Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
When she got back to her apartment, Adie had already had his dinner and was now in the study. He sat on the couch, reading a book, with his feet dangling in the air, looking heart-achingly adorable.
“What a good boy you are, Adie! You already know how to take such good care of yourself!”
Flossie sat down next to her son and gently patted his little head.
“Of course, Mommy! I know how hard you’re working, so I don’t want to be a burden to you.”
Adie was reading an advanced physics textbook. His knowledge had already reached the level of a university student now, making him a bona fide child prodigy. Yet this fact only made Flossie worry about him. Because he was so far ahead of his peers, Adie was quite a lonely child compared to kids his age.
But days like these would soon be over.
Flossie then enthusiastically told her son, “Adie, guess what? The headmaster of Monte Perry Kindergarten told me today that they’ve abolished that horrible rule and agreed to welcome you and Abby to the kindergarten! I’ll bring Abby and Aunt Margaret over in a few days and we’ll all be together again, okay?”
She expected Adie to be leaping with joy after hearing the news, but the boy reacted very calmly and merely said, “I didn’t think it would be settled this quickly. Looks like that guy’s the real deal.”
“What guy?” asked Flossie, confused. She did find it suspicious how the kindergarten would take a 180- degree turn on their rules so suddenly. Did Adie know the actual reason for this?
“Um, Superman! I asked Superman to help me last night. I didn’t think he’d fulfill my wish so quickly! Superman is so awesome!”
Adie’s face was full of satisfaction. Right now, he regarded Mr. Q as one of the best candidates to be his mother’s future husband, but he did not want to reveal too much before Mr. Q really passed the test, for fear that his mother might fall too crazily in love with him too soon. Hence, he would only refer to him as “Superman” for now.
“Is that so?” Flossie gently replied, not suspecting that Adie was hiding anything. “If that’s true, then Superman must be an awesome guy! Oh, how I wish I had someone like Superman to fulfill all my wishes too!”
“That’s easy!” Adie wrapped his arms around his mother’s neck and warmly told her, “All you have to do is find a husband you can do anything for you… But don’t worry, Mommy! I believe that you’ll find your Superman soon!”
It was already getting late. Flossie put Adie to bed and quietly tiptoed out of the kids’ room. She went into her own room, changed into comfortable sportswear, tied her hair up into a high ponytail, and confidently walked out of the door..
It was one in the morning. Everything was quiet and peaceful everywhere else, but here at Water Dock, things had only just warmed up. It was the most chaotic time of the day, when all kinds of colorful characters began to show up.
Flossie had come to Water Dock on her own, with nothing but a ‘top-secret” map of the area that she bought at a high price from the second-hand market. She headed straight to Carmine Pawnshop.
Water Dock had indeed lived up to its reputation. It was every bit as much of the lawless, “no man’s land” it was rumored to be, where burning, looting, robbing, and killing took place at almost every corner. Anything that was too sickening to be found in civilized society was nothing but a normal occurrence here. It was truly a dreadful place to be.
The whole area of Water Dock was actually not that large, but it was divided into three main zones- upstream, midstream, and downstream.
The upstream area was at the outermost edge. It was relatively the most” normal” zone here, where a trading center was located. Here you could find all kinds of goods, and if you looked hard enough, you might even leave with a good deal in your hands. It was certainly the safest area in the Water Dock.
Things began to stray off the beaten track in the Midstream zone. Here you would find illegal casinos, illegal racetracks, illegal brothels, and an illegal marketplace for all kinds of shady goods. This was also a place where you could find groups of thugs and ruffians who had no fear of death. They would do anything for you as long as you agree to their price.
Unsurprisingly, people get killed here every day.
The downstream area, however, was basically purgatory on Earth. Danger lurked in every corner and most normal people would never dare get close to it, let alone set foot there. It was just as Liam had described-even the devil himself might get conned out of the clothes on his back here.
Yet here was the place where Carmine Pawnshop was located, in the deepest bowel of the downstream zone in Water Dock. It was right in the center of an absolute hellscape, and just from this fact alone, one could guess what kind of man Mr. Q, the owner of Carmine Pawnshop, really was. You would have to go through an ordeal just to meet him!
If Flossie was not so desperate to get the money, she would’ve never even imagined having anything to do with such a shady guy. But she was not afraid of him in the least. After all, she used to be an infamous figure herself back when she was still in the circle. She had been to many godforsaken places that were a thousand times more accursed than Water Dock, so she was perfectly in her element in this kind of place.
But she had two children to think of now. This made her a lot more cautious than she was in the past. Back then, she would dive headlong into anything without a care for the consequences. The very thought about how reckless she used to be made her shudder!
