Chapter 132
Harrison saw the emotion in her eyes, and then gave her a set of car keys. “Clyde will be with me the next few days, so I can’t drive you to work,” he said. “This car is pretty low–key–use it.”
While grabbing his things, Harrison handed her the car keys too–he was always reliable and thoughtful. Gwyneth happily took his kindness.
She picked up a small ceramic pendant and handed it to Harrison. Gwyneth said softly, “This is a pendant I made myself. It isn’t valuable. Consider it a small gift–I wish you a safe trip.”
The pendant fit nicely in Harrison’s hand. He put it in his pocket, his fingers feeling its surface as he kept his calm face. Looking at Gwyneth, he softly said, “If you ever need help, just call me anytime, okay?”
“Got it,” Gwyneth nodded.
Harrison stood at her door, giving her one last reminder after another. ‘He is caring and a little overprotective, she thought, feeling a bit amused. Harrison was thoughtful to a fault, maybe a little naggy sometimes.
Still, she really appreciated how much he cared about her. Before Harrison could get into all the details about the Jenkins Group’s internal stuff, Gwyneth stopped him with a helpless smile.
She said, “Harrison, if I ever get into real trouble, I’ll definitely tell you. I would never let you or the Lopez family suffer. But honestly, if you keep talking, you’re really going to miss your flight.”
Snapped out of his thoughts by her words, Harrison checked the time and gave a wry laugh. “Goodbye,” he said softly before leaving.
As he stepped into the elevator, the pendant in his pocket had grown warm from his fidgeting. After saying goodbye, Gwyneth watched the elevator doors close.
‘Didn’t he say he was coming back to get something?‘ she wondered to herself.
She almost called to ask, but then she thought–since Clyde was with Harrison, Clyde probably already got his luggage.
Gwyneth thought, ‘If I call now, I might just distract them or mess up their plans. Better not risk wasting their time.’
She decided not to call and instead went home to take a shower and rest.
After her shower, Gwyneth felt more awake. She put on a face mask, relaxed on the couch, and got ready to go over Mercer Group’s reports.
Her phone vibrated softly.
Harrison sent a short message: [Boarded.]
Gwyneth wanted to reply with a cute cat meme wishing him a safe trip, but because their chat was so short and businesslike, she hesitated. They weren’t close friends–sending a meme might be too casual. So she just sent “OK.”
On the plane, Harrison looked at her quick reply and clenched the pendant in his hand. thought she’d be the type to use cute stickers in chats,’ he thought.
Harrison slowly relaxed his hand, looking at the pendant in his palm. He felt calm–he didn’t need cute stickers; Gwyneth herself was cute enough.
Just as Gwyneth finished replying to a message, opened her file, and took off her face mask to focus on work, Carol’s call suddenly came through. “Gwennie, help me-” Carol begged.
Hearing Carol’s lively voice, Gwyneth couldn’t help but smile. She snuggled into the couch, hugging a pillow. “What’s up?”
After some teasing, Carol finally said seriously, “I’ve been fixing up an old porcelain piece lately, but I hit a bit of a snag.
*A coworker mentioned your mom once made a bunch of porcelain pieces that looked similar. Do you know if any of those are still around?”
“I don’t need finished ones–even the flawed ones are okay, Carol said. “I just want to practice first, so I don’t ruin the antique porcelain when I try restoring it
Aher Carol finished talking, she sent pictures of two old porcelain pieces and some info about how they were made. Gwyneth, who knew a lot about this, paused to think.
“I kept some slightly broken porcelain pieces for my mom,” she said. “Looking at the craftsmanship, I think one of them is pretty similar, and the patterns match too. I’ll bring it over so you can study it later.”
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Chapter 132
“Really? Gwennie, you’re the best!” Carol exclaimed, sounding super excited on the phone. Gwyneth could imagine her bouncing with joy, and she chuckled softly.
Since she wasn’t sleepy, she reached for her phone to call for a ride. But then she remembered that getting back so late would be a pain. As she turned, she saw the car keys sitting on the shoe cabinet by the door.
‘What a coincidence, Gwyneth thought. Harrison just gave her those keys, and she had a reason to use them. Since she was only going to look for some porcelain, still in her comfy clothes, she grabbed the keys and headed downstairs.
When the elevator opened in the underground garage, Gwyneth barely stepped out when she saw two familiar people walking toward her.
“You again?” Bella couldn’t hide her annoyance, her voice sharp and accusing. “What are you doing out now, Gwyneth? And why are you dressed like that?”
She was implying Gwyneth went out late just to mess around. Gwyneth ignored Bella’s words. Instead, she looked at Bella and Zachary—both dressed fancy, clearly just back from dinner or drinks.
Zachary was leaning heavily against Bella, his face red from drinking. He was drunk, that was why Bella had dropped her usual act and started yelling at Gwyneth.
Gwyneth didn’t even look her way, heading straight for her car. Being ignored made Bella angry, but with Zachary drunk and leaning on her, she had no choice but to focus on getting him home.
Just as she was about to help Zachary leave, he suddenly broke free. “Zachary?” Bella said, surprised.
Zachary stumbled forward, watching Gwyneth walk past without a glance. Inside him, many feelings boiled–hurt, anger, and longing he couldn’t hide.
‘Why won’t Gwennie even look at me?‘ he thought, sad. Then he got angry–Gwyneth was already with someone else. And since he was drunk, he felt a strong desire for Gwyneth.
Driven by impulse, he stepped forward and grabbed Gwyneth’s wrist tightly. “Gwennie, I—”
Before he could finish, he saw Gwyneth suddenly turn to face him, her eyes full of disgust. She pulled her arm away and snapped, “Let go!”
Every word was cold and harsh, with no love left. Zachary’s grip loosened, feeling like a knife stabbed in his heart. He thought in pain, ‘Why does
Gwennie look at me like that?‘
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