When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 342

Those words landed like a sledgehammer, striking Henrietta square in the heart.

Joaquin left after he’d had his say.

Henrietta sat frozen in her office chair. The heating was on full blast, keeping the room warm, but a chill crept over her.

Winona rushed in. “Henrietta, don’t listen to his nonsense. He’s probably just making things up to mess with your head.”

That was a real possibility.

“I’m fine,” Henrietta said. “You can go back to work. I just need to be alone for a bit.”

Winona could only say, “Alright. But please don’t overthink things.”

Henrietta nodded.

After Winona left, Henrietta remained in her chair, not really thinking about anything. Her mind was a complete blank.

She stayed that way for a long while, lost in a daze, before her thoughts slowly started to return.

She suddenly remembered what Yosef had said when they first met for their arranged date.

Yosef had said Britney was too loud, too dramatic, too demanding. When he couldn't satisfy her every whim, she would just cause a scene.

In that case, what Joaquin said about the two proposals was probably true.

If he proposed twice and they still weren't married, what was that if not overly dramatic?

Henrietta had never imagined that Yosef, a man so aloof and seemingly above it all, would have proposed to someone twice.

For some reason, that fact jabbed into her heart like another thorn.

She got nothing done at the office all day and had no appetite for lunch.

She just sat there in silence, thinking, until it was nearly time to go home. Only then did she jolt back to reality, wondering what on earth she was doing.

Could it be that she was actually falling for Yosef?

Was that why she was getting so hung up on these little things, twisting herself into knots?

Even starting to care about things that happened before she was in the picture.

So what if he proposed twice?

Yosef wasn't young. It was perfectly normal for him to want to get married and have a family.

So what was she doing? What was she even thinking?

She refused to fall for Yosef. Maintaining a respectful distance, where each got what they needed from the arrangement, was the best way.

Before, she had wanted to define this marriage as a relationship to be cultivated.

But now, she wanted to define it as a family to be cultivated.

It had nothing to do with feelings. She didn't like feelings; she hated them.

Emotions made people act crazy—happy one moment, miserable the next, completely out of control. It was a terrible sensation.

So if there were no emotions involved…

She wouldn't care one bit what was between Yosef and Britney.

Even if there was something, even if their old flame reignited and Yosef had regrets.

She could walk away with grace and even wish them well.

Life is full of ups and downs, like the waxing and waning of the moon. Aside from life and death, nothing is a big deal.