Chapter 36: Chapter 37

That night, Celia sat alone on the bed in her bedroom until dawn. When the sun had risen, after she heard the sound of her mother sending her father out, only then she opened the door and went downstairs.

Shannon felt a little strange when she saw her daughter’s dark under-eyes circles. “You had a sleepless night?”

“Mum, I have something to tell you.” Taking a glance at Aunt Maleah, who was tidying up the living room, Celia grabbed her mother’s hand and went upstairs. She told Shannon about Rodney being with Amber last night.

Shannon’s expression suddenly turned serious. She knew exactly how close Amber and Rodney were. She also knew why they had separated. If those two were to clear things up and reunite, then it would be the end of Celia.

“This matter must be handled properly, they must be stopped from getting back together,” thought Shannon.

Celia became anxious when she saw her mother deep in thought. “Mum, why don’t we tell Ms. Grant about this? Since she hates Amber so much, she’ll definitely stop her.”

“No!” Shannon objected firmly, “Rodney is not a piece of playdough, and he can’t be simply shaped as you please. Back then, Rachel Grant had lied to him and made you pregnant. She then forced him to divorce Amber by threatening suicide. That has already violated his bottom line. Now this trick is useless.”

“Then what should we do?” Celia was like a cat on a hot tin roof. “This b*tch, since she had disappeared, then she should simply live in that way, why did she have to come back?”

Shannon shot a glare at her. “You can’t even maintain the slightest composure in the face of problems. How can you keep a man’s heart in the future?”

“Mum, I understand what you said, but now it’s not that I don’t want to keep a man’s heart, Rodney’s heart is not with me at all.”

“So what?” Shannon sneered. “Hasn’t your father’s heart always been on Ashley Stone? But I am the Mrs. Black now, not Ashley Stone. Who laughs last, laughs best.”

“We are different. Didn’t you have me? Dad married you for my sake, but I have nothing now,” Celia retorted.

“That’s because you’re stupid! You can’t even handle a man after such a long time. Such a waste of my efforts.” Shannon was also angry.

“How can I think of a solution if Rodney doesn’t even touch me?” Celia felt extremely wronged. “We had finally persuaded Dad to look for him to propose the engagement, and he also agreed. But I didn’t expect that Amber, that b*tch, would do this again. That b*tch is really cunning. She openly went to the TV station for some blind date and even purposely made it a hot topic. Now I finally understood that she is using the blind date to find a man to provoke Rodney so that she can get back together with him!”

Her words had reminded Shannon and she looked happy in an instant. “I have an idea!”

“What is it?”

“Isn’t Amber going for a blind date? We can make an issue of the blind date and give her a surprise that she will never be able to turn over!” Shannon’s face was full of resentment and malicious. She whispered something at Celia’s ear and the anxiousness on Celia’s face vanished immediately. She gave her mother a thumbs-up and said, “Mum, you’re still smarter!”

“Of course, the older, the wiser!” Shannon was complacent.

After sending Amber back to the apartment, Rodney carried her upstairs. He used to carry her up and down, all around the house. At that time, her little hands would be tightly wrapped around his neck and she would be flirting with him. How good the time was back then.

But now, he was still carrying that same person, however, the mood was completely different. She was very resistant and repulsive towards his embrace. The person in his embrace was not a living person, but a big block of ice.

The weight of this block of ice was much lighter than before. Rodney couldn’t help but said, “Amber, you’ve lost a lot of weight.”

Amber didn’t say anything. Whether she was thin or fat, it had nothing to do with him. Seeing that she was silent, he sighed deeply.

Amber took out the key and opened the door. She held onto the door frame to stand still. “What I’ve suffered tonight was all because of you, so I won’t thank you. Mr. Barron, have a safe trip back and never see you again!”

After saying those cold words, the cold door closed heartlessly. Mr. Barron Rodney stared blankly at the old door in front of him.

The door was still the same door, and the person was still the same. But everything was different.

Amber returned to her room with struggle. She had just sat on the bed when she heard the sound of a car leaving from outside.

Although it was within her expectations, but she still smirked in self-deprecation.

Human beings were really strange creatures. Things were already in this state yet her heart still couldn’t let go about such a thing. Was she actually expecting him to stay, stand and wait at the door like before?

She was really out of her mind! Ever since he had allowed another woman to be pregnant with his child, the two of them were destined to be strangers. Rodney Barron was no longer the same person as he used to be, nor was she the former Amber Stone. Everything was in the past, and they were destined that they should never cross paths again.

Amber took a deep breath and lay down on the bed. “Amber! Come on, you can do this!” She told herself.

Although Rodney drove the car away from the front of the apartment, he did not leave. Instead, he parked the car in an open space near the apartment. The streetlights were dim in the night. He sat quietly in the car and looked at this once familiar place.

He recalled the vows he had made in the past. “I will be faithful to you as long as we both shall live. Amber, I remember my vows. It has always been in my heart, I’ve never broken it!” thought Rodney.

Amber felt that her leg got better when she woke up in the morning, but she definitely couldn’t go to work. So she called Elliot to ask for leave and planned to rest for a day before going to work.

Half an hour later, Elliot arrived and knocked on the door loudly. Ashton opened the door and Elliot rushed in asking, “What happened? How did you hurt your leg?”

“I accidentally sprained my ankle while I was going up the stairs last night,” Amber replied.

“I’ll bring you to the hospital for a checkup.”

