âWhat are you looking for?â A woman dressed in black asked Gary.
Startled by the womanâs voice, Gary turned his gaze to the person behind him. He couldnât see the womanâs face clearly because it was too dark. The only thing he could tell was that the woman might be in her fifties.
âWho are you?â Gary asked warily, becoming nervous.
The woman laughed out loud and then asked him, âI should be the one to ask that question. Youâre on my doorstep right now. Do you have any idea about that?â
It wasnât until Gary saw the gate that he realized he had accidentally wandered into someone elseâs home. Then the woman stepped out of the shadows. Her dark green eyes sparkled like emeralds in the pale moonlight.
Gary stepped back and said, âIâm sorry, madame. Iâll leave right now. | came here to find a moon-shaped shell for my friend.â As he spoke, he looked down at the shell at the womanâs feet.
âAre you looking for this?â the woman asked, picking up the shell after looking down Gary nodded.
âThere are many unique shells here that you canât find anywhere else,â the woman said as she stood up and took the tiny moon shell in her palm. She then extended her hand to Gary.
Hesitant, Gary paused for a moment before walking directly toward the woman. He approached the woman, reached out his small hand, and 523 An Uninvited Guest took the shell from her. Then he said with a smile, âThank you.â
âYouâre very welcome,â The woman spoke softly, âYour parents will be worried if you stay here for so long. You should leave right now, my dear.â
Hearing that, Gary turned around and left. As he walked, he looked back several times and saw the woman still standing in the same spot, waving at him. Because he was scared by the woman in black, he started running. After a while, he was surprised to see the light ahead âTammy!â He yelled.
Tammy ran to Gary immediately upon hearing his voice and asked, âGary! Where did you go? â
Meanwhile, Peace knelt in fear and asked Gary, âAre you all right? Tammy was so worried about you that she almost called the cops! Weâd been looking for you for so long.â
Tammy turned away from Gary to wipe her tears. She said angrily, âWhy would | call the cops? | wasnât the one who got lost.â
âTammy,â Gary called out and grabbed one of her hands.
âDonât touch me!â Tammy screamed, refusing to look at him.
âDonât be mad, Tammy. This is for you,â Gary said as he took her arm and shoved something into her hand.
ââWhat is it?â Tammy asked, looking impatiently at her hand. She went completely still when she noticed a snowy white moon-
shaped shell in her palm. The moonlight reflected off the shell, making it appear crystal clear.
âSorry! | only found two shells like that, and one of them was missing a comer,â Gary said, tilting his head and smiling.
âYou came all that way to find this?â Tammy asked, surprised. 523 An Uninvited Guest âWâm sorry. | should have told you before | left. | know you like such shells, so | went to find them for you.â Gary said.
Hearing that, Tammy was silent for a few moments and then took Garyâs hand in hers while clutching the shell. âLook at the sand and mud on your shirt! You got dirty all over! Come on, letâs go back to the hotel,â she said. Later, she and Gary walked toward the hotel together. And Peace and Karl walked alongside the kids on the way back.
âAnna gave up her volunteer opportunity,â Peace said to Karl while walking slowly.
âWhy?â Karl asked, surprised.
âShe felt bad because Wayne had been doing nothing at home for years.â
âWhy does she think that? She didnât make Wayne stay at home. Heâs doing it because of his father...â
âShh!â Peace interrupted Karl immediately.
It wasnât until then that Karl realized he shouldnât have said that. So he lowered his voice and said, âAlthough few people knew the truth, Wayne still worried that it would land him in hot water. He resigned for the sake of the Wright familyâs reputation, not his own.â
Peace couldnât help but be worried about this. A few seconds later, she replied, ââYeah, youâre right. Only a few people know Wayne actually has nothing to do with the Wrights by blood. If the Carousel Groupâs board of directors knew the truth, Matthew might be forced to resign. Anyways, Karl, letâs not bring this up again in the future.â
âGot it.â
Anna and Wayne were talking in the hotel when her phone rang. 523 An Uninvited Guest âHello?â Anna raised an eyebrow and asked, âWhat? Stop her! Iâll be right there.â After hanging up, Anna went outside hurriedly.
âWhatâs wrong?â Wayne asked.
âLilyâs here. Peace stopped her at the hotel lobby. Iâm afraid sheâll ruin the wedding. Weâre not going to let her get away with it!â
Anna said, looking quite nervous.
âIsabella is no longer a child,â Wayne said as he stopped her.
âWhat do you mean?â
âYou can help her once, but you canât help her all the time. You should let Isabella handle this on her own. Besides, | believe it is time for Jasper to meet Lily and solve their problems.â
âIll talk to Isabella and ask her what she wants to do about it,â Anna said after a brief pause.
Isabella left the party immediately after hearing the news. As Wayne expected, she said she wanted to see Lily alone.
âDo you want me to go with you?â Anna asked Isabella after knowing that she wanted to confront Lily by herself.
Peace added, âLetâs go there together. Lily knows karate, so Iâm afraid sheâll.â
Isabella took Anna and Peaceâs hands in hers calmly and said, âRelax. Lily hasnât spoken to Jasper in years. So it is impossible that she suddenly came here just to fight with me. Sheâd never do something like that.â
âFine. Be careful, okay? Weâll be waiting outside the door for you. If anything happens, just let us know,â Anna patted her shoulder and said.
âOkay.â 523 An Uninvited Guest After pushing open the door to the lounge, Isabella saw a woman standing in front of the window. Lily appeared to be as strong and confident as ever. She was dressed in a suit and had her long chestnut brown hair tied in a high ponytail.
When she heard the door open, Lily turned around and looked at Isabella, who was standing in front of her. Then, with composure, she greeted Isabella, âItâs been a while.â