Chapter 1328
Theyâd spend Christmas Eve together, and as soon as the midnight bells chimed, theyâd be the first to wish each other well. But now, the person celebrating Christmas with her had changed.
Everything from before was in the past.
As Cornelia reminisced, the midnight bells rang once again. At the same time, Corneliaâs phone buzzed. She thought it would be a message from Abigail and Zack, but the name on the screen read âBenâ.
After the collapse of the Hartley Group and the news of Marcusâ death, Ben had disappeared. Cornelia didnât expect him to call at this moment. She picked up. âMerry Christmas, Ben!â
Ben replied, âMerry Christmas, Cornelia! Itâs been a while, how are you?â
Cornelia answered briefly, âIâm good. You?â
Ben replied, âIâm good too.â
Then, they fell into silence. Ben tried to break the silence, âWhat have you been up to?â
Cornelia answered, âWork.â
Ben asked, âWhat kind of work? Can you tell me?â
Cornelia told him, âIâm writing a script.â
Ben asked, âWhat kind of script?â
Cornelia simply replied, âA TV script.â
Ben asked, and Cornelia answered, each response brief and to the point, no extra words.
Ben tried to mend things, âCan you tell me more? After all the time weâve worked together, we canât be that much strangers.â
Yet, Cornelia didnât want to talk about herself, she turned the conversation to Ben, âThatâs all with my work, nothing much to say. Ben, where are you working now?â
Ben told her. âIâm at a startâup. Would you be interested? If you want, I could help you get a position here.â
Cornelia laughed, âNo need, I really like my current job.â
Then, they fell into silence again. Ben started another topic again, âI heard youâre pregnant. How many months are you? Whenâs the due date?â
Cornelia answered, âMarch.â
Ben asked concernedly, âMarch isnât that far off. Are you still working? Have you considered taking a break to prepare for the baby?â
Cornella knew Ben very well about his personality and the way he spoke from their time working together. This concern didnât sound like Ben.
Could someone be coaching him? Or was he just passing along someone elseâs message?
Cornelia asked, âIs there someone else with you?â
Ben sounded surprised, then answered, âYes. My mom is here.â
Cornelia said, âWell, I wonât keep you from your familyâs Christmas. Goodbye!â
Ben hastily said, âCornelia, wait.â
Cornelia asked, âWhat else is there?â
Ben said, âMerry Christmas! I hope you and your baby are healthy and happy!â
Cornelia said, âThanks for your wishes! If you called today because someone told you to, tell them not to bother with such meaningless things in the future. Iâm not grateful at all.â