“I’ve already been checked. The doctor said there’s no problem. I’ll be fine after resting for a few days.”

However, Elliot didn’t believe it. Despite that Ashton was next to them, he carried Amber in his arms and left.

Rodney stayed in the car until dawn. He got out of the car and had gone to a nearby shop to buy breakfast. He was walking towards the apartment entrance with the breakfast. From a distance, he saw Elliot, carrying Amber in his arms, walking out of the apartment in a hurry.

“Why is a woman like you so heavy? It’ll save me a lot of energy if you would wrap your arms around my neck, understand?”

Elliot lectured Amber as he walked. His words reminded Amber of what Rodney said last night about her losing weight. Hence, she couldn’t help but refute, “I didn’t ask you to carry me. Besides, am I that heavy?”

“Why don’t you try carrying me?”

Amber chuckled, she was amused by him. So she just wrapped her arms around his neck. Elliot didn’t think that she was heavy, he just wanted to create a sense of intimacy. Seeing that Amber had wrapped her arms around his neck, a proud smile appeared on his face. “Now this is much better!”

Seeing Amber put her hands on Elliot’s neck while grinning, Rodney felt a pain in his heart and the breakfast in his hand fell to the ground in that instant.

He watched as Elliot carried Amber into the car and watched as Elliot carefully fastened her seat belt. He didn’t know what Elliot had said, but Amber reached out to and gave him a little push.

Those were all his privilege back then. He suddenly felt emptiness in his heart. An old man passing by reminded him, “Young man, you’ve dropped something!”

Rodney didn’t say anything and strode away. After a few steps, he turned around and picked up the breakfast that had fallen to the ground. “Amber Stone, if you’re not going to eat it. I’ll eat it!”

After making sure that Amber’s leg was fine and that she would recover in a few days, only then did Elliot feel relieved and sent Amber back home. Ashton went to the market to buy some fresh ingredients and Elliot took the initiative and shamelessly asked to stay for lunch.

Ashton naturally agreed readily. Elliot was so happy that he actually instructed Walter to deliver a bottle of his treasured cognac.

Upon receiving his order, Walter immediately drove to Elliot’s apartment and brought a bottle of Louis XIII Cognac.

When Walter arrived, Ashton had cooked all the dishes and placed them on the table. Seeing Walter put a bottle of Louis XIII Cognac which was worth more than three thousand dollars on the table, he reached out and skillfully opened the packaging. “I didn’t expect that I could still drink Louis XIII Cognac in this lifetime!”

Elliot was stunned and glanced at Ashton subconsciously. He had specially brought this Louis XIII Cognac back from France.

The packaging was all in French. How did Ashton know that it was Louis XIII Cognac? Did he know French?

Thinking about it, it seemed impossible. How could Ashton understand French if he lived in such a condition of poverty?

He was surprised. “How did you know that this is Louis XIII Cognac?”

Ashton was taken aback, then he put on a simple and honest smile. “Didn’t you say that on the phone?”

Elliot didn’t remember that he had mentioned the name of the cognac. When he was on the phone, he just asked Walter to bring his cognac here. He didn’t mention what kind of cognac it was at all. He only had Louis XIII Cognac in his apartment, so he didn’t have to mention the name.

Walter naturally did not know his doubts. Pointing at the cognac, he told Ashton, “This cognac was specially brought back from France by Mr. Thomson. This one is more than 50 years old, it’s generally difficult to get it in the country.”

“Elliot Thomson, why are you so extravagant?” Amber shouted in exaggeration, “Such an expensive cognac, it makes my heart ache.”

“You only think about the money. We should know how to enjoy life!” Elliot replied sarcastically.

Amber’s face was full of pity. “To enjoy life is a game played by rich people like you. For poor people like me, it’s good enough to have a full stomach.”

“You’re talking as if I have treated you unfairly.” Elliot snorted. “Are you wishing for a pay raise again?”

“No! I really wasn’t!” Amber waved her hand. “I’m just in pain, three thousand dollars is enough for me to live a beautiful life for a month.”

Elliot glanced at Amber. “Such a vulgar person.”

Ashton laughed and said, “Let’s eat and drink!”

The meal was very enjoyable. Elliot greatly complimented Ashton’s cooking. When it was time to leave, he even shamelessly requested, “Make my portion in the future, I’ll pay for it.”

“Screw you! Our small house can’t serve a superior like you.”

“I’m serious.”

“No, you’re not, just leave!” Amber glared at him.

Elliot left unhappily. When he got in the car, he thought of what happened and asked Walter, “Did I mention Louis XIII Cognac when I called you?”

“I don’t think so!” Walter replied.

“Since I didn’t mention it, how did Amber’s uncle know that it was Louis XIII Cognac?”

“Maybe he saw it on the Internet before.”

“Something is not right! Most of the cognac on the Internet are all in English. There are very few French cognac like this!” Elliot was lost in thought. “Walter, do you think that Ashton Stone is very strange?”

“What’s so strange about him?”

“Although he looks very ordinary, he has a kind of elegance. It doesn’t seem like something that an ordinary person can have at all.”

“Perhaps it’s because you like Amber, so you feel good about her uncle as well,” Walter replied.

“Is it just because of this?” Elliot was a little suspicious. He didn’t think that he himself was such a person.

“Mr. Thomson, stop confusing yourself. It’s impossible for Ashton Stone to understand French. If he knew French, how was it possible that he could not find a job?”

That’s true, Elliot had no choice but to put this matter aside.