Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love novel Chapter 186

The next day at noon, after Rosemary had finished her lunch and returned to Heritage Revive Studio, Oswald flagged her down: "Rose, let's grab a cuppa; someone's keen to meet you."

Oswald didn't spill who wanted to meet her, but as the car entered the second ring road, she had a hunch.

Sure enough, in the private room, she came face to face with a man she normally only saw on TV or in various industry interviews, "Adonis."

The head honcho of the top museum in the country.

Adonis looked at her with a kindly expression, "You look even younger and more stunning in person than on TV. Seeing talented youngsters like you in this field, I could die happy."

Rosemary replied, "You're too kind, Adonis. I still have so much to learn from you. My granddad always said I should meet you if I got the chance, to see the relics you've restored and to know where the ceiling is in this field."

Adonis chuckled heartily and humbly deflected the praise: "Well, speak of the devil, there's an opportunity right now."

Half an hour later, their chat wrapped up.

Rosemary and Oswald walked Adonis to the tea room door, where he gestured for them to stop: "Give some thought to what I mentioned earlier. You're always welcome at our museum; those relics are a tough nut to crack, and we've been looking for the right person for years."

After Adonis left, Oswald had business to attend to in the first ring and also took off.

Just as Rosemary was about to leave, Hogan popped out of nowhere, a bundle of roses in his hand that clashed hilariously with the tea room's understated elegance, grinning like the cat that got the cream.

Without a by-your-leave, he stuffed the flowers into Rosemary's arms, his presence as loud as the bouquet, "Congrats."

With the flowers already crashing into her embrace, Rosemary had no choice but to catch them: "Thanks."

"I prefer something more tangible than a verbal thanks... like..." Hogan trailed off intentionally, seeing Rosemary's guarded and tense face, he quickly pulled her into a hug: "How about one of these?"

He knew Adonis had arranged to meet her here and had waited on purpose.

Caught in Hogan's vice-like embrace, along with the flowers, before she could react and push him away, he'd already let go swiftly.

The whole scene, lasting barely two seconds, became the most vivid image in the tea room.

When Maxwell walked in, he saw Rosemary smiling at Hogan, her hands full of roses.

She was dressed in white today, making that bundle of red roses wrapped in black paper stand out like a sore thumb.

He narrowed his eyes and ended his phone call with a 'hang on,' striding towards them with a look on his face as dark as a thundercloud.

One day Martin, the next a waiter popping out of the woodwork, and now Hogan; her post-divorce life was getting more colorful by the minute. If this kept up, her courtyard might not be big enough to hold all her suitors.

Seeing Maxwell approach, Hogan yanked Rosemary behind him, "Mr. Templeton, you don't have some weird fetish for watching other guys chase your ex-girlfriend, do you?"

What he really wanted to say was, "Are you haunted or something?"

But considering the public setting and that Rosemary wasn't one of his shameless soldiers, he chose a more polite expression.

Maxwell let out a scoff from deep in his throat: "Girlfriend? She said yes?"

"You two, as ex-husband and ex-wife, that's none of your business," Hogan's arm casually slung over Rosemary's shoulder, "But Mr. Templeton, you're chasing so hard, are you regretting it? Planning on a dramatic 'begging on your knees' comeback?"

Hogan kept his cool on the surface, but inside he was screaming: Say it's not true, say you just can't stand seeing a woman you've marked with your own brand with another man, make her stop daydreaming.

"Maxwell, thank..."

"I can get the Templeton Group PR department to issue a statement clarifying that my divorce has nothing to do with you."

Victoria's smile barely had time to form before it plummeted with his next words: "Consider it making up for the misunderstanding that led to your father's untimely death. I won't help you again. Don't call me anymore."

Victoria's face twisted with pain. "All these years, didn't you have even a shred of affection for me?"

"Not a bit," Maxwell replied, his voice icy.

She wanted to say more, but clammed up when she caught sight of Rosemary striding their way.

Had she overheard their conversation?

Everyone around could witness Maxwell giving Victoria the cold shoulder, but not Rosemary. Victoria had strutted around as Maxwell's girlfriend for years in front of her—no way she was going to let Rosemary get the last laugh.

Maxwell's eyes were on Rosemary too, but he was actually hoping she'd caught every word he'd said.

Rosemary, however, breezed past the two of them with an air of indifference, heading straight back to the private room she'd come from.

She'd forgotten something.

Hogan was supposed to fetch it for her, but Rosemary was worried he'd run into Maxwell and they'd end up at each other's throats again.

The café's other patrons had already witnessed their earlier spat; it was embarrassing enough without adding more fuel to the fire.