Chapter 397
Standing Before Love
Myra looked forward to the future, and she worked with the flowers as she pleased. Since she was a designer, she possessed some talent in this aspect.
Time flew by as she worked with the flowers while letting her mind wander, and it didnât take long before it was lunchtime. Thinking that it was boring to have lunch alone, she packed her lunch and brought it to the hospital, for she planned to have lunch with Alicia and Olivia.
Aliciaâs mental condition had improved a little, whereas Olivia was delighted about Myraâs arrival.
Secretly, she was eager to be close to her sister. âSorry for troubling you, Myra.â She was very courteous.
Myra looked at Olivia with gratification; she even thoughtfully brought a nutritionally rich soup here since Alicia needed to build up her health. âYou donât have to stand on ceremony with me. You have to take good care of yourself as well.â Seeing how thin and frail Olivia looked, she thought that Olivia needed some nourishment as well. Olivia is growing up, so she mustnât suffer from any diseases due to malnutrition.
After the three of them had lunch, Myra took Olivia to the school right away. Then, they went to the school principalâs office before afternoon classes began to discuss Oliviaâs schooling issues.
Myra was explicit about her intentionsâshe wanted Olivia to attend school as soon as possible. After all, Olivia hadnât attended school for a long time, so no one knew how far she lagged behind in her studies.
At the school principalâs repeated assurance, Myra accompanied Olivia to Class 7-C. Standing outside the classroom, she watched as Olivia introduced herself in front of the blackboard in a natural and poised manner. Finally, I can breathe a sigh of relief this time. Now that Oliviaâs schooling problems are solved, the rest will depend on Olivia herself.
With that, she turned around and left; she was in a rush to go to the schoolâs entrance since Tonyâs car had been waiting there. The fact that he would always show up at the right time made her feel particularly comfortable. As she walked out of school, she looked at Tonyâs car with a smile on her face;
it looked as though she hadnât seen him in ages. Inwardly, she was a bit delighted.
As the car window rolled down, Tony gave Myraâwho was a short distance away from himâa faint smile. Indeed, his handsome face had a charm that made oneâs heart palpitate. After getting out of the car, he thoughtfully opened the car door for Myra in a clear display of concern and care. âDid everything go well?â His attractive voice rang as soon as they got into the car.
âYeah, Olivia likes this school very much.â Myra had always believed in Tonyâs taste, and this school did have a nice learning environment.
âWell then, Iâll take my babyâs mother to the hospital for a thorough checkup after this.â Tonyâs smile broadened. Before he realized it, the baby was already three months old.
As she stroked her belly, Myra hoped that no problems would arise during her checkup. The baby must take in nutrients and grow up healthily in its motherâs womb, she thought to herself.
They had made an appointment beforehand with a specialist, and Myra was examined in a very meticulous manner. On the other hand, Tony and Myra were very patient, for they wanted to know more about the baby in her womb.
After the checkup, the specialist asked them to wait for a while; it took some time before the results came out. Even though a special lane had been opened to them so that priority would be given to the couple, the results couldnât possibly come out at once.
Myra and Tony sat casually in the specialistâs office. There wasnât a lot of verbal exchange between them, but when their eyes met occasionally, they would look at each other with a sweet smile.
The medical test results came out soon after that. As they expected, the indicators were within their normal range, meaning that the baby was in a good condition. This was worth celebrating, and Tony looked even happier than Myra. He kept wearing a faint smile on his face as if the baby would be born the next day.
When they got back into his car, Myra said to Tony, âAre you going back to your office now, Tony?â He had been unusually busy lately, and accompanying her to the prenatal checkup had kept him for a long time.
Tony looked at Myra meaningfully as his mouth curved into a playful smile. âAre you reluctant to let me go back, Myra?â
âNo, thatâs not the case. Iâm just afraid that I might have kept you for too long,â Myra replied sincerely.
She felt a bit guilty since Tony was so busy, and she couldnât help him at all.
âDonât think too much about it.â Tony seemed to have read Myraâs thoughts, for he reached out and patted her head with deep affection in his eyes. Then, he pretended to say unintentionally, âI have to give myself some time off this afternoon after busying myself day and night these days.â
Puzzled, Myra looked at Tony. She didnât know what he was up to again, but it was apparent that Tony had set aside some time to keep her company. âWhat about your company?â she asked cautiously. She couldnât help feeling that Tony shouldnât put off his work because of her, yet she hoped that he could spend more time with her. What a paradoxical state of mind this is!
âDonât worry, thereâs no problem. The company will operate as usual without me, so let me be lazy once in a while,â Tony replied while starting up his car. He then continued, âNext, weâll be going to the northern part of the city.â
Myra blinked her eyes. She didnât know why Tony suddenly wanted to go to the northern part of the city, and this made her think that he was hiding a little secret from her that day. âWhy are we going to the northern part of the city?â she asked in puzzlement.
âYouâll know once weâre there,â Tony replied while keeping her in suspense.
