Chapter 882: Chapter 885

It was only when he woke up that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon knowing that Stanley was no longer in any harm, those who gathered around his bed took the opportunity to catch up with each other as they chatted into the night. It had been such a long time since they had a happy gathering like that.

However, after waking up, Stanley had no recollection of what happened earlier that day—he only remembered that he was talking to Irene before falling asleep. Sean did not add much except that he had found Stanley in her ward.

Stanley stayed at the hospital until the next day, which gave him a much-needed relief to take a break.

Ever since Judge was beaten the last time, Stanley had worked harder to improve the company’s performance at the expense of his personal time. So, he took the advantage to rest for those two days.

He returned with Sean to their sea view villas in the suburbs for a short vacation—both of them had purchased a unit each for themselves and were neighbors since their villas were adjacent to each other. However, they would drop by their villas for a bit on the weekends since they either slept at the office or at the Fletcher Residence most of the time.

Sophia had never been to Stanley’s seaside holiday home, so she took the opportunity to take a look.

She decided to host a seafood barbecue party at his place that weekend since he had taken a day off work.

The party did not have many attendees—most of them were their peers from university along with a buddy’s two little critters. She even brought a reluctant Nathan along.

While Sarah and Sarah ate their barbecued seafood, they chattered about their family’s washed-up actors and children.

“Look at our family’s Sour Face—he’s arguably larger in size than other kids his age. He’ll surely be a one-of-a-kind, stunning mythical being when he grows up. Are you sure you’re not going to consider delivering a baby doll?” Sarah blabbered. “I wanted to tell you that it’s about time for you to marry and have children. Taylor’s been waiting for you for such a long time that even his hair has turned white. He’s still waiting for you even after you have returned. Since it’s about time for you to settle down, why don’t you get together with him?”

She continued with her words. “Love and marriage are not the same thing; when you’re in love, you can be willful as you wish, but once you’re married and have kids, things will be different. Look at me—I’m still fighting frequently with our family’s Old Wolf. Only after marriage did I realize that great men also need to relieve themselves and their poop are equally as smelly! I was completely disillusioned.

Perfection doesn’t exist in this world, but how can I leave it all behind now since I haven’t done everything?”

Whenever Sarah spoke about marriage and her kids, she always said one thing but did something else.

Although she was still the same lady who had a passion for crispy duck skin and exquisite paintings and artwork, ultimately she was also a mother to her children.

However, Sophia herself thought that it was still early for her to settle down. Since she was no longer that young, she wanted to continue dating for a few more years before marrying someone. It seemed that Michael was also anxious about it as he had urged that they marry after spending a night together. He was only forty years ago, so what rush was he in? Cooper was older than Michael by several years and was not even in a hurry to settle down at all.

As she thought about Cooper, she was a tad bit worried. Although she had a relationship with Michael, Cooper was still alone. The number of women who wanted to marry Fass could have formed a line around the globe, but he still kept to himself even after many years. It was hard for him to fully overcome the pain that he experienced in his younger days, rendering him unable to love another woman in the same way as he did before.

“By the way, what is Nicole up to these days? Every time I try to call her, her phone is always being answered by her assistants. It’s as if she’s busy all the time,” Sophia abruptly asked Sarah. Nicole had not kept in contact with Sophia for a while.

Sarah shook her head and replied, “She’s in the top management of Imperial Entertainment now and also one of its shareholders—she’s super busy. You have to make an appointment two months in advance if you want to meet up with her.”

Had it not been for Nicole at that time, Sophia would probably have died in Africa. It was a friendship that required no explanation.

Even though Nicole did not admit it, Sophia knew that she had always loved Cooper. She had loved him for more than ten years and even played a huge role when Sophia was searching for him.

But, it was as though Cooper…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the party, Stanley drank one too many glasses again and held onto the dog while talking nonsense. Linus and Sean were also drinking.

Linus looked at the incoherent and drunk Stanley while taking a sip of wine before speaking in a crisp tone, “Have you ever confessed your feelings for Stanley?”

Sean was in the midst of sipping on his wine when he heard Linus’ words and became silent while using it as an answer. He once thought that he could wish Stanley the best and bless him with happiness while watching him settle down with a family. However, when he saw Irene and Stanley in bed together, he realized that he had fooled himself all along. Maybe he was not as tough and liberal-minded as he had hoped.

Still, he was not prepared to confess his feelings to Stanley because he was afraid that the latter would think that he was a pervert… Although Stanley was an idiot who had not realized Sean’s feelings for him, Linus had noticed it, seeing that he was not like other men.

Sean gave a bitter smile before responding, “Without the blessings and positive wishes from others on such matters, it’s better to tuck the feelings away in one’s own heart—not everyone shares the same courage as you, Linus.”

Sean knew that he was not as flamboyant and openly gay as Linus. The man loved whoever he wanted to love—no matter whether the other person was a man or woman. Sean had no qualms over Linus’s choices; the latter was free to do anything that he pleased.

Upon hearing Sean’s answer, Linus simply shook his head and poured himself another glass of wine.

Then, he tipped his head back and took a large swig of the entire glass of wine. He put the glass down and turned to the other side to glimpse at Sarah and Sophia, who laughed as they chatted away. “Is that so?”

The gays were able to understand each other and Sean was keenly aware of the odd look that passed through Linus’ eyes a moment ago. He seems to be watching Sophia?

Without the blessings and positive wishes from others on such matters, it’s better to tuck the feelings away in one’s own heart… That statement could have triggered a deeply buried secret in Linus’ heart.

Sean was startled since he seemed to have discovered something astonishing before breaking out in cold sweat. This is quite a big deal, he thought. I need to inform Michael about this as soon as possible.

Something bad might happen if I push it aside!

The drinking and eating lasted until late at night before everyone gradually excused themselves for the rest of the night.

Sophia slept in Sean’s guest room at night. Carmen was already sound asleep when Sophia gently pulled the blanket over her and allowed her to be in the safe arms of the nanny. Sophia then headed outside to feel the breeze since she was not sleepy.

It was some time during midnight when she walked toward the seaside. A cool breeze swept along the beach as she hugged her jacket closer toward her body and sat by the sea. She could feel the breezy air on her skin as she admired the peaceful scenery. Farther out in the sea, she could see the vast moon steadily glowing like it floated on the surface of the sea. So, this is the so-called bright moon on the sea!

“Can you see the moon from your place?” Sophia held the phone to her ear and spoke to the other person on the line—Michael.

From her cellphone, she could hear the sound of curtains being pulled before Michael’s seductive voice apologizing, “It’s such a pity that there’s no moon at my place tonight, but that’s okay. Whether there’s a moon or not, it won’t keep me from thinking about you. No matter whether it is windy or rainy, whether there is a moon or not, I miss you. When the sky is clear, I still miss you. When it is raining heavily, I will also be missing you. When I’m feeling sad, I will think about you. When I’m feeling happy, I will also be thinking about you. Without you by my side, every grain of rice that I eat is coated with the feeling of missing you dearly.” He was flirting again.

Now that Michael used his seductive and alluring voice that he reserved for narration in films to flirt with Sophia, she felt that she had instantly turned into a heroine of an idol drama and was speaking about their love with the male protagonist. His skills in using his lines and charm had been effective to the point where she could not resist from being enchanted by those words. “It’s rare to hear you say sweet nothings like these to heroines in movies…”

He replied, “That’s true. I don’t fancy romance films. I like movies where things are being explored in a deeper manner, so I don’t have many romantic lines. The only time when I did this was probably in that gangster film when I acted as an undercover cop.”