Gary made no reply, and the silence that ensued was somewhat unsettling for Cindy. As such, she quickly said, "If it isn't anything important, I'll just hang up now."
He hummed in response this time. It meant that he could hear her clearly over the phone just now, but he simply chose not to answer her question.
This irritated her for some reason, and she regretted returning his call. It would have been fine had there been an actual conversation that came from this, but the call only seemed to solidify the awkwardness between them.
She hung up the call and walked away from the balcony. Aurora stood up from the couch when she saw her and asked, "Did you manage to get a hold of him? What did you guys talk about?"
When she saw Gary's name on Cindy's phone screen earlier, she presumed it was a business call.
"Oh," answered Cindy absentmindedly. Then, she tried to school her features into an indifferent expression as she said, "He was just telling me about the investment project and all that—nothing much. I can't understand all the technical mumbo-jumbo anyway, so I didn't really take away much from the phone call."
Aurora laughed and brushed this off before walking toward the door. She then said, "Only the professionals would know all that, I believe. All we need to concern ourselves with is whether we can bankroll the investments."
Cindy said something in agreement before she sighed and mused ruefully, "I think I'll give up on investments after this. I can't seem to wrap my head around them."
Aurora opened the door as she pointed out, "Well, you're not really having problems with your investments so far. Your consultant is quite reliable, and you don't necessarily have to understand the principles of the investment as long as you have him to keep an eye on the market for you."
There was nothing wrong with Aurora's words. Gary was an investment consultant, and it was well within his job scope to keep an eye on the investments Cindy had made. However, their relationship was complex right now, and it was annoying as well as inconvenient.
Nonetheless, Cindy saw no point in telling Aurora of such things since it would only lead to a misunderstanding, so she hummed in response and did not continue the topic.
As such, they headed out of the apartment and strolled around downstairs. They had been out and about before, and they usually went home after walking around the block. However, they had barely taken a couple of steps today when someone came over to them and asked, "Hi there, did you manage to get that conundrum solved today? The man came to pester you, right? What happened to him in the end? Did you have him thrown out? Will he come back again? My goodness, it must have been terrifying for you. I even saw him make a ruckus twice today outside the compound!"
Thanks to that idiot of a man, Aurora and Cindy couldn't even take a quiet evening stroll without being questioned by the residents in the area.
Aurora kept up a pleasant smile as she said courteously, "I got over it, though it was unnerving at first. He said he would never come back again, and we've already lodged a police report on the matter. The way I see it, he will probably stick to his word if he knows what's good for him."
The resident nodded earnestly. "That's a relief. What horrible luck you must have to be pestered so relentlessly by that man. You ought to be careful from now on!"
That much was true, for it did take some horrible luck to be badgered by him.
Aurora thanked the resident kindly and watched as she walked away, looking pleased to have gossiped about this. On the side, Cindy grew exasperated as she asked, "Are you famous in our neighborhood now?"
"It looks like it." Aurora gave a deprecating smile and added, "I can't do much about my fame, you know."
They went over to a less crowded area before Aurora added, "Actually, I did consider moving into a new place. I don't trust him to just leave us alone. What if he comes back again in two days and tries to make a scene? I might as well move into someplace new—somewhere he can't find me. I'm sure that will be the better choice."
Cindy didn't think there was any real practicality or necessity in doing that. "If that guy is dead-set on finding you, he will track you down no matter what. I think we should confront him boldly whenever he shows up so that he knows we can't be messed with. He'll back off eventually."
There was no use in evading a person like him because it would solve nothing. One had to stand firm on one's ground and intimidate him into backing off, or there wouldn't be an end to this.
Aurora hesitated for a brief second and said, "We'll circle back to this. Perhaps I'm just a little frazzled right now, but I'll come up with a plan after this."
They continued walking for a while longer, and those who passed by them would turn to shoot curious glances at Aurora. None of them said anything, but it was clear to see that they knew exactly who she was.
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...