany her if she’s at a low point in life. Take care of her so that she won’t get sick like you, okay?” As Jamie babbled, Princess simply stuck its tongue out and panted happily. Then, it tilted its head, paying attention to anything but him.
“You little brat!” He could not help but hold its head and force it to look at him instead of its surroundings. He was still complaining even as he was gently holding its head. “How dare you ignore me, huh? The moment you’ve slightly recovered, you already act like you don’t know me! I was the one taking care of you all time too!”
Princess wagged her tail harder and even snorted as if she understood Jamie’s complaint. Jamie laughed at Princess’ reaction instead of becoming angry. He cradled her in the crook of his arms and swayed slightly. “You are just like her, always deliberately testing my patience.”
“How’s Princess today?” Narissa greeted him as she entered through the door. Jamie snapped his eyes open as he did not anticipate her to return so early. He momentarily froze mid-action before quickly releasing Princess from his arms. He rose to his feet sheepishly, moved a little to the side, and bowed. “Young Miss Narissa.”
Narissa hummed in response. Then, she squatted on the side of the bed and lightly stroked the dog’s head. “Princess, did you miss me?”
The moment Princess saw her, it acted entirely different from that when Jamie was accompanying it. It became highly attentive, rather than ignoring the person right before it. Not only was it smiling, but it also pushed its head against Narissa’s palm, demanding pats. Jamie looked at the scene with unconcealed jealousy. Then, just as he was about to comment about Princess’ double standard, he saw the fatigue flowing from Narissa’s eyes and became worried.
Hence, he asked gently, “Princess has been very obedient and cooperative with the treatment. Young Miss Narissa, you look tired. Are you alright?”
Narissa let out a deep sigh upon hearing that. “I know I should feel happy to be able to meet my old friends, but I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. Like… something is missing.”
“Is it because you weren’t able to meet that person?” As he asked the question, he was hinting at someone. He still hoped that she missed him dearly deep down in her heart.
Jamie’s face flashed across her mind that instant, and she felt as if a stone was thrown into the calm lake that was her heart. But then, she became inexplicably angry as soon as she thought of how he was still in Wegas and refused to even visit her.
“No!” she yelled in anger and left in a huff.
He felt like someone had stabbed him in the heart, and it hurt each time he breathed. He stared at her back as she left, and his nose felt stuffy as he tried to blink away his tears because a man should never shed tears easily. In the end, he hugged Princess tightly as if he could suppress the wild emotions raging in his heart by doing so.
…
At the same time, Danny was back in his hotel room. He shrugged off his coat and handed it to Ariel, who received it naturally and casually placed it over her arm. Then, she headed toward the bedroom to find a suitable hanger to hang the expensive coat.
High-end coats needed a delicate touch. If they were not handled with care and scrunched up, causing the cloth to wrinkle, it would greatly diminish their value. As a result, one would experience hundreds of thousands of losses due to mishandling the coat.
She finally found a hanger especially for hanging high-end coats, and she shook the coat a few times to remove the dust on it when a business card fell out of the pocket and landed on her feet. Ariel bent down to pick it up. It was Clara’s business card.
Coincidentally, Danny barged in with his upper body utterly naked.
“Ariel, have you seen my underpants?”
“No, but your secret will soon see the light.” Ariel held the coat in one hand and lightly waved the business card in the other. Then, she raised an eyebrow and asked teasingly, “Tell me, what’s this?”
“What’s what?” Danny approached Ariel, looking confused. He scrutinized the business card from her hand before asking, “Why do you have that crazy woman’s business card?”
“I should be asking you that. I found this little thing in your pocket, after all.” She narrowed her eyes and smirked. She looked like the cat that got the cream. But, of course, she knew he would not mess around behind her back—she was only trying to get a rise out of him for fun.
“Me?” Poor Danny looked even more bewildered. However, he thought his wife was merely playing around, so he tried to ease the atmosphere by smiling playfully. “You’re kidding, right?”
But as soon as he saw her serious expression, he began to waver and stared at the business card so hard as though he was trying to burn a hole with his stare alone. Still, he could not recall how it ended up in his pocket, and he could only hope that his memory would not fail him at such dire times.
“Well, take your time to think about it. Come to me when you have the answer. In the meantime, I’ll be bunking with Elise tonight.” She threw his coat aside and left the room without a hint of hesitance.
She believed that absence made the heart grow fonder. After all, they had been a little clingy lately, so a one-night separation should do the trick. Besides, she wanted to have a heart-to-heart with Elise anyway.
The outcome of Ariel’s decision was that Elise also kicked Alexander out of the room—just in time for Danny, who had just changed into casual wear, to witness his brother standing in front of his room looking desolated.
The brothers stared at each other, and both were speechless and equally exasperated by their wives.
Alexander immediately pounced at the chance to tease his brother, “As the general manager of SK, don’t you feel ashamed that you can’t even manage your girl?”
Danny was not the slightest bit angry at his brother’s teasing. Instead, he wore a cheeky smile while draping his arm around Alexander’s shoulder. “The pot is calling the kettle black! Why don’t we get a drink since we are both homeless tonight?” Alexander agreed to Danny’s suggestion as he was also feeling rather bored without Elise by his side.
Ariel and Elise sat facing each other, and the atmosphere was particularly tense.
“Is it realistic to fake my death and live with a new identity, just like you did?” Ariel asked with a solemn expression on her face. Everything about the Abbotts made her uneasy, and it was the best way to get rid of her connection with that family if she wanted to be left alone.
Elise gave it a serious thought for a while before answering, “Honestly, it’s too risky as it involved way too many high stakes. I don’t recommend you follow in my footsteps, regardless of the reasons behind your decision. Plus, faking my death was my last resort after everything else failed. It is not easy to live with another person’s face for the rest of your life.”
“Perhaps I was being too simple-minded.” Ariel nodded in agreement when she thought about the probable consequences. Alas, the complicated look on her face betrayed her true thoughts, and she was still trying to find a once-and-for-all solution.
“It is not for us to decide whether it is a blessing or a curse. Also, you can’t avoid a disaster that’s heading straight to you. So, running away isn’t the answer. Instead, you’ll have to face your fears sooner or later. Since Fate has decided that this is a mountain you need to climb, you’ll have to try your best to overcome the challenges it has set for you. Well, you still have time, so you can always make a decision later,” Elise sensed Ariel’s anxiety and comforted her.
Ariel’s cell phone rang the moment Elise took a sip of water. It was from an unknown number. As soon as she picked up the call, she heard a woman’s voice on the phone, which sounded inherently arrogant, “Old Mr. Abbott is sick. There is a car waiting outside of the hotel. Come home as soon as possible.”
Before Ariel could ask her about her identity, the other party had already rudely hung up the phone. Even Elise felt somewhat offended for Ariel. “Who was it?”
“It should be Old Mr. Abbott’s youngest daughter.” Ariel began tidying up her things. “Don’t wait up. I’ll be back soon.” Then, she immediately took off and left the hotel in the previously mentioned vehicle.
Just as soon as she left, someone broke into her hotel room.