Tony drove very steadily along the way at a moderate speed. After all, it was inappropriate to drive too fast with a pregnant woman in the car. Tony had always paid great attention to such details, and it was precisely how he won Myraâs heart.
Myra tried to pump some clues out of him along the way, but he said nothingâthis made him even more curious. âWhy are you taking me there, Tony?â Myra almost died of curiosity, yet he kept wearing a trace of a smile that looked secretive.
âYou look quite curious today,â Tony replied in amusement, for he seldom saw Myra behaving in such a childlike manner.
âYou must be doing this on purpose,â Myra retorted in dissatisfaction while guessing what exactly Tony was up to.
âDonât be hasty; good stuff always shows up at the very end.â Tony gave an ambiguous remark that confused Myra even more.
Then, the car stopped in front of a store selling high-end custom-made quality products in the northern part of the city. When Myra got out of the car in puzzlement, Tony gleefully took her hand and entered the store.
Myra couldnât figure out why Tony wanted to bring her here. She thought to herself, Is Tony bringing me here to buy some tailor-made clothing?
The saleswoman received them warmly. As soon as Tony mentioned his name, she stepped back with reverence and awe; then, she informed the store manager to come out.
âDid you make an appointment with this shop long ago?â Myra looked at Tony in bafflement. She thought that he was seized by a whim, but it seemed that he had planned to bring her here today a long time ago.
âYouâll like it,â Tony replied confidently.
Just then, the saleswomanâs loud and clear voice could be heard from the inner room. âMr. Hart, our store manager would like to invite you to come in.â
âLetâs go inside!â Tony seemed to be in an unusually cheerful mood as he took Myraâs hand.
When they stepped inside, Myra saw an attractive woman dressed in a well-cut one-piece dress; her gentle temperament and fair skin gave her an ethereal air. When she saw that they had come in, she immediately stood up and greeted, âNice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hart. Please have a seat.â The smile on her face made one feel very comfortable.
âMay I know how your preparations are going, Miss Murray?â Tony looked Lucia Murray straight in the eye; he had discussed some things with her early that morning.
âWe already had everything prepared since yesterday, and weâve been expecting you,â Lucia replied with a smile while occasionally sizing Myra up.
On the other hand, Myra was still ruminating over the words âMrs. Hartâ that Lucia had addressed her with. Even though her marriage to Tony was already a sure thing, this was the first time she had been called âMrs. Hartâ in such a formal manner; it made her feel a little shy.
âSorry for troubling you then,â Tony responded politely.
When Myra finally came to her senses, she was even more bewildered by the conversation between Tony and Lucia, for she had no idea what they were talking about. I canât keep on being left in the dark like this, she thought to herself since she wanted Tony to explain this clearly. When Lucia turned around, she whispered in his ear, âWhat exactly are you up to? Weâre already in the shop, yet youâre still hiding it from me.â
Tony looked down at Myra and found that she looked quite adorable when her cheeks puffed up in anger. If it werenât for the outsiders who were present, he would have pinched her face which had become a lot chubbier. He decided to stop keeping her in suspense and answered in a whisper, âThis shop has a special service.â
âWhat sort of service?â Myra was even more puzzled. Canât Tony finish his sentence in one breath?
Tony raised an eyebrow at her while answering briefly and concisely, âDo-it-yourself service.â
âWhat? Do-it-yourself? Do you mean making things by hand?â How could Myra have thought that this shop, which sold high-end custom-made quality products, actually provided such a service? This mystery was getting more and more mystifying, and it was like a snowball increasing in size!
âYouâre a designer, so I donât think making something by hand will be a problem to you,â Tony replied confidently; he believed that Myra would give him a satisfying outcome.
âSo you brought me here to make something ourselves?â Myra looked at Tony incredulously, for she didnât know whether she should be dismayed or delighted by the surprise he gave her.
However, Tony was still smiling with an unperturbed expression as he waited for her to ask the next question. As he expected, she asked again when he gave no response, âWhat exactly are we going to make ourselves?â This question was the key.
âClothes for a baby,â Tony uttered with a pause after each word.
âClothes for a baby?â Myra repeated after him in disbelief.
âAs parents, we can make clothes early for our baby as a token of our regard. I think youâll like it,â Tony explained while moving closer to Myra. On the other hand, Lucia quietly had her back to them as if specially giving them room to enjoy some sweet and cozy time.
Myra knitted her brows slightly, for Tonyâs surprise was rather astounding to her. Of course, she was a little delighted deep down inside.
When he noticed Myraâs signs of reluctance, Tony continued, âDonât worry. Iâll make the clothes with you, so you donât have to worry that youâll do a poor job of it. A man like me certainly canât make handicrafts that match yours.â
Myra snorted with laughter. âNo, Iâm not going to make clothes with you. Weâll make the clothes separately and see which one of us makes prettier clothes.â
When she saw Tonyâs seriousness, Myra suddenly had a moment of enlightenment. It was a rare opportunity to see him making clothes for the baby with his own hands, so she would really like to see what the clothes made by the all-around Tony would look like.