True Love Waits novel Chapter 502

The two men shook hands politely. Layne thought he recognized Dixon when he spied the man earlier. Now, after Debbie's introduction, he suddenly remembered who the guy was. "Dixon Shu... So you're the new secretary general of ZL Group?"

He didn't know Kristina knew him. It had never come up.

Dixon smiled politely. "Oh yeah. I'm lucky Mr. Huo hired me. It's an honor."

After a few pleasantries, Layne took off. Debbie held Kristina's and Dixon's hands as they walked into the private room they booked. Jared already ordered. "Hey, you guys finally... Wait... Kristina?!"

Before he could finish his complaint about the long wait, he widened his eyes in shock when he noticed who was with Debbie.

"Hi, big guy. Long time no see," Kristina said to Jared, smiling gleefully.

Jared shot to his feet. He strode towards them rapidly and asked in disbelief, "Ain't that the truth? Tomboy went AWOL three years ago, and then you ghosted us too. Kasie and I were left alone here. We wondered if you ran off with Tomboy."

Right on cue, Kasie chimed in, "Inside voice, dude. What the hell... Oh my God! Kristina?"

Kasie had a similar reaction to Jared. Finally, the five old friends were reunited. It felt like a lifetime had passed since they were all together last. The girls kept hugging each other, and being happy that they finally saw each other face to face. They didn't sit down at the table until the two men persuaded them to. Not only that, they didn't care how loud they were being, either.

During dinner, Kasie discreetly shifted her glance between Dixon and Kristina. She didn't want to re-open old wounds, but she had to know. She whispered, "You're married now, right? When did that happen? What does your husband do? And more importantly, why weren't we at your wedding? I sent you chat requests on WeChat, but you didn't answer back. I was hoping you'd come to mine."

Kristina looked at the beer in her glass. "I'm sorry. I dumped that account a long time ago. My husband got transferred to Singapore. He just got back this year. He's thirteen years older than me."

'Thirteen years older...'

the other friends all exclaimed in their mind.

Kristina didn't want to hide anything from her old friends. She continued to fill them in on what happened since they last saw each other. "My mom wanted us to marry right after my graduation. I said no, but my dad needed money. Surgery is expensive..." She paused, recalling everything back then. Then she went on in a calm tone, "Of course, my mom wanted me to marry him because he's rich. My parents wouldn't stop hounding me, so eventually we tied the knot. But he's a really good guy. He treats me like a queen, so we're just like any other married couple." There was a hint of self-mockery and helplessness in her tone.

Maybe she was mocking herself, marrying a man 13 years her senior, and marrying for money.

When everyone quieted down, Kristina raised her head to look at Dixon, sitting opposite her. "I'm sorry I hurt you. But I'm living the dream. I married a rich man..."

The other three held their breath. This was the first time they heard them talk about why they broke up. And Kristina said it in such a calm tone. So the real reason was money. Dixon was too poor for Kristina.

"Kristina, I think you screwed up..." Debbie couldn't help but blurt it out.

Dixon smiled. He shook his head and said, "Tomboy, don't blame her. I was poor back then. I didn't know where my next meal was coming from."

Of course they knew how poor Dixon used to be. He was born in a poor village out in the boonies. His parents had relied on loans from the villagers so he could go to college.

Although Dixon was poor, he was proud. He never let Jared or Kasie float him cash, no matter how much they insisted. He was friends with them because he liked them, not because of what they could buy.