A Love Rekindled (Nancy and Bruce) novel Chapter 5

"D-Don't you think it's such a coincidence, Bruce?" Kate stammered. "Nancy's back in Joddesdon and Saza and even has a boyfriend now."

Elders always knew how to make strange emphasis.

However, this didn't interest Bruce in the slightest. He glanced at his watch and reminded, "The auction is about to begin."

"Oh dear, I almost lost track of the time." Kate grabbed my hand affectionately and said, "I'll treat you to dinner next time. Bring your boyfriend along so I can meet him."

I didn't take her words to heart, knowing she was just being polite. I only nodded in silence.

Kate, on the other hand, didn't seem satisfied. She shot Bruce a look and said, "Well? Say something."

Bruce sneered, "Are you two that close?"

The atmosphere immediately fell to freezing point.

Bruce had a point. Kate and I wouldn't have known one another if it weren't for him.

I took the opportunity to leave gracefully. "I still have matters to attend to, Aunt Kate and Mr. Harold, so I'll be leaving first."

I had been waiting for the right time to say just that.

After giving Bruce whatever respect was due, I calmly left the scene.

As I walked away, I heard Kate's faint question: "Why is Nancy calling you Mr. Harold?"

She was trying to glean more information from Bruce.

I massaged my temples and silently walked toward the furniture store.

Half an hour later, I'd purchased an air purifier. The seller's service was pretty good. They offered to deliver the machine to the office for free. Only after that did I go downstairs.

When the elevator reached the third floor, the food and restaurant area, a crowd entered with Douglas as their lead.

He was wearing a black jacket over a white tee and slacks. With the addition of the silver-framed glasses perched on his nose, he looked quite like a reliable husband.

Douglas hadn't gone straight to work after graduating. Instead, he stayed behind to work as a lecturer.

If I guessed right, the people flocking to him were probably his students. Douglas had always been able to easily make connections, after all.

Just as I was hesitating whether I should say hello to him, he spotted me. He walked over with a smile and said, "What a coincidence, Nancy."

The young students tagging along saw me. One of them teased, "Whoo! You're pretty lucky when it comes to meeting women, Mr. Irvin."

"Stop that," Douglas said gently. He then explained, "She and I were in the same graduating year at university. You guys should be calling her Ms. Fisher."

The students immediately composed themselves and greeted, "Hello, Ms. Fisher."

I was amused by how silly they were acting.

When the elevator reached the first floor, the students ran off together as if they'd premeditated it. Some of them even asked me to look after their lecturer.

Douglas had drunk some wine.

We went to the parking lot where I called him a cab.

When Douglas saw how I stayed outside the car, he asked, "Aren't you coming with me?"

"It'd be an inconvenient trip," I said truthfully. Worried he might feel burdened, I added, "But I've already called a cab of my own."

Douglas sighed softly and exited the car. This time, there was a beige checkered handbag in his hands.

"The website's front-end development from last time couldn't have been successful without you," he said earnestly. "This is for you, as thanks."

Coincidentally, the handbag was just big enough for my laptop. It was finely crafted with high-quality leather, though, which meant it must be expensive.

I refused the gift. "I don't think accepting this would be appropriate. I didn't help all that much."

"You don't like it?" Douglas said, disappointed. "Looks like I have bad taste when it comes to choosing presents."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Then take it," Douglas insisted, which was a rare sight. "I acted too impulsively this time, but there won't be a next time, promise."

He even looked remorseful.

I knew rejecting his show of thanks was difficult on him, so I didn't trouble him any further—nodding begrudgingly.

Douglas then got into the car. Before he left, he told me to text him once I reached home.

As the black BMW disappeared from sight, I walked toward the subway station. A couple of steps forward, and there came the click of a lighter to my left.

I glanced over curiously and saw Bruce standing not far away. His expression was unreadable behind the veil of cigarette smoke.