"I'm not looking for you. I'm looking for Syd. Is she with you?" Mrs. Chase asked.
Luke looked at Sydney. "She's here."
"Pass the phone to her."
Luke responded and handed the phone to Sydney. ' Here. It's my mom."
Sydney took the phone. "Aunty."
"Syd, Aunty misses you so much." Upon hearing Sydney's voice, Mrs. Chase smiled so wide that her eyes were closed.
Sydney also laughed. "I miss you too, Aunty."
"You do? But why didn't you come to see me?" Mrs. Chase pretended to complain.
Sydney stuck her tongue out. "I'm sorry, Aunty. I have been too busy lately and haven't had the time."
"Then do you have time now? Come over for dinner. I'll cook something delicious for you." Mrs. Chase invited Sydney.
Sydney was just about to speak when Luke, who was eavesdropping at the side, suddenly interjected." Mom, I'm taking my darling to eat seafood."
"What's good about the seafood outside? It's not fresh anyway. If you want to eat seafood, I'll cook for you,"
Mrs. Chase responded.
Sydney said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Aunty."
"It's no trouble at all. You guys come over early, okay?" Mrs. Chase giggled happily when she heard Sydney agree to come over.
After the call ended, Luke took his phone back and looked at Sydney helplessly. "Well, I guess we can't eat out now."
"It's okay. We can go next time. Come on, I need to buy a gift for your parents first." Sydney took his arm and walked toward the car.
With that, the two of them went to the mall. After looking around, Sydney bought a cloak for Mrs. Chase and a tie for Mr. Chase before they drove to the Chase residence.
The Chase family and Raines family used to be family friends and had a very good relationship
Mrs. Chase and Sydney's mother were best friends.
After Sydney's mother died, Mrs. Chase raised Sydney like her own daughter, so Sydney thought of Mrs. Chase as her second mother.
They soon arrived at the Chase residence.
That was the first time in six years that Sydney stepped foot here. The inside was still the same as before, and it had not changed at all.
Therefore, Sydney did not feel unfamiliar with the place at all.
"Syd!" Mrs. Chase heard the sound of the car arriving and rushed out to greet her. Her eyes lit up when she saw Sydney, and she opened her arms to embrace her.
"Aunty." Sydney smiled and went up to her.
The two of them shared a hug.
Luke stood to the side. "Mom, are you just going to ignore me?"
Mrs. Chase rolled her eyes at him. "I see you every day. I've gotten tired of your face. Syd is the one I want to see the most now. Come, Syd. Let me take a good look at you."
She took both of Sydney’s hands, twirled her around, and grew slightly distressed. "You've lost weight."
Sydney did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Where did I lose weight?"
"Everywhere! There used to be more flesh on your face, " Mrs. Chase said.
Sydney replied, "That was baby fat, so it looked fleshier before. Come on, Aunty. Let's go inside."
"Yes, yes! Please, come in." Mrs. Chase took her hand and walked into the villa.
After entering the villa, Sydney realized that there was no one else and could not help but ask, "Uncle isn't here?"
"He's out playing golf with someone, so just ignore him, Syd. Tell me how the past six years have been for you." Mrs. Chase had watched the live broadcast of the press conference and desperately wanted to know more about her.
"Okay." Sydney nodded and then told Mrs. Chase about her life with the Flint family as simply as possible so that Mrs. Chase would not feel distressed.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Flint got so angry that she slammed her hands on the table several times. "The Flint family is horrible. Syd, why didn't you tell us that they were treating you like that? They wouldn't dare to bully you if we gave you our support."
"Exactly. I said that to her before too." Luke nodded in agreement as he nibbled on an apple.
He had always been angry at Sydney for not telling him about the bullying she suffered during her marriage.
Luke pouted, feeling aggrieved. "Then why did you tell me to come?"
"I called you over to ask you what you think about Syd. Do you still like her?" Mrs. Chase looked at him.
Luke's expression changed. "Mom, you-"
"You want to ask how I know you like Syd, right?" Mrs. Chase knew what he wanted to ask, so she interrupted him.
Luke's lips twitched, tacitly agreeing to her question.
Yes, he liked Sydney. He had liked her since he was a child.
However, he knew that Sydney did not like him and only thought of him as her best friend. That was why he never revealed his feelings for her. He always thought that he hid it well and that no one knew about it, but he could not believe that his own mother had found out.
"I didn't know at first, but you got drunk on Sydney's wedding night six years ago. You said it yourself."
Speaking of that, Mrs. Chase let out a sigh. "To be honest, I was also shocked when I heard you. If I had known that you liked Syd so much instead of thinking of her as a little sister, I would've done everything I could to set you two up. However, you kept it a secret. It was too late by the time I found out."
Luke touched his nose and did not dare to answer.
Mrs. Chase said while cleaning the vegetables, "You haven't answered me yet. Do you still like Syd?"
Luke turned around and looked in the direction of the living room past the kitchen door. His eyes were filled with deep affection. "My feelings for her have never changed."
"That's good. Now that Syd is single again, you have to be bold and pursue her. Turn your status as her fake boyfriend to her real boyfriend." Mrs. Chase encouraged him.
She really liked Sydney.
She wanted nothing more than for Sydney to marry her son.
Luke shook his head as his eyes darkened. "No.
Darling doesn't like me. I'll just scare her away if I suddenly pursue her. This situation now is good."
He, too, had seen male best friends pursuing the girl, but there were very few who really did end up together. Usually, the girl would get scared away and start avoiding the male best friend. After all, not everyone could accept a male best friend becoming their boyfriend.
He did not want that to happen to Sydney and him, and he did not dare take the risk. He would rather be her best friend forever. That way, he would at least be able to stay by her side.
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