That question had been bothering Essie for a long time, making her too nervous to even sleep or eat.
That man was perfect in every way, and she was afraid that she would fall in love with him.
'It has nothing to do with love. He doesn't love me and I don't love him either, but...' She lowered her eyes and her long lashes cast a sad shadow on her cheeks. Some marriages weren't borne out of love but out of benefits and use. Their marriage was exactly like that. He needed a wife and an heir, but he couldn't have the person he loved, so he had to find someone to replace his lover, and Essie was the best substitute in his eyes.
"Forget it, Hanson. Let's just talk about our class reunion." This topic was too heavy and complicated, so she couldn't tell him the truth. It was better to change the subject as soon as possible. She tried to smile at him, but before she could do so, her smile was blown away by a gust of cold wind. She withdrew her hand from his palm and took a sip of the coffee to calm herself down.
Hanson scratched his head, his eyes full of melancholy. After a long period of silence, he opened his mouth slowly. "Are you going to attend the class reunion?"
"Of course, I haven't seen my old roommates for a long time." Essie finally managed to squeeze out a smile. "All three of them stayed in K City to develop their businesses, while I went to Yang City. I heard that they have a get together almost every week. I'm so envious."
"You must be regretful now, right?" He sounded bitter and sad. The only reason she even came to Yang City was him, but he was unable to keep her.
She raised her head to glance at him and said, "I've never regretted it." She said it firmly, as if she was trying to comfort him. But no matter how prosperous and beautiful the city was back then, she still felt lonely without him by her side.
There was a spark of hope in his dark eyes.
She still cared about him. He was still important to her.
That was enough.
When Essie came back to the mansion, the hall was still full of people.
As soon as Daisy saw her, she ran over and pulled her towards Ivy. "Sister-in-law, I hope that she has been a warmhearted spectator today. Did anything happen to her?"
"What's wrong?" Hearing that, Essie was dazed for a second. Then, she turned to look at Ivy. She was holding the business card that Hanson had given her and giggling to herself.
"She has been acting like this since she came back. She's been staring at the business card and T-shirt while smirking all this time. I want to know whose business card it is. But she does not want me to look at it. Is she suffering from temporary insanity?" Daisy was worried.
Essie took a deep breath, thinking, 'People who have a habit of pursuing stars really are crazy. It's like they can't stop getting their fix!'
She half covered her mouth and whispered in Daisy's ear, "She saw Hanson today and got his signature and business card.
That's why she's acting like that." "I heard that Jim has a fan who got the chance to shake his hands, and she hasn't washed her hands for three months. I still can't believe it. I didn't expect Ivy to be such a fan of celebrities," commented Daisy in disbelief.
"Cherish your life and stay away from die-hard fans," Essie said before patting Daisy on the shoulder.
Daisy gave her a thumbs-up in agreement.
When Essie went back to the room after taking a shower, she saw Zac lying on the bed while reading a foreign language business weekly. Essie heard from Daisy that he was proficient in eight languages. If she traveled around the world with him, she wouldn't even need a translating device.
Zac saw her take a seat next to him and he glanced at her with his deep set eyes. "Where did you go?" he asked. His tone was casual, as if he had no particular reason for asking.
Hearing that, a faint smile played on Essie's face again. She had a feeling that he was asking the question on purpose. Ivy must have told him that she went out with Hanson.
"We have a classmate reunion in the end of this month. I had a talk with Hanson about it," she said lightly with a calm expression on her face.
A complicated look flashed across his black eyes. "Can you take your husband with you?"
"So are you saying you want to go there?" she asked.
"Would that be okay?"
With an unfathomable smile at the corners of his mouth, Essie couldn't tell if he was joking or being serious. She held his handsome face in her hands and said, "No, you can't go with me! You're just too handsome. People will think that I'm only there to show you off. My old roommates are all single, and I'm afraid that they will get jealous of me. I don't want to be singled out from the crowd."
"It doesn't matter. I can disguise myself." He shrugged.
"That's even worse." Shaking her head vigorously, she continued, "I was well-known to like handsome men, and my husband is ugly. Do you want me to be the laughingstock?"
A hint of sadness appeared on his face as he lowered the corners of his mouth and shifted his gaze to the magazine in his hand without saying a word.
Noticing his displeasure, Essie put her arm on his shoulder and smiled playfully. Trying to ease the atmosphere, she said, "If you have time, you can go to K City with me. When I come back from the classmate meeting, we can walk around and have a look at the city. It would be very fun."
A smile appeared at the corners of Zac's mouth. He was happy with that proposal. As for who she was with and what they had done today, he didn't want to question her about it. After all, he had an entire lifetime to win her heart sooner or later.
Noticing the subtle change in his facial expression, Essie felt relieved. She didn't want to displease him, or else she would be "punished" again.
Leaning against the head of the bed in a comfortable manner, she took the iPad and pen and started drawing a new series of design sketches. Then, she said, "Ice guy, I heard that you graduated from Harvard University and that you majored in architecture and business. You are so smart!"
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