Chapter 697
When There Is Nothing Left But Love
It was quite far away, in a neighborhood near the north. Once I got off the car, I called Nora.
The phone rang for quite a while before she picked up. âBabe! Are you here?â
âIâm right downstairs.â
âOkay, give me a second.â
Five minutes later, I saw her limping down the stairs. She seemed rather unkempt in just her pyjamas
with her hair simply tied in a messy bun.
She opened the door, and her face broke into a wide grin at the sight of the chrysanthemums in my
hands. As she reached out to take them, she asked, âHow did you know I liked chrysanthemums?â
What?
I had no idea. If it wasnât for Armond, I wouldnât even have thought of it.
At the sight of her happy smile, I couldnât help but admit, âArmond asked me to buy them. I thought they
would be a bit of a bad omen at first, but I saw these pretty pink ones at a flower shop on my way here
and bought them.â
She chuckled. âI guess Mr. Murphy is still on his toes when it comes to this stuff. I only mentioned it
once, and yet, he remembered. Looks like I might be likely to be marrying Mr. Bachelor in the future,
huh?â
After that, she invited me in, and I followed her upstairs. Her house was incredibly messy, which left me
a bit speechless. âQuick question â how do you live in a mess like this?â
She stuck the flowers into a random vase and gathered large bunches of messy clothes off the sofa
and onto the bed. âI canât sleep if itâs too tidy.â
I was struck speechless once more.
I looked around the house. It wasnât very big â it was maybe eight hundred square feet with two
bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchenette.
âAre you living alone?â I asked.
She nodded as she poured me a glass of water. âI used to live with another girl, but she moved in with
her boyfriend. Now itâs just me.â
As she spoke, she scrutinized me with narrowed eyes. âWhy donât you move in with me so we can split
the rent?â
âOf course!â I said with a nod. âBut you need to keep the place much tidier. I might go insane if itâs this
messy all the time.â
She giggled. âIf you move here, it wonât be this messy all the time. I donât feel like tidying things up
when itâs just me here. After all, if everythingâs too perfect, it doesnât feel like home.â
âThen why donât you just go home?â It wasnât as if she wasnât doing well financially. She had no reason
to live in such conditions.
She chuckled and said, âI need my freedom as an adult, okay? We all need a little privacy.â
I couldnât wrap my mind around her logic at all. With a shrug, I asked, âHowâs your injury?â I couldnât
help but look at her leg after noticing her limping all over the place.
She sat next to me and replied, âItâs nothing serious. I was wearing heels when I fought with Tessa, so I
sprained my ankle. Anyway, what would you like to eat?â
The moment she asked that, the doorbell rang, and she went to open the door.
âHurry up, think of something so we can grab lunch together,â she pestered as she opened the door.
A middle-aged woman stood in the doorway. She seemed completely used to the state of the place and
said, âMs. Oberick, Iâm here to help you clean the house.â
She nodded and gestured for the woman to do what she had to do. âSo, what do you want to eat?â she
asked me.
I couldnât think of anything in particular, so I went with something random. âWhat about fish? Iâve been
craving some fish for a while.â
âSounds great!â She went into her bedroom and bustled around a bit. Luckily, she didnât waste too
much time, or we would probably have left the house a lot later.
There was a mall near her place, so we found a restaurant that served fish and chips and ordered what
we wanted before sitting down by a window.
She immediately started nosing around the moment we sat down. âBabe, tell me everything about you
and Ashton.â
I nearly choked on my own spit and looked at her as I coughed. âWe were just another arranged
marriage. Mr. Bauman was the one behind our relationship, so thereâs not much to tell.â
She held her chin in her hand and looked as if she were actually thinking about it. âAre you two
planning to go back to K City soon?â
I was a bit taken aback by her question and couldnât help but reply, âIf you want to know about Armond,
you can just say so. Iâll tell you everything I know.â
Nora chuckled awkwardly after being called out by me. âWhenâs he going to K City?â
âProbably after this project is over. Iâll probably go back then as well. Why donât you follow along so we
can have some fun in K City?â
âReally?â she asked excitedly.
I nodded. âOf course. Youâre paying for your own ticket, though.â
âObviously!â she replied with a mischievous smile on her face.
The waiter arrived to pour us some drinks, and I couldnât help but ask Nora, âWhat are you thinking
about?â
âClearly, Iâm thinking about how to get Mr. Fuller to fall for me once and for all.â
Her innocent girly side was showing. âHave you come up with a plan yet?â
âYouâre quite close to him, yeah? Have you ever seen any potential love rivals?â she asked as she
looked at me with her face still in her hands, looking as innocent as a sixteen-year-old.
I nodded. âYeah. Yours truly.â
She scoffed. âApart from you, obviously!â
âYou, then.â
She burst out laughing, which I already expected. Just then, she was starting to look extra cunning and
told me, âWhat are his hobbies? Help me find out what he likes and let me know!â