Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
Dale’s secretary was waiting at the door. When she saw Halston, she was quite attentive toward him. “Mr. Guajardo…” “Where is she?” Halston asked darkly.
“Ms. Ellsworth?” The secretary quickly pointed at the stairs. “I wanted to see her off, but she stopped me. She then went toward the emergency exit. I wanted to go in and inform you about that.”
“Okay.” Halston nodded, and walked toward the stairs.
Generally, guests would use elevators. The emergency exit would be dark, and rarely did people use it.
Flossie chose the inconvenient stairs instead of the convenient elevators. There could only be one possibility-she was drunk.
She had drank quite a lot of wine, when most might fail to handle even a glass. Besides, she and Dale kept drinking the entire time. It was understandable that she wasn’t quite sober.
Flossie found it hard to take, and went to a deserted area for a quick break.
Halston descended the stairs. As he had expected, he saw Flossie sitting on the stairs at the corner after descending two floors. She was curled up, and had buried her head between her legs…
Halston walked to Flossie. He felt very sorry for her, and kept his head low as he looked at her. However, he had to keep his feelings hidden…
“Hey, how are you?” Halston’s low voice came from above Flossie. It sounded surreal, like a dream in the vacant corridor.
“Who are you…?”
Feeling dizzy, Flossie kept her posture without raising her head. She was slurring her words.
At first, she didn’t feel much after gulping down glass after glass of white wine. However, it began to take effect and turned her dizzy after a while. She felt like her body and soul were separated.
Honestly, she liked this kind of feeling. She rarely got so drunk after becoming a mother because she had to be a role model for her children.
“I’m your destiny…” Halston replied. Since Flossie was drunk, he stopped pretending to be aloof and distant. He sat down beside her, and faked a smile. “Can you share your thoughts with me?”
“My destiny?” Finally, Flossie looked up and blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well…” After some contemplation, Halston made a joke. ‘I’m your destined Mr. Right.”
“Pfft! Hahaha! That’s hilarious! Are you out of your mind?” Flossie burst into laughter, now seeing double. “You’re so cheesy! No one else can be compared to you.”
Halston pursed his lips, embarrassed. He looked at her seriously, and asked, “Are you sober or drunk?”
It wasn’t the first time he saw her drunk, but he had also seen her acting drunk. At the moment, Halston found it hard to tell whether she was actually drunk or not.
“Of course I’m sober!” Flossie sat up straight, but she couldn’t speak clearly.
“Oh, I see.” Halston nodded. He could tell from her expression that she was actually drunk. Subconsciously, he smirked. “Well, who am I?”
“You…” Flossie staggered, and got closer to him. Her eyes grew wide as she studied him carefully. Then, she burped. “You’re a mushroom.”
Halston was both flabbergasted and amused. “What do you mean?”
“Your head looks very much like a mushroom….” Flossie stood up and patted his head. In a daze, she said, “Come on. Wake up, mushroom. Say goodbye to your parents. I’m going to pick you and bring you home!”
“I don’t understand that.” Halston sat on the stairs, watching Flossie as she caressed and patted his head. He doubted if she wanted to trick him by using the excuse that she was drunk.
Given her muddle-headed look, though, it didn’t seem like she was faking it.
Halston recalled the time they accidentally drank some mushroom soup and got food poisoning many years ago. At that time, Flossie got very muddle-headed. She tore his hair, and claimed she wanted to catch all villains for him.
At that time, they hadn’t undergone so many hardships. They were still very confident in their future.
On the contrary, they behaved like they had survived a thunderstorm and were terribly injured. They had lost their previous enthusiasm and hope for the future.
“Mushroom, stop moving! You won’t look nice if I don’t pick you properly,” Flossie instructed seriously as she squatted down. Then, she faced him. “Don’t be scared. I’ll pick you now.”
After that, she held Halston’s face and started twisting it to left and right.
