She licked her parched lips and said with her head bowed, “Mr. Clinton, I don’t wish to create a scene with you here either, but can you at least give me a sign when you’re going to divorce me?” Oscar’s eyes swirled with mixed emotions. After a long moment of silence, he voiced, “Have you fallen in love with me?” Amelia’s heart squeezed in her chest, and she looked up at him. “If I say yes, you’d directly shut down this train of thought, wouldn’t you?” Oscar’s response was to lift his hand and caress her cheek. “Don’t overthink things. Since we’re both here, let’s have lunch together later. We haven’t eaten together for two to three days now. How’s our baby doing? Giving you any trouble?”
Amelia’s eyes reddened, and her voice carried a hint of grievance when she spoke. “So you still remember that I’m carrying your child.” Oscar was slightly at a loss. His eyes filled with tender affection when he gazed at her. “You and your wild imagination.” He was about to say something else when his phone rang. Both he and Amelia stiffened at the same time. The latter quickly reined back her emotions and remarked, “That must be Ms. Yard. She really does care about you. You’ve only been away for a while, but she’s already calling you. Ms. Yard doesn’t look like she’s fooling around. On the contrary, she seems to love you to the moon and back. She puts even me, your legal wife, to shame.”
Oscar’s face visibly darkened, but he still answered the call. “Hello.” Cassie’s voice drifted over the phone. “Oz, where are you? Aren’t you only collecting the medicine? What’s taking you so long?” Impatience flashed across the man’s features. “I’ll be back in a short while, Cassie. Don’t worry.” “Have you gone back, Oz?” Oscar toned down his temper and reassured, “No. I just ran into an acquaintance at the hospital, and we talked for a while. Stop overthinking things.” Upon hearing his explanation, alarm bells started ringing in Cassie’s head. “Is your friend a male or a female?
Which floor are you on? I’ll go look for you. I want to get to know your friend too.” Irritation swelled in Oscar’s heart. If it were a few years back, he might have found Cassie’s temperamental ways adorable and would still accommodate her. But at present, her possessive streak was bordering on crazy that even he, as a man, found it unbearable. He felt as though he was floating in the middle of the sea. Cassie’s possessiveness resembled the surging waves bashing against him, threatening to pull him under. “That’s enough, Cassie. I’ll go back after half an hour,” Oscar told her in a stern tone.
“Do you find me annoying, Oz?” Oscar raised his hand to massage his temples and lowered his voice, “Cassie, stop it, okay? Apart from taking care of you, I still have a company to manage. I’m exhausted too, you know? Can you give me some degree of personal space? I don’t like the way you watch my every single step. You know I’ve always hated being controlled by others.” Panic rose in Cassie’s heart, and she immediately softened her tone. “Oz, I’m not trying to control you. I was just worried because you didn’t come back for such a long time. I thought something happened to you.” A trace of weariness entered Oscar’s eyes, but he matched her tone. “I just met a friend. That’s it.”
After offering her a few more words of comfort, he finally hung up the call. Oscar kept his phone in his trouser pocket and glanced at Amelia, colliding gazes with her. The first thing she said was, “Are you having a hard time taking care of Ms. Yard?” Oscar rubbed his temples again as he replied, “Women are complicated creatures. Cassie used to be very innocent. Although she can get stubborn at times, deep down, she’s still a kind person.” In other words, she had become too defiant for her own good, and he was almost at his wits’ end. Amelia suggested, “Mr. Clinton, have you ever considered the fact that five years can change a person entirely?”
Oscar pressed his lips together in contemplation. Faced with his silence, Amelia added, “I’m not trying to sow discord between you and Ms. Yard. It’s just that you both were separated for five years and only recently reconciled. Are you so certain that she’s still the person you once thought she was?” Oscar shot her a fleeting glance, then caressed her cheek and mused, “Worrying about your husband already?” Disappointment flashed in Amelia’s eyes. “You should go now, Mr. Clinton, before Ms. Yard comes looking for you. Besides, it’s inappropriate of us to talk here while the Scotts are still waiting outside the operating room.” Oscar’s eyes darted to the operating room before he reminded, “Let’s have lunch together in a bit.”
Amelia didn’t give him a straight answer, saying instead, “We can talk about it when you really have the time.” Oscar cupped her face and used his thumb to gently stroke her cheek before whispering, “Don’t think too much about it.” Having said that, he turned to leave. Amelia was left rooted to the spot, but she was thrown by the glint in his eyes earlier. She was an emotional wreck because of him. He was distant and aloof one second, then warm and passionate another.
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