Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
It was clear someone had specially adjusted the trend. It was also clear who had done that.
twas
“That’s fast! But it wasn’t me, it was Guajardo Enterprise’s PR Department. They’re great.”
Flossie guessed that the negative news had gotten Guajardo Enterprise’s attention, who then had someone them up. Otherwise, the internet wouldn’t be so peaceful.
This method was effective for now. In the long run, however, they would face dire consequences if they failed to provide the parents with a satisfactory answer.
Flossie couldn’t act rashly. She had to wait for Guajardo Enterprise’s next move.
“Regardless, I’m relieved this issue didn’t involve Mr. Guajardo.” Joanne placed her hand on her chest and heaved a long sigh. “I owe him big time. I don’t want to bring him any more trouble. If not, I can’t rest in peace even if I die.”
“Hey, stop talking about death!” Flossie chided Joanne sternly, frowning. “My family, including Halston, hope to see you rid of your trauma as soon as possible and regain happiness. If you want to repay him, live well.”
“If you live well, you won’t let him down. He always put his interests first. If you live well, he’ll think it’s a profitable bargain for him. Given that he’s a businessman, it concerns his reputation and abilities. You can’t make him lose face. Don’t you think so?” Flossie went on.
“You’re right! I got it.”
After listening to Flossie’s persuasive long speech, Joanne nodded thoughtfully. At the same time, she became more determined to live well.
“I don’t feel like surviving, but I’m willing to do that for Mr. Guajardo’s sake. I’ll try my best to live well!
Flossie walked around Joanne’s room, and found new s’mores pops and other kinds of desserts and fruits. There were even some plush toys.
It was undeniably Quinton’s doing. It was lousy, as if he was trying to coax a child, but it suited the kind of person he was.
Flossie felt that Quinton merely had a vicious tongue. If he spoke less and did more, it would be beneficial for his relationship with Joanne. For example, he could do basic things such as cooking and buying presents for Joanne.
They probably couldn’t make peace with each other, but at least they wouldn’t try to kill each other or themselves every time they met.
“This chestnut cake looks nice…” Flossie picked up a chestnut cake on the tea table and took a bite of it with a spoon. It tasted mildly sweet, better than the ones sold at many professional dessert shops.
“I heard from Margaret that your brother made this.” She didn’t resist Quinton so much that day, and even complained, “Now I know he can make dessert. I think he should stop selling antiques at Carmine Pawnshop and change it to Carmine Dessert Shop instead. Business would be very good.”
“So you think he makes good desserts too?” Flossie joked, glancing at Joanne. There was some cream on her lips. “I… I don’t think so.” Joanne noticed the change in her attitude toward Quinton, and felt embarrassed and vexed about it. She thought she had betrayed herself.
She gnashed her teeth.
“On the contrary, he’s awful at it. He should open up a dessert shop to train instead.”
“Mm, he’s bad at it. But you almost ate it all. You left only a small piece. I don’t have enough,” Flossie said teasingly.
She pursed her lips and kept on teasing Joanne.
“If you don’t like it, I’ll make him stop. Since he makes such bad desserts, it’ll affect his image in your heart.” “Stop teasing me!”
Joanne’s face was icy. She looked out the window, filled with worry.
“I know you’re trying to bring us together, but please stop. I’m already very forgiving to not bring him down with me. I’m staying here because you and Margaret are nice. This place feels like home.”
“That’s great! I hope you can put your grudges away and take this place as your home,” Flossie said eagerly. “This is your home. My brother cares about you. We care about you, too.”
“Please stop trying to bring us together.” Joanne turned around, looking serious. “If you keep doing this, I’ll leave.”
“Okay, I’ll stop. I won’t bring that up again!” Flossie said timidly. She knew Joanne’s temper well.
After a while, however, she failed to hold herself back.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, go on and ask,” Joanne said.
She looked at Flossie calmly. It seemed like she knew what Flossie was about to ask.
“I can tell you and Quinton can’t make peace. I want to know if it’s because of the bad experiences, or some other reason…” Flossie said, trying to sound Joanne out. “For example, was it because of Halston?”
“No!” Joanne immediately shook her head. “It had nothing to do with Mr. Guajardo. Stop overthinking. We’re just friends. Maybe we’re not even friends. At most, I owe him a big favor. I can’t make peace with your brother because of my problems.”
“Uhm, can I ask about the reason?” Flossie pressed.
Although Flossie was long aware of Joanne’s answer, she was full of regrets. She shamelessly got to the bottom of it.
“Is it because….of the child…?”
Hearing that, Joanne couldn’t stop tears from filling her eyes.
“I can’t make peace with the man who killed my child. It’d be betraying my child.”
Her watery eyes were full of endless restraint and bitterness. Then, she raised a profound question.
“You’re a mother too. If someone harms your child, can you forgive him? Plus, the child is his too… I’m too timid to pretend that nothing has happened since he could even kill his child. I can’t keep the fake relationship, either.”
“…” Flossie was rendered speechless. She couldn’t persuade another pitiful woman who had lost her child since she was a mother herself.
“Well, what’s your plan?’ Flossie asked.
She watched Joanne’s melancholic figure, feeling very sorry for the latter. She was sincerely worried about Joanne’s future, and wondered how Joanne could gain happiness.
“Stop blaming yourself or pitying me,” Joanne said, now composed. She even laughed at herself. “I didn’t feel like living, but I’m very grateful to Mr. Guajardo for showing me the way. He made me understand the joy of being a teacher. If the good schools in big cities don’t need me, I can go to remote places that lack educational resources, like the mountains I can teach there. I think the parents there won’t look down on me because of my poor skills. I’m sure there won’t be so many schemes between colleagues, either.”
“Is that what you want?” Flossie was surprised, but she found it reasonable.
Joanne was hurt. She would be ostracized if she lived among the complicated big crowd. People would hold prejudices against her. The remote and quiet mountains with simple and kind villagers could accept her readily. “I guess,” Joanne said.
She looked eager, but she also doubted herself.
“I crawled out of hell. I’m not very refined either, and I have no impressive teaching experience. I stepped into the education industry because of my enthusiasm. If the kids there love me, it’s a blessing. They’ll take me in and let me stay there. Or… Well, they might look down on me too. They’ll think my experiences are bad. My scars might scare them, too.”
“No, they won’t!” Flossie cried.
Flossie hurriedly interrupted Joanne’s self-denial. She held Joanne’s shoulders and began to encourage the latter.
“You have no idea how great you were! You were the most popular Cienna teacher in Lone Pine Elementary. You even helped your student to win an essay competition. You had talent in teaching. But you’ve had a bumpy life, and you didn’t get the chance to refine your resume.
“But don’t worry! There are many ways to improve yourself. For example, you can take up college self-study classes and sign up for a foreign language course. You can try getting some technical qualifications. I’m sure it won’t be hard for you, given your talent.”
Previously, Quinton had occasionally mentioned that Joanne was good at her studies. She was always at the top of her class in elementary school, middle school, and high school. She was the candidate that could go to a good college.
Unfortunately, her fate was full of thorns. She had a terrible family; a violent father, a timid mother, and a scumbag of a brother. They stopped Joanne from going to school, wanting her to marry the son of a small shop owner in the neighboring village instead.
The day before the college entrance examination, something happened. Quinton escaped that house with Joanne because he could no longer tolerate it.
Hence, Joanne lost the chance to sit for the exam. She led a wandering life with Quinton and tried to earn their living in Water Dock. She never returned to school.