Chapter 142 Childhood Memory I felt that Nicholas was now a taboo to Dominic. The man became irritated whenever someone mentioned Nicholas, even if it wasnât me.
I didnât know about others, but I could sense the tension building up around him.
Unwilling to get into trouble, I quickly explained, âRachelle, that news canât be trusted. Iâve even brought him home to celebrate Grandpaâs birthday. Isnât this obvious enough?â
âHaha! No wonder you donât want me to introduce some men to you. Youâve found a boyfriend. Lili, since everyone is around, why donât you introduce him to us?â
I let out a laugh. âThereâs nothing much to say. His name is Dominic Hartnell, and heâs a businessman.â
My words piqued Aunt Giannaâs interest right away. âA businessman? Does he own a company? Thatâs great. Heâs much better than the useless Julius, who only works for others. What kind of business is Mr.
Hartnell doing? Maybe we can collaborate in the future. Honey, please get our business card,â Aunt Gianna asked while calling her husband to come over.
The first time I brought Julius home, she asked the same questions as well. After knowing he was only an average sales director, she treated him with disdain.
Despite knowing that they wouldnât look down on Dominic if I revealed his family background, I refused to let the couple know more about him.
Like all businessmen, they often carried a guileful and materialistic aura. If they ever found out about Dominicâs prominent identity, they might do something outrageous.
My relationship with Dominic was complicated enough. I wanted nothing else to meddle in our affairs.
Aunt Giannaâs husband handed his business card to Dominic with a flattering grin. Before he could open his mouth or make his next move, I interrupted them. âUncle, Dominic owns only a small business, so he doesnât have any business card. If you and Aunt Gianna are interested, he can tell you more about his company after dinner.â
Sure enough, my words wiped the smiles off Aunt Giannaâs and her husbandâs faces. After mumbling a few words, they brushed me off and stopped bothering me.
âOkay, okay, you two have asked too many questions. Why do you keep talking about that rascal? Youâre rubbing salt into the wound.â My grandfather wasnât happy that Aunt Gianna brought Julius up.
Even my parentsâ expressions seemed a little surly.
Dominic didnât show any unusual response, but the atmosphere was slightly awkward.
Immediately, Aunt Vivienne tried to lighten the mood. âDad, why are you angry? Gianna is only concerned about Lili.â
I couldnât bear to see my grandfather being upset, so I rushed over to him and changed the subject.
Then, no one else brought the matter up again.
The birthday celebration would start tomorrow for three successive days so everyone in the suburbs could attend it.
All we needed to do was to buy the groceries and ingredients. Several chefs would be here to prepare the food tomorrow.
However, everyone would lend a helping hand, as this was the custom of how we organized a birthday celebration.
The younger ones had nothing much to do, but our parents still had to get a lot of things ready.
Other than my five-year-old cousin, Dominic, Louis, Rachelle, Aunt Vivienneâs son, Richard, and I left the house after eating lunch.
My parents did not want us to be at home too, lest we cause them any trouble.
There was not much entertainment in the suburbs. When I was young, my favorite activity when I returned to my hometown was following my grandfather to the market. He usually bought me various mouth-watering food and fun toys, but that was a long time ago.
Coincidentally, it was a market day today.
âHey, letâs walk over there. Itâs so crowded,â I urged the others.
Without waiting for their replies, I pulled Dominic toward the crowd.
âDominic, I guess you have never seen this before. Let me show you around.â I appeared more enthusiastic than usual because I was in good spirits today.
âItâs only a market day. Whatâs the big deal?â Dominic sounded a little exasperated.
Turning around, I glanced at him and asked in surprise, âHow did a city slicker like you know about a market day? How strange!â
Dominic ignored my comment. Never mind, since Iâm in a good mood, so Iâll let him off.
Afterward, I ambled around the market for half a day, dragging Dominic along. Despite the ordinary products sold in the market, I found them interesting.
I purchased countless knick-knacks while Dominic watched me with contempt.
âYou werenât as happy when I asked you to choose diamond and gold jewelry, but now youâre so thrilled about these useless knick-knacks.â
Holding a plastic bag while enjoying cotton candy, I spoke with a slur, âItâs not the same at all. This is my childhood memory. Itâs very dear to my heart, alright?â
Seeing that he remained silent, I waved my hands. âFine. Rich kids like you wonât get it.â
âDo you want some cotton candy? Iâm too full to take another bite.â
This was a bad habit of mine. Every time I saw cotton candy, I couldnât help buying it, but I wouldnât be able to finish eating it.
Dominic gave me a sniff of disapproval. âDo you think Iâll eat your leftover? Itâs so dirty.â
âDonât be so picky. How is it dirty? I picked the cotton candy with a stick before eating it. Itâs so yummy.
Try it!â
I did not care whether he was willing to eat it, picking some cotton candy with a stick and placing it in front of his lips.
âLiliana⦠Mmmâ¦â
Right when he opened his mouth, I stuffed the candy in and chortled. âHowâs it? Is it sweet? Does it taste good?â
âYouâre really childish.â The man shot daggers at me with a grim face.
His reaction amused me, and I broke out into a fit of giggles. I lifted the remaining cotton candy in my hand. âHere you go. Donât waste it. It has cost me some money.â
âOne of my hands is occupied, so I canât eat it.â
With a broad grin, I gazed at him. âNo problem, Iâll feed you then. Finish it.â
He didnât utter a word. His silence meant consent.
Along the way, I glanced around keenly while feeding him cotton candy.
Suddenly, someone bumped into me, and I staggered forward. Fortunately, Dominic reacted swiftly and held me up.
Before I found out what had happened, a hostile voice yelled, âHey, watch where you walk! Are you blind? You knocked my wife!â