“Stop!” Halston held her wrists. “If you keep doing this, you’ll break my neck!”
“No, I won’t stop! You didn’t listen to me! I’m going to slap you!” While talking, Flossie slapped him twice. Although it wasn’t hard, it was quite humiliating.
“Flossie, you did it on purpose, didn’t you?” Halston’s face was icy, and he pulled her into his arms. “You’re actually sober, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I am! I’m a girl who’s picking mushrooms. I must pick you and take you home, you big mushroom.” Flossie grinned, struggling to continue what she was doing.
“I think it’s better if I pick you and take you home instead,” Halston commented, and he carried her in his arms. “Hey, mushroom! What are you doing? You’re getting rebellious! I’m picking you, not the other way around! Put me down now!’
At some point, Flossie found herself in Halston’s arms. Without a stable ground supporting her, she became dizzier. She started kicking and flailing, and even lost her high heels.
“Hush, girl. If not, people might get the wrong idea and think I’m trying to do something bad to you!” Halston carried her, and descended the stairs. His voice echoed in the corridors.
“Right, I’ll keep quiet,” Flossie said; she seemed to have realized something.
“You’re so superior, mushroom. You’ll come home with me without me picking you. I need to be quiet, or you’ll run away.” Then, she put her arms around his neck and said seriously, “Now I’ve got you! Be good. Don’t run away. I’ll get a chicken later and cook you with the chicken. I’m sure you’ll smell very good!’
“Okay, I’ll be good. You have to be good, too. Just hold me tight, or I’ll run away.” Halston echoed her, holding back his laughter.
“Mm, I must hold you tight.”
While talking, Flossie exerted herself and tightened her hold over Halston. She buried her face around his neck, and smelled his light grassy scent. It was reminiscent of incense that aided sleep. At some point, she dozed off into a sound sleep.
Halston carried Flossie out of the restaurant. After a long hesitation, he hailed a cab and decided to get her back to Guajardo Manor instead of the villa they had lived. He feared of losing control of himself the moment he recalled the past. Who knows, he might get into an ambiguous relationship with her again.
Halston wanted to avoid anything that shouldn’t happen.
After all, his parents and grandfather were present. They were concerned about Flossie, and would watch over her well. They would never allow him to act recklessly.
As for the Guajardos, it was already dinnertime.
Timothy, Alexander, and Francine were sitting at the dining table. They kept an icy expression, looking downcast.
“It’s really dull. After so many years, this table is still so cheerless. I don’t have anything to look forward to,” Timothy commented with a sigh.
Both Alexander and Francine kept their heads down when they heard Timothy’s words. They went on eating, not daring to breathe.
Everyone knew that Timothy’s former granddaughter-in-law was his favorite. His two great-grandchildren were the source of his happiness.
However, various reasons caused Flossie, Adie, and Abby to grow further and further away from the Guajardo family. Now, they rarely gathered together.
Hence, Timothy would sigh every time dinner came. On top of that, he would be angry and rebuke anyone who tried to comfort him.
Alexander, worried Timothy would feel lonely from staying in that manor alone, stayed there with Francine in the long term. However, both of them were burdened instead.
Timothy would occasionally blow his top at Alexander or Francine. When Halston was home on Sundays, the three of them would work together to admonish Alexander instead. The manor was rather chaotic.
“Why are you two keeping your heads low? Are you looking for something?” Timothy slammed the fork on the table, and started finding fault with Alexander and Francine. “My granddaughter-in-law and great-grandchildren are all gone! Can you even find them?”
“Dad, we’re eating. Let’s not talk about unhappy things, Alexander said carefully, raising his head. He was afraid his wife would face the brunt of Timothy’s anger. “Be reasonable. Yes, Flossie, Abby, and Adie are gone, but it has nothing to do with us. You should blame Halston instead. He went crazy suddenly, and got together with that scheming Jessanna again. Why don’t you stop? We’ll tell him off when he comes home.”