Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Y-You!” Seraphina sputtered angrily, not expecting such a response from Flossie. She quickly grabbed Halston’s arm and whined, “Halston, just look at this woman! She literally committed a crime, but doesn’t have any remorse! How could someone be so shameless?! You shouldn’t let her off so easily!”
Halston nodded, his handsome face serious. “You’re right, I shouldn’t. So… you should head home for now, I’ll punish her myself.”
“Wh… What?” Seraphina blinked at him in disbelief. Flossie was the one who was supposed to be punished, but Seraphina was the one being chased out of the room. Now, all her righteous indignation just made her seem like a nosy prick instead.
“You know, she’s still my ex-wife. It’s very likely that she hid in my room because she still has feelings for me, and she’s probably doing this to win me back…” Halston explained as he smiled meaningfully at Flossie.
Halston turned to Seraphina and said firmly, “This is a personal matter, so it’s better to resolve it privately; it would be inconvenient to have an outsider around for this.”
“Outsider?!” Seraphina’s expression stiffened for a split second, and she was unable to hide her shock. That word felt like a slap in the face, and it completely shattered her ego.
She then took a deep breath and composed herself, pretending as if she was casual about the situation. She grinned as she patted Halston on the shoulder. “You’re such a simp, dude. A moment ago, we were bros, but now I’m just an outsider…”
Seraphina sighed dramatically as she sneered, “Fine, fine… Miss Ellsworth went out of her way to hide under your bed just to seduce you. Even I’m touched by her dedication, and I’m just an outsider! Stop acting all cool and just take her back, Halston!”
Flossie was extremely uncomfortable hearing all this. Though she despised Halston, she was now being treated like some kind of lovesick pervert. She couldn’t possibly let them get away with falsely accusing her like this.
“Don’t be a narcissist, Guajardo. Don’t you know why I was hiding under your bed?” Flossie scoffed.
Halston shrugged dismissively. “You don’t have to hide the fact that you couldn’t move on from me. Everyone in Beach City recognizes my charms, so it’s only normal.”
“Ugh, get off your high horse. I moved on ages ago!” Flossie rolled her eyes, wondering how someone so arrogant existed.
Seraphina watched as the two bickered with each other like young teenagers in love. It was passionate and natural, which made the woman feel rather jealous. She subconsciously balled her fists, leaving the room without uttering a single word.
Even if Halston didn’t ask her to leave, she wouldn’t have had the heart to stay either. If she and Flossie were destined to fight over this man, she knew that she would have lost before she could reach the battlefield.
After arguing with Halston for a while, Flossie was starting to feel tired. She said finally, “So what if I hid under your bed? I don’t care what you think of me. If you’re upset, then call the cops on me. I just want you to stop being so self-absorbed and accusing me of being hung up on you… I’ll have you know that my time is precious, and I refuse to waste it on you.”
Flossie checked her wristwatch and noticed that it was getting late, so she decided to leave.
Halston smiled coldly and asked, “Do you not want the Rainbow Glaze?”
Flossie paused, inwardly thinking, ‘Of course I do! Why else would I be under your bed?!’
However, she kept up her cold and arrogant facade. “I don’t want it anymore. Use it as a urinal or something!”
Halston was actually quite amazed by the woman’s vulgarity. The Rainbow Glaze had been a renowned treasure for thousands of years, with many trying to get their hands on it. Hence, he never would’ve imagined Flossie would view it as a urinal.
‘I knew women were trouble. Their sharp tongues can cut people up, especially those with weak hearts.’
“If you want it, I can just give it to you. Then your efforts won’t be wasted,” the man said calmly as he stared at the woman’s slender back.
Flossie was quite conflicted after hearing this. She had to admit that she was slightly swayed by this, even though she had just refused to take it a few minutes ago.
Flossie thought about it for a while, then grinned widely at Halston. “Really? I always knew you were a generous and forgiving man, Mr. Guajardo! Even though I insulted you and poured coffee all over you, you didn’t mind at all! You must have understood how helpless a little damsel like me would feel in that situation, which is why you’re being merciful now, right?”
Halston’s expression was cold, and he said cryptically, “Sure, I could just give it to you-“
“Aww, that’s way too kind of you! I’d really owe you one then!” Flossie said as she excitedly scanned the room. “So where is it? Can I just bring it home with me?”
Halston massaged his aching temples wearily. “Can you let me finish first?”
Flossie’s enthusiasm quickly died down as she scoffed, “I knew there was a catch! Don’t tell me you’re going to make perverted jokes again? If you do, getting coffee poured on you would be the least of your concerns!”
Halston smiled stiffly. “No need to get so riled up. I just need you to complete a project with me. Once you do that, the Rainbow Glaze is yours. I’m sure that sounds like a fair deal.”
