He also told her that he was very satisfied with how the photos had turned out, and that he trusted Yulia’s good eye.
To his surprise, she called him just a moment after he sent the text.
His brows knitted slightly as he stared at the screen for a second or two before picking up. He then said gently, “Hello.”
Yulia’s voice was soft when she replied, “Are you really satisfied with the photos?”
Ian responded with a light hum as he smiled courteously and answered, “Of course I am—they were taken by you, after all.”
Yulia paused for a bit. She sounded a little annoyed when she replied, “You don’t have to be polite with me, you know. Just let me know if there’s anything you’re unhappy with, and I’ll make the changes after this.”
“No, no. I really am happy with them,” Ian quickly responded.
In truth, he wasn’t very interested in such matters. Photos that were processed lost their touch of natural beauty anyway, so he didn’t feel the need to have an opinion on things that were fake.
Yulia chuckled and swiftly changed the subject. “How are you managing alone since your assistant is on leave?”
Ian was a little surprised to hear that, but he wasn’t bold enough to ask how she’d found out about it.
On the other hand, Yulia unhesitantly referred to Cindy as his assistant right off the bat; it seemed like she had forgotten that Cindy wasn’t just an assistant to him.
Hence, Ian replied, “I don’t have much going on anyway. Besides, Cindy seems to be tired these days, so I gave her some time off. She’s my girlfriend, after all. I can’t possibly bring myself to treat her as an ordinary assistant.”
Yulie responded nonchalantly, but she didn’t stay on the topic. “Celebrities who act like you are rare these days. Back when I attended a program some time ago, almost all of them were walking around with a bunch of assistants and bodyguards by their side. It was as if nobody could recognize them if they didn’t have an entourage behind them. At the end of the day, I still prefer simple and humble ones like you.”
Her words had another underlying meaning to it, but the way she said it was quite ambiguous. Depending on the listener’s interpretation, the meaning could be there or not.
Ian simply chuckled without saying anything.
Following that, Yulia said again, “I saw your assistant today when I was out searching for inspiration. She was sitting alone at the park and seemed quite relaxed—I’m so jealous! She must be so blessed to be your assistant.”
Ian’s expression gradually went stone cold on the other end of the line, for the way Yulia kept referring to Cindy as his assistant was making him feel quite uncomfortable.
He took two deep breaths before saying, “It is I who should be blessed, not her. Back then, I actually begged her to become my assistant; she graduated with a major in design and had a bright future ahead of her. I was the one who held her back from her dreams.”
Ian sighed with perfect genuinity. “Come to think of it, I still feel quite bad about this.”
Yulia went silent instantly.
Ian only pretended to snap out of his thoughts after a few seconds. He sighed and said, “Why am I telling you this? I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
Nevertheless, Yulia managed to keep her cool and brushed it off lightly.
Since they were on the topic, Ian asked, “By the way, where did you see her today? Was she alone? I called her earlier and she told me that she’s with her friend.”
Yulia replied calmly, “She was indeed alone, but she was probably waiting for her friend.”
“I see,” said Ian.
Right then, Yulia’s assistant started calling for her in the background. She turned away and responded before speaking into the phone again, “Things are getting busy here. If you really are satisfied with the photos, I’ll just go ahead with them.”
Ian responded in agreement and thanked Yulia after that.
The woman said with a smile, “Don’t mention it. I hope we get to work together again in the future.”
With those words, she hung up.
Ian stared at the phone and eventually tossed it to the side.
In truth, he hated these professional exchanges of courtesy more than anything.
Ian never liked keeping up appearances for work; now that he was in a bad mood, he was all the more unwilling to put up with anyone.
He lay in bed again for some time before getting up and going to the kitchen.
He looked around a little bit, but before he could start making anything, the doorbell rang.
Ian jolted in surprise, and his first reaction out of reflex was that Cindy had come home.
An inexplicable feeling surged up his chest all of a sudden.
However, he came to a realization just a moment later. If it really was Cindy, she wouldn’t have rang the doorbell—she had her own keys, after all.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Returning EX (John and Sophia)
So what happens to Ian and Cindy. Is she/ or does she get pregnant? Do they go back to the city and Ian works with Logan? Does Aurora stay in the entertainment industry or return with Ian? Terrible ending, who cares if Aurora was drinking/drunk with colleagues. What happened with Ian and Cindy?!...
Get rid of Gary. Apparently Cindy is too dumb to figure out his motives 😡...
Why are you trying to break them up when they just got together and are a loving couple. Let them stay close and move back to their true friends, Logan, Lola, John and Sophia!...
Sure hope Ian pulls his head out of his behind and works this out with Cindy. His brother needs him at the company and neither one of them truly like the celebrity life. Sophia and Lola will love her …....
I can’t wait for John to take down the Bailey’s including Isabelle so he, Sophia, William and Matilda can live in peace. Introduce Yolanda to Richard so they are out of the picture....
Ugh, don’t break up Sophia and John… they belong together and Sophia is just stubborn for no reason...
Sophia lives John, he just needs to tell her he loves her and get on with their life and family. Too much interference from others....
Sophia is so stupid....
John needs to man up, tell his mother and Isabelle to take a flying leap and confess to Sophia that he made a horrible mistake in divorcing her. This story is taking too long and once again, the bitches are looking like they are on the right side. Awful...