It was still early, so Flossie parked her car in a parking lot in the upstream zone with a plan to go to the famous antique market first.
The antique market was located in the upstream zone. It also acted as the entrance to Water Dock. Because of its special location, many rare treasures from all around the world were smuggled and sold. Countless people have made their fortune here, but just as many had their life ended here as well because of their greed.
The antique market dazzled with lights and bustled with activity. Traders and peddlers were shouting, advertising their wares to the rest of the market which was filled with a flurry of people.
“Come and take a look! This is a genuine glass urn from Ulria! It’s the only one of its kind in the whole world! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal! Don’t miss out on a great deal…”
“Feast your eyes, ladies and gentlemen! These are sacred stone beads from the Western Highlands! Legend has it that these were blessed by angels! These are only meant for those who are destined to have them!”
II It
Flossie was both fascinated and overwhelmed by the sight of rare treasures all around her as she strolled through the market. Never would she have guessed that there would be such an exciting “treasure trove” right here in Beach City, where one could buy whatever their heart desired.
She then came across a smaller stall attended by an old man with a gray beard and dark skin who was engrossed in playing his fiddle. His stall was relatively simple and somewhat shabby compared to the others around it, consisting only of a table covered by a coarse linen cloth where a few pieces of jade, ancient paintings, ceramics, and other knick knacks were lined up on. It was hard to tell where these objects came from, but they seemed to have been dug out of old tombs and graves.
What caught Flossie’s eye the most was the stack of cards right next to these treasures. She looked closer and realized that they were tarot cards. This inexplicably piqued her interest, so much that she asked, “Are you good at predicting the future, old man?”
But the old man did not even open his eyes. He was lost in his music, passionately pouring his heart out to the song he was playing on his fiddle. Flossie thought the song he played was familiar. She thought it sounded rather like a song called “Destiny”.
Seeing that the old man was so absorbed in the music, Flossie thought it best not to disturb him, so she was prepared to leave.
Just then, the old man finally finished playing his song and stopped her,” Where are you going, young lady? I’ve been waiting for you for so many years. The person I was destined to meet is finally here.”
“You’ve been waiting for me?” Flossie asked. She was even more fascinated now. With a smile, she asked, “Do you know me?”
“You can put it that way.”
“Then tell me, who am I?”
Flossie waited eagerly for the old man’s answer with a playful smile on her face. She had heard of swindlers and conmen who could tell someone’s fortune by just randomly picking a name-statistically, there would come a time when they’d get it right.
That was why she absolutely did not believe that this old man could guess her real name. After all, her last name was pretty rare and her first name was not a common one either
The old man raised his eyebrows, and with a half-smile said, ‘You are the granddaughter of Liliana Schneider, the heroine of North City, correct?”
The smile on Flossie’s face faded. She became serious in a heartbeat as she asked, “How did you figure that out?”
If he had guessed her name correctly, she could still have assumed that the old man must’ve loved reading gossip about famous people. As Halston Guajardo’s ex-wife, her name and face were considerably recognizable. But the old man managed to guess her grandmother’s name, and that was nothing short of amazing, because the Ellsworth family never publicly announced that the woman her grandfather married was the one and only Liliana Schneider from North City!
“It looks like I got it right.” The old man stroked his beard, then asked, “Do you believe in my skills now?”
“If you figured that out based on your fortune-telling skills,” Flossie clasped her hands together, “then you must be the master of all master fortune tellers! I humbly bow to your incomparable mastery!”
“In that case, why don’t you draw a card and ask the question that your heart yearns for an answer?”
The old man’s gaze shifted to the deck of tarot cards as he made the suggestion.
“Sure! I was planning to do that anyway.”
Flossie enthusiastically leafed through the cards and spent ages before she finally drew one from the stack.
The old man took the card, glanced at it, and said, “Two of Cups. What would you like to ask, young lady?”
“I…” Flossie bit her lips. She hesitated for a while before replying, “I want to ask, will I ever get married again before I die?”
She felt ashamed of herself as soon as she uttered those words. She had sworn off love and romance for the rest of her life! This was so out of her character!
Yet, she really did want to know if she would ever love another man again, or perhaps if she would be willing to get married once more. She just refused to believe that Halston Guajardo would be the only man she would love in her entire life. He was dead now anyway, and she could not spend the rest of her life as his widow, mourning him, right?
“As lofty as the mountain, as boundless as the sea, an unrivaled pair, their union shall stand through eternity… You really are a one-in-a-million couple!”
The man recited Flossie’s fortune with a meaningful smile on his face, but Flossie herself was utterly perplexed.
“What does that mean exactly?’