I swore I had never met something this strange in my entire life. First, the weird lady rushed in, hugged my leg, and started sobbing with her long hair covering her face. She kneeled before me and kept on repeating the same sentence. Had it not happened in broad daylight, I would have thought that I bumped into a ghost.
Next, Tobey, who was seated opposite me, became a totally different man. He immediately rushed over to help the lady up as he said frantically, âFlora, why are you here? Stop kneeling and get up now. My heart aches for you when I see you kneel.â
âNo. Iâm not getting up!â When Flora Dawson lifted her head, her hair parted and her tear-streaked petite face was revealed. She looked at me bitterly and remarked, âMs. Goldstein, I understand that thereâs an arranged marriage between you and Tobey. However, I canât live without Tobey. Could you please spare him from the marriage? Iâll die without him.â
âFlora, stop begging her. Iâll figure out a way to resolve this. Havenât I told you Iâll settle everything and will definitely make you my most beautiful bride? Stop crying. If you are to continue crying, Iâll feel like a criminal,â comforted Tobey as he grabbed Floraâs hands. With that, the two hugged each other right in front of me, with one kneeling and the other in a semi squatting position.
I felt like I was a villain, too. I was a sinner who separated two lovebirds.
âI mean, the two of youââ
âMs. Goldstein, a pretty lady like you certainly doesnât lack anything. There should be plenty of men wanting to date you. I understand it might be offensive for me to say this. After all, Tobey is such a capable man. Which woman wouldnât fall in love with him after meeting him? I can understand if you have fallen in love with Tobey, but he and I belong together and we have promised that we will never leave each other.â
The lady looked pitifully beautiful as she cried. She was all teary and fragile, and her crying was so much more pleasing to the eyes than Crystalâs. However, the words that came out of her mouth had rendered me speechless. âI think youâve misunderstood something here: thereâs nothing between Mr. Osborn and me. Weâre meeting up just to talk business; thatâs all.â
Arenât you going a bit overboard in boasting about your guy? I gave him a good lecture a few days back. Must you say those words? I then shifted my gaze to Tobey. Nonetheless, he did not take note of my odd expression. Instead, he only had eyes on Flora, who was still kneeling on the floor. Tobey then pulled her up and hugged her in his arms.
âMs. Goldstein, stop denying it. I know you must be crazily in love with Tobey. Thatâs why you did all you could to get near him. However, I really cannot let you have Tobey. He is the most important person to me and I canât bear to lose him. A fish thatâs out of water has no choice but to die. Ms. Goldstein, could you please return Tobey to me? Thereâs no way anyone could intervene in our relationship.â
Flora then walked toward me. Just as she was about to kneel once again, I immediately got up and took two steps back. This lady must be delusional. Iâve told her that thereâs nothing between Tobey and me. How can she just ignore what Iâve said? Shocked, I wiped the sweat that had formed on my forehead.
âWow, look at that lady. She is dressed so gracefully and elegantly. I thought sheâs a celebrity. Who knew sheâs actually a mistress?â
âExactly. Itâs so awful of her to separate a couple just because sheâs wealthy. I really want to beat her up, if I could. So what if sheâs rich?â
âNever judge a book by its cover. These days, even pretty ladies become mistresses. They are just so shameless. If I was the poor lady, I would have splashed some hot water on that b*tch to ruin her looks. Letâs see how she could remain a mistress after that.â
The crowd surrounding us suddenly broke out into a discussion. I felt so embarrassed listening to their comments. The only thing I wanted to do then was to dig a hole and bury myself in it. I could not believe I was being treated like a mistress. Nonetheless, I was still delighted when they said I was pretty.
Seeing that the lady was about to go crazy once more, I quickly ran to the door of the cafe and shouted at Tobey, âMr. Osborn, something came up and I need to make a move first. Please remember to assure and comfort your girlfriend before putting up such a show. Also, I really donât like you; please clarify this with her.â