Chapter 89
Cordelia awoke to the familiar hustle and bustle of the household staff moving briskly through the corridors. The silverware was being polished and the fine china clinked softly as it was prepared for the eveningâs dinner party
As Lorna laid out a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon, Rachel, with her usual sour tone, chimed in, âWith all the fuss in the house for tonight, do you really need to fuss over Cordelia and her boyfriend with a full breakfast? Canât you just whip up something quick?â
Lorna ignored her, carefully arranging the breakfast on a tray and handing it to Cordelia.
The family was busy trying to curry favor with the Smith family to secure an introduction to Calvert, which meant Rachel, usually sullen and withdrawn, held her head a bit higher today with a hint of smugness in her
stance.
Taking the breakfast from Lorna, Cordelia was about to retort to Rachel when Lorna tugged at her arm. âCome on, Lia, letâs get you to school.â
Once they
were outside, spoke up. âDonât bother arguing with her. Laurinda will just have more nasty things to say. Let Rachel have her moment. Itâs not like itâll make a difference to us.â
Cordelia pondered for a moment before realization dawned on her. âYeah, she might as well be a dog barking.â
Lorna paused, initially perplexed, but then she burst into laughter, proud to see her daughter develop a sense of humor.
As Cordelia climbed into the car, Lorna stood watching the vehicle pull away, feeling a shift within herself. In the past, Laurindaâs occasional jibes would find her desperate for Cordelia, touched by sadness. But Cordeliaâs return brought a new attitude. Her carefree disposition affected Lorna. At nearly fifty, Lorna was learning to let go, all thanks to Cordelia. What did othersâ opinions matter to her?
Oblivious to these thoughts, Cordelia pulled out her book during the halfâhour car ride to school, utilizing the Journey to absorb some knowledge.
Her memory was photographic, high school knowledge a breeze, and now she tackled specialized math terminology. Knowing that many resources were in foreign languages, she wanted to be ready to delve into the original texts without getting lost in translation.
By the time she pulled up to Midnight Scent, she had soaked up quite a bit of knowledge.
Exiting the car, she tucked the compact workbook into her pocket, grabbed her backpack and breakfast, and stepped inside.
Everard was, as usual, behind the counter engrossed in a book. As Calvert took the breakfast to set the table. Everard slammed his book down and stood up lazily.
Curiosity got the better of Cordelia today, and she craned her neck to peek at the bookâs title. The cover was of a serene and muted color that seemed to calm the soul. The title read The Bible.
Sitting down to eat, Cordelia couldnât help but steal at Everard. Why was he reading The Bible?
As her curiosity grew, she observed the more . She had never seen it open for business, yet it was as spacious as any regular supermarket.
How did Everard Little Fang make a living? And with Everardâs apparent lack of wealth, how could he afford to pay Little Fang?
Previously indifferent, Cordelia now saw Everard as a man shrouded in mystery. That was fitting considering he had the love curse on her
Cordelia swallowed the last of her muffin when she noticed Everard had finished eating and was gazing at her with deep eyes that seemed to pierce through her thoughts.
Chapter 89
After a brief stare, he chuckled softly, leaned in over the small table, and closed the gap to mere inches, âHey girl, donât move.â
Frozen with a bite of muffin in her mouth, Cordelia watched as Everard reached out toward herâ¦..
If he dared cross a , sheâd make sure he regretted it. But before she could react, his fingertip touched her lip.
His touch was warm, calloused, slightly rough against her skin, sending a shiver down her spine.
Everard simply whispered and pulled back, showing her the crumb he had removed from her lips.
Even when she left, the heat lingered on her lips, spreading to her cheeks.
At school, Little Parrot immediately began to gab, âLia, my darling chatted with me again last night.â Her eyes sparkled with infatuation, âI can hardly believe Iâm talking to my idol. He even chats with me every night for a bit. By the way, Lia, is your boyfriend still upset?â
delia, still processing the morningâs encounter with Everard, hesitated before answering, âI donât think heâs
upset anymore.â
âGood!â Merry sighed in relief. âBland said heâd hate for a movie role to mess up things between you and your guy.â
Musing aloud, she added, âItâs weird though, Bland seems really concerned about your boyfriendâs feelings. Shouldnât he be asking you directly?â
Merry waved off the thought, âMaybe heâs just looking for topics to chat about with me. My mind goes blank whenever I see him.â
Each time Bland messaged her, her inner fangirl screamed with excitement.
Where was her sanity in texting? Thus, the tempo of their chats was always in Bland. But she was more than content. How many people in the world could say theyâve added their celeb crush on WhatsApp and chatted with them regularly?
The school bell rang, and Merry turned her head, only to hear her phone ping. She glanced down to see a message in the Flame Union group chat from Flame No. 1, âWhatâs with Yates? Heâs bought a mountain of lollipops.â
Merry was at a loss for words.
Lately, there seemed to be an abundance of oddballs around.
After a full day of classes, Cordelia finished all the homework assigned by the teachers during the last two study periods in the afternoon. At the end of the school day, she carried a stack of thick English literature books home with her.
As her car pulled up, Juliana had already arrived, looking splendid in a beautiful dress as she sat in the living
room.
Entering the living room, Cordelia saw that everyone was dressed to the nines, and the dining table was surrounded by a feast of deliciousâsmelling dishes.
While Cordelia was taking it all in, Rachel spoke up, âCordelia, go upstairs and change into something nice. quick! My brother and the others are here!â
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