Florence had been waiting for those words since they began. Now that she had heard him saying that, Florence was not happy as she imagined, and she felt inexplicably bad instead. She pursed her lips and did not utter a word.
Ernest stared at her coldly and said, “How heartless of you, Florence!” After saying those deeply subtle words, he turned around, walked out and slammed the door shut. Florence was still petrified at the spot until the surrounding had become silent and she could not react at length. She could still see his cold eyes when he left and his words still lingered on her ears.
“If this is your choice, I’ll consent.”
“I’ll cancel the marriage, as you wish.”
“How heartless of you, Florence.”
His words had conveyed his disappointment, grievance and determination. She had finally succeeded in chasing him away. She felt awful, but she thought she did not have the right to feel awful on the other hand. That was her choice and decision, wasn’t it?
Phoebe who had heard everything in the room slowly pushed the door open and walked out. Seeing Florence standing there looking lonely, she walked towards her and held her hand, asking with care, “Are you alright? Flory.” How could she be alright? But she had nothing else to say now.
Florence reacted and forced out a wry smile. “Don’t worry, I’m okay.” Although her heart ached, she believed she would be alright after a few days. It would never be possible between her and Ernest. Better a little loss than a long sorrow, that was the best solution.
Phoebe looked at her with her heart ached. She pursed her lips and apologized. “Flory, it’s Harold who saw what happened that night. I’m sorry.” Florence did not blame anybody. She looked at Phoebe and said, “Phoebe, it’s not your fault. I’m going to sleep, get some sleep yourself too.” After saying that, she turned and entered the bedroom, getting onto the bed and slept.
Phoebe still wanted to console her, but she knew nothing she said was meaningful and that would irritate Florence instead. She could only turn off the lights and entered her room quietly, trying not to disturb her. The night was dark and silent, and they were destined to have a hard time falling asleep.
The next morning, when Florence was still on the bed, she received a message saying the company was going to be in a holiday for one week. It was a good thing though, as her situation was very bad and it was difficult for her to work. She turned off her phone with relief and continued covering herself with the blanket.
She always thought what she wanted was to completely stay away from Ernest, yet she did not expect that she would feel sad and heartbroken too. Her heart ached and she found it difficult to breathe. She had not been able to fall asleep for the whole night and she did not have the mood to think of any other things…As if something was separated from her body.
Florence did not understand. She had been controlling her feelings to avoid falling for Ernest. Why did she still end up that way? She had been staying in her room and did not go out for two nights and one day.
The next morning, Phoebe got up and seeing the door of Florence’s room still closed, she inevitably felt worried. She knew she was feeling sad yesterday and she did not disturb her on purpose, but she was worried that her health would decline if she continued that any longer.
Having thought that, she went to the kitchen to cook some noodles, and she planned to enter Florence’s room and call her. Yet to her surprise, she heard Florence’s room door cracked open before she had finished cooking. She looked towards it and saw Florence walking out of her room. She was wearing simple clothes and did not wear any makeup. Except getting thinner, she looked perfectly fine.
…
Florence had been staying at Phoebe’s house during the one week holiday. Phoebe had stayed at home to keep her company and make her laugh most of the time. Florence then felt much better after a few days. Her phone suddenly rang one morning. Florence was still in a daze and she was tired. She took her phone over and without checking who was the one making the call, she picked it up. “Hello?”
“Flory, are you still sleeping?” She heard an amiable voice. Feeling startled, she instantly reacted. It was Ernest’s grandma. Her tiredness vanished and she quickly sat up, saying politely, “Yes, today’s weekend. I often wake up late.”
Georgia smiled and liked Florence even more. Other woman would even want to hide the fact that they were taking a nap and would pretend to be disciplined. To her, Florence was still a lovely girl. She spoke kindly, “Flory, you’ve not come back for a long time. Since today’s weekend, why don’t you come back?”
Florence’s smile froze when she heard that and she was slightly startled. Hadn’t Ernest told granny the fact that they had cancelled the marriage? Florence felt troubled. Georgia had been treating her nicely all these time and she liked Georgia’s kindness and amity. Since she could not be with Ernest, she could no longer go to his house and she should not let Georgia have any more hopes.
Yet, afraid that Georgia could not accept the truth at once, she still found an excuse. “I’m sorry, granny. I’ve promised my best friend to go shopping this weekend, and we need to do something else, so I can’t go there. I hope you could understand that.” She was courteous in her words.
Georgia could no longer force her and after consenting with disappointment, she hung up the call. Flory put her phone down nicely with a heavy heart and she felt that she had disappointed Georgia. After all, Georgia was a kind old woman.
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