Flossie decided to give this man a second chance, and asked him cautiously, “What do you need?”
Halston’s gaze landed on the tens of thousands of Lego blocks, and he smirked slyly. “How’s your building skills?”
Flossie froze, then replied bluntly, “Average.”
“See, I’m a perfectionist, and I just have to finish building a figurine as soon as I get my hands on one. But it seems to me that this is too much work for one person, and I definitely won’t be able to finish it before dawn. If you can help me finish building it before tomorrow comes, I’ll give you the Rainbow Glaze as a gift.”
“Th… That’s it?” Flossie didn’t expect those to be Halston’s terms. Since she was already quite fond of building blocks, she accepted the challenge right away. “Okay, a deal’s a deal…”
The woman then stretched her arms with a confident smile. “Let me show you what true skill looks like then!”
Halston had no idea that Flossie liked building blocks, nor did he know of her extraordinary skills. His true intention was to dampen her spirit by giving her something she wasn’t good at, but… the woman’s performance made him view her in a different light.
Flossie could easily put a few irregularly shaped blocks together, forming them into a complete shape. It was obvious that her speed and technique exceeded the average person’s.
“Huh, I didn’t think you were a master at this,” Halston reluctantly admitted. Anyone else would’ve likely taken at least an hour to make those shapes, but Flossie merely needed five minutes to achieve it. Her abilities were practically on his level.
The woman didn’t even need to look at the instructions, and she easily pieced another few blocks together. Her cherry lips curled upwards slyly, and she chuckled. “Well, you do have an odd mind, so I’m surprised you even think at all.”
She thought to herself, ‘What a waste of intelligence. It’s a shame he can’t read people at all – he thinks Ximenez is a gentle, innocent woman, and Murphy is an honest, sincere bro. He even thinks I’m the pretentious villainess here, so how could I ever expect him to see anything past the surface?’
Halston sat down next to her as well, joining her in the block building project. His hands looked delicate under the chandelier light. His fingers were slender, long, and defined, tempting one to intertwine their fingers with them.
Flossie was initially quite focused, but her eyes couldn’t help but wander to the man’s hands, which slowed down her pace a little.
“You’re losing focus.” Halston was a keen observer, and asked curiously, “What are you thinking about?”
The man was just as fast as Flossie when it came to working with the blocks, and was able to put a number of them together while he spoke.
“N… Nothing!” Flossie’s face burned up as she looked away. She then scolded herself in her head. ‘Flossie Ellsworth, pull yourself together, damn it! I know you’re into good looks, but now hands too?! It’s not like you haven’t touched a man’s hand before, so what’s with the butterflies!?’
Both of them were working on the wings of the spaceship, each taking a side. Their movements and techniques were surprisingly in sync.
Watching Flossie, Halston couldn’t help but smile to himself. “I’ve always thought we’re the same type of person, and that’s why we ended up with a divorce.”
Flossie paused slightly and scoffed, “Weren’t you the one who asked for the divorce, Mr. Guajardo? Why are you trying to shift the blame now?”
“That is true, but I was surprised you would agree to it right away…” Halston started reminiscing about the past, where he asked Flossie for a divorce four years ago. He just couldn’t understand why this woman, who claimed to love him so deeply, would immediately agree to separate. She didn’t even try to convince him otherwise.
He continued vaguely, “Sometimes I wonder if things would have ended differently if you tried to convince me to stay back then.”
Flossie’s eyes darkened as memories from four years ago flashed in her mind. The divorce was such a painful experience for her, but she realized that it didn’t affect her anymore. The memory itself was a blur at this point.
She then shook her head, her tone calm. “That’s because I know that it would be a waste of energy and time. Convincing someone who has already decided to leave is absolutely useless, but if I chose to leave right away, I could still protect the little bit of dignity I had left inside of me.”
“That’s why I think we’re the same – we prioritize our dignity and pride over everything and everyone else,” Halston said quietly, looking at the spaceship wing that he was almost done building.
“Yeah, maybe.” Flossie didn’t deny it either. Thinking back, despite having been married to the man for so many years, despite expressing every ounce of love she had for him, she’d never really tried putting her ego aside to make him stay either.
She had been willing to give up everything for him, but she had let him go as soon as he brought it up. She didn’t bother to try to save the relationship, and even left before he could leave her…
She couldn’t help but wonder if things would’ve been different for them if she had just done something back then.
As time passed, the clock soon struck 3 AM, which was usually when the human body felt most exhausted.
Flossie was starting to feel drowsy, and her movements were slowing down. However, she knew that she couldn’t sleep now, as she wanted to get the Rainbow Glaze. She simply had to finish this project before dawn arrived.