Gary merely raised his eyebrows at that. “I saw on the news that the two of you have been in a relationship for ages. Do you still keep everything separate as such?”
He sounded like he was joking, so Cindy went along with him and smiled upon hearing his words. “It’s a good idea to keep everything separate before we’re married. We’re both on the same page about this.”
Upon hearing that, Gary grunted. “It’s important for a couple to have aligned values, otherwise it will create havoc on their relationship.”
Cindy considered his words for a moment and pondered, Are my values aligned with Ian’s?
Before she got lost in her train of thought, she suddenly caught herself and realized that it wasn’t even something that she should be concerned about. After all, they weren’t actually in an actual relationship. Everything was just a pretense and it would never become reality either.
Therefore, she would just be making life tough for herself by overthinking things.
In the end, Cindy scrolled through her phone as she waited for the food to be served. Just then, Naomi sent her a text to let Cindy know that she was done with her matters. She also asked what the latter was doing at the moment.
Cindy quickly typed a reply and mentioned that she was having her meal. Then, she hastily placed her phone aside.
Gary was about to pour himself a cup of tea and he saw her gestures from the corner of his eye. Nonetheless, he wasn’t too fussed about it. “If you have something urgent and need to make a phone call, I’m perfectly fine with it.”
Cindy laughed awkwardly and responded, “It’s alright.”
She was not that familiar with Gary, but she somehow sensed that it would be quite disrespectful to talk on the phone or send a text message in such an environment.
Gary, on the other hand, took a sip of tea. “You don’t have to be overly courteous around me. If I was just trying to be civil, I wouldn’t have seen you today.”
Cindy responded by licking her lips as she remained silent. Just then, Gary seemed to have recalled something so he mentioned, “I saw you in the studio that day and I suddenly recalled the past. I can somehow see the young me in you right now, which is also why I was willing to see you. Instinctively, I’ve accepted you as one of my own so you shouldn’t feel shy in front of me.”
Upon hearing that, Cindy blinked her eyes a few times and she was seemingly at a loss for words. In the end, she murmured, “Oh—okay.”
Gary leaned against the back of his chair and his arms were crossed in front of him. He had one leg atop the other and he placed his hand on his leg. “When I came fresh out of school into my first job, I was exactly like you—tentative with each step I took. Come to think of it, I can’t quite remember the feeling I experienced back then anymore. I’ve been too jaded after being out in society for so long. Honestly, I don’t think that this is a good thing because it makes it easy for one to lose their true self.”
…
Ian had just ended the filming of a program and he was instantly identified by the bystanders as soon as he walked out of the studio. Two young girls, who were waiting by the side, rushed forward and surrounded him.
One of them asked gingerly with a shy look, “Ian, can I have your autograph please?”
It was no big deal for Ian, so he stopped and took the pen and paper from the girl.
In response, the girl placed her hands under her chin and exclaimed happily, “Your girlfriend’s so lucky.”
The other girl standing next to her then scanned Ian’s surroundings and asked with a surprised tone, “Is your girlfriend not with you today?”
Ian grunted and replied politely, “She’s resting at home today. I can’t bear to order her around like any other personal assistant; I would be pained to see that even if no one else cares.”
It was quite rare for Ian to crack jokes, so the two girls were quite amused and laughed. “You treat your girlfriend so well. It’s quite obvious that the two of you have a great relationship.”
Both girls didn’t have a jealous streak in them and after obtaining Ian’s signature, they added, “I hope that the two of you will remain happy and blissful together and have a long-lasting relationship.”
Ian nodded in response. Then, he turned around and walked off in the direction of his car.
Long-lasting relationship… It suddenly dawned upon him that the more he appeared intimate with Cindy in public, the bigger the backlash would be in the future. Previously, they had announced that he had been in a relationship with her for many years.
If they broke up in the future, Ian would end up being the villain for wasting a girl’s precious youth. After all, she had stood by him all these years.
He entered the car and leaned against his headrest, shutting his eyes.
Break up in the future…
He wasn’t sure when to announce this to the public. However, he would definitely reimburse Cindy for it by using his personal savings if that day happened. After all, it was quite kind of her to put on this pretense for such a long time. Furthermore, her reputation was affected too.
The car was driven slowly back home. Meanwhile, the driver seemed quite unlike his usual self and he commented, “It feels like something significant is missing when Miss Selby’s not around.”
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...