Chapter 3 He Definitely Slept with Another Woman
"Hey, remember yesterday when I said Ava looked familiar? Well, today it hit me. Isn't she the girl who used to bully you?" Sophia asked, bringing up Ava.
I didn't know what to say. I never really paid much attention to Ava. After Mia passed away, I thought I'd never see her again.
Sophia kept going, "If you're not saying anything, it means yes. She's changed so much! I always thought she was weird, but now I get it. She had her eyes on James the whole time!"
I replied, "Don't say that. She had a boyfriend back then."
"That was then. A guy and a girl alone in a room, even the dog had to be sent away. Who knows what they did!" Sophia's words made me more alert.
Just now, we were about to get intimate. But James even left me alone because Ava's dog was missing. It meant he cared about Ava very much.
Sophia asked, "Did he come home?"
I answered, "He left again."
Sophia cursed, "He went to find Ava, didn't he? Didn't you say you wanted to break up? Do it now! He's about to get married and still messing around with another woman. What a jerk!"
I heard Isabella's footsteps and quickly said, "Sophia, I need to eat. I'll call you later."
"That was your best friend, right? She really cares about you! Tonight, I'll lock the front door. If James leaves, he shouldn't come back to sleep!" Isabella was still fuming.
Sophia texted: [He's so handsome and took over the Smith Group at such a young age. So many women want him! He went into another woman's house; he definitely slept with her!]
Sophia sent another message: [Emily, I'm telling you, don't stay with that dirty James!]
I ate my meal without any appetite, even though Aiden made my favorite dishes.
What should I do? Ever since I thought about breaking up, I had been getting more and more upset. But if I didn't break up, would I just watch him flirt with another woman? What was the point of living like this?
After dinner, I leaned against the headboard, thinking about how Isabella and Aiden had treated me like their own daughter for years.
We had always been a harmonious family. If I break up with James, our relationship might get strained. My mind was in turmoil, and I couldn't sleep.
I didn't know if Isabella really locked the door, but James didn't come back all night. I only heard Isabella complaining to Aiden a few more times before the voices faded.
The next morning, James came back, looking very tired.
Seeing my indifferent expression, he pulled me into the car, sitting in the back while his assistant David Jones drove.
James held my waist and slowly lay on my lap, whispering, "Emily, I looked for the dog all night. Let me sleep for a while, okay? I'll have David drive us to the office, and I'll come to have lunch with you at noon."
His breathing soon became steady. I wanted to talk to him, but now was clearly not the right time. I would definitely talk to him about breaking up at lunch.
The Smith Group wasn't far from where I work, so we arranged to meet at a restaurant near my office.
James had reserved a private room in advance. When the waiter opened the door to serve the food, a female voice suddenly rang out, "James, you're here! Great! This place is fully booked, and I couldn't even get in line. This private room is quite big. I really love the food here. James, you don't mind if I join you, do you?"
Ava, who had been looking for her dog all night, came to find James again. She couldn't live without James, not the dog.
"Sure," James agreed and asked her, "You found Cucumber. Why don't you rest at home?"
"If I hadn't overslept yesterday, Cucumber wouldn't have run out. How can I sleep now?" Ava sat down next to James and smiled at me, saying, "Miss Johnson, I smell like a dog, so I won't sit next to you."
James pushed his untouched tea to her. She picked up a cup and sniffed it, saying, "This is the smell! I was too embarrassed to ask before, but when you brought me food, did you include teabags from here? Their teabags smell so natural and fragrant."
Before? I didn't expect James to play delivery boy for Ava.
He insisted on ordering this tea just now and told me it had a unique fragrance. It turned out it was because of Ava.
This was my first time at this restaurant. How many times had they dined here together? Who was really his girlfriend?
"You two have such a good relationship. I heard that couples who come here get a love souvenir. You must show it to me later!" Ava rambled on, then suddenly became sad and continued, "I heard this souvenir is very good, but my mom and Joseph Miller are both dead. I guess I'm not meant to have love."