âPerhaps itâs also a misunderstanding, like what happened when...,â Anna said Peace yelled, âNo way! He still has a picture of her inside his parentsâ house!ââ
Hearing this, Anna suddenly remembered who had mentioned Beatrice to her. âOh, you told me before that her...â she said.
âKarl is a total jerk! He told me that she had died of leukaemia! So sheâs now a ghost?!â Peace said loudly.
Anna had no idea what to say. She thought, What the hell were you thinking, Karl? | know you said it because you didnât want to irritate Peace. But why did you have to fabricate such a ridiculous lie? Is telling the truth that difficult?
âIsabella, the guests are waiting for you. Iâll stay here with Peace, âAnna winked at Isabella and said. Isabella left after patting Peace on the shoulder.
Then Anna took a seat next to Peace and asked, âWhat exactly is going on? Even if sheâs his ex-girlfriend, you donât have to be that angry. Something else happened, right? Where is Karl now?â
âHeâs dead,â Peace replied briefly.
âWâm serious.â
Following a brief moment of silence, Peace said, âThat woman had just told Karl that her luggage was still outside the hotel, so he went to get it for her. Heâs probably still in her room waiting for her, hoping to rekindle their love.â 521 He Loves You âDonât be ridiculous! Karl is not that kind of person.â
âYou should trust me in this! You werenât there, so you donât know what happened. She hugged him, grabbed his ear, and stroked his hair. They seemed so intimate!â
âReally?â Anna asked, frowning.
âYes!â
Looking at the sad expression on Peaceâs face, Anna knew she was telling the truth. Then Peace began to tell Anna what was going on.
âItall happened half an hour ago before the party began. Back then, Karl and | were staying on the beach with the kids. We were worried that Martin would ruin the venue, so we needed to keep an eye on him. While |
was lying on a lounge chair with a drink, | heard a woman call Karlâs nameâ
âThen Karl, that goddamn son of a b***h, ran to Beatrice happily and called her *Beaâ. Later, the two of them just hugged intimately RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! Can you believe it?! And then | heard Beatrice say, âYouâre even taller than | am. |
remember you were still a chubby kid when | first met you. Youâre a lot more attractive than you used to be. Wow! | love your moustache!â
âShe actually likes his ridiculous mustache! | wondered why he suddenly wanted to grow a beard, and now | know why. They must have stayed in touch over the years. He knew his ex-girlfriend was coming back, so he dressed up for her. These two pretended they hadnât seen each other in along time. Itâs disgusting!â Peace said with gritted teeth.
Anna immediately imagined that scene after hearing Peaceâs vivid description. Since she was an outsider, she was more sensible than Peace.
âYou said Karl called her Bea?â she asked.
âYes! Itâs so disgusting!â 521 He Loves You âActually, | donât think you should be worried about the relationship between Karl and Beatrice,â Anna said âWhat do you mean?â Peace asked in surprise.
âBeatrice said that her grandfather and Wayneâs grandfather were old friends, so she spent a summer in Birmingham and met Wayne and Karl. Isnât she older than both of them?â
âWhatâs the problem with that? He dated many women who were older than him.â
âThatâs not what | mean. Karl may have had feelings for her in the past, but she didnât feel that way about him:â
âWhat?â asked Peace, surprised.
âYoung adolescent boys are always drawn to women who are older than them. Anyway, | donât think sheâs his ex-girlfriend. You said Beatrice is much older than Karl, so she probably just thinks of him as her younger brother. Even if Karl had once liked her, so what? That happened almost twenty years ago. Why do you think so much about it?*â
âThen why did he keep her picture?â Peace asked angrily.
âKarl left home after starting junior high school and rarely came back. If he truly valued that photograph, he would have brought it with him to his own home.â
âNah. | donât believe you. He did so because he was worried his girlfriends would find out.â
Hearing Peaceâs words, Anna chuckled and said, âWell, you can just talk to Karl about it if you canât let it go. Perhaps things arenât as bad as you think.â
âAnyway, he lied to me and said sheâs already dead. Iâm not going to let him off the hook.â 521 He Loves You Anna wanted to say something else to persuade Peace, but she gave up when she realized her friend wouldnât listen to anyoneâs advice right now. Then, with the purpose of helping Peace shill, she asked the waiter for two glasses of wine and handed one to Peace.
âHere you go. Itâs a big day today, so let us not dwell on unhappy things.â
Peace gazed at the glass in Annaâs hand for a while before reaching out to take it. She then finished it all at once.
âHey! Donât drink so quickly!â Anna immediately said Peace felt dizzy after drinking, but she became much more sober and calm. She shook her glass and looked down, lost in thought. âAnna, do you think | treat Karl too harshly?â Peace asked.
âWell, you did treat him harshly, sometimes. But | can tell that Karl is very happy with you,â Anna said after careful consideration, âYou see, his parents didnât want you to take care of your children alone and even wanted to take them away from you because you once suffered from schizophrenia. And Karl tried hard and finally managed to convince them that you had recovered and could take care of your childrenââ
After a short pause, Anna said firmly with a smile, âWe all know Karl was a playboy before he met you. And yet, after he met you, he changed a lot for you. Even though Iâm always busy with work and seldom have time to see Karl, | can tell how much he cares about you and your children: Whatever happens, remember Karl loves you, and thatâs all that matters.â