Filed To Story: The Scarlet Vengeance: Justice of a Framed Beauty Novel (Grace & Jason)
She did not know if Chase Harper was still interested in her, but… she did not want to send out the wrong signal.
“There’s something else I wish to tell you in regards to this case. I was thinking of having dinner with you and telling you about it as we eat. It won’t take much time,” said Chase Harper.
Grace hesitated. “Then… let’s go Dutch.”
“Sure,” answered Chase Harper with a shy smile.
As long as she would have dinner with him, he was elated.
Lina came to see Grace afterward, but she did not expect to see her friend getting out of a car that was being driven by a man at the neighborhood where Grace’s rental house was.
She only saw her best friend saying something to the man with a smile. Then, she waved goodbye before the car drove away.
‘Um… Is there something going on?’
Lina quickly ran to Grace’s side. “Grace, who’s that guy just now?”
Grace was taken aback by Lina’s sudden appearance. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see you. Tell me, who’s the man who sent you back? You guys look close.” Lina looked like her pa**ion for gossip was ignited.
Grace smiled helplessly and said, “He’s my former colleague from the Sanitation Service Center, but he’s now left the Sanitation Service Center and is a shareholder of a car dealership. There was a case today, and the victim happens to be a colleague of his at his car dealership. He’s also a witness, so we had dinner together and he drove me home.”
“That’s all?” Lina was disappointed.
“What were you thinking?” asked Grace.
“I thought you had someone you could consider dating,” grumbled Lina.
Grace laughed. “Lina, I’ll never date again.”
Lina suddenly stopped and looked at her friend in surprise. “You’ve only failed once. You don’t have to-”
“Not once, but twice.” Grace corrected. “It doesn’t feel good to be kicked away so easily every time. I don’t want to go through that suffering again.”
Lina felt sorry for her best friend. “Maybe the third time’s the charm? Maybe you’ll meet someone who deserves your love?”
“Instead of spending my time on relationships, I’d rather spend my time on what I really want to spend on. Perhaps I’m just not suited for love. Besides, you know that my body makes it hard for me to conceive. How many men in this world would like to have no children of their own?”
Lina threw her arms around Grace. “You mustn’t talk about yourself like that. Nothing is absolute. People who really like you and love you will be tolerant of these things. Besides… My child will be your child. Our child will have two mothers.”
Lina choked up while talking. ‘I don’t like Grace saying such things. It feels as if she’s done with her life.
‘But she’s still so young. She’s only 28!’
Grace hugged Lina, her nose feeling sore. “Sure, your child is my child. Our child will have two mothers…”
‘Lina. The only person who won’t abandon me is probably you, Lina!
‘How can I repay her for her kindness?
‘Maybe even the rest of my life won’t be enough time for me to repay her!’”
In the following days, Grace was busy collecting relevant information about the case, so she naturally came in contact with Chase Harper more frequently.
They had dinner a few times, but Grace always insisted on going Dutch.
“Chase Harper must like you. I think he’s pretty good. He seems upright.” Lina came to see Grace once and met Chase Harper. They even talked for a while.
Lina felt good about Chase Harper. ‘He may look ordinary, but he’s honest, reliable, and a little shy. He even blushes when he sees Grace.’
Such pure and innocent men were rare nowadays.
“He’s great, but he’s not for me. He can find a better woman,” said Grace.
Even when she was having dinner with Hadwin Stephenson on a date, Lina would think about her best friend and Chase Harper, wondering if the two were possible.
“What’s on your mind?” Suddenly, a voice rang in her ears.
Lina was surprised and immediately came back to her senses. Then, a beautiful face caught her eyes up close.
‘Gosh, when did Hadwin Stephenson get so close to me?’
“I… I’m thinking about…” she murmured, feeling her mind beginning to lose focus.
It was easy to be distracted by a face that looked like the face of a hero in a comic, and he was so close to her too!
“Hmm?” His long eyebrows were slightly raised.
Um… She felt a nosebleed coming, and she was tempted to tackle him at that moment.
A man’s good looks were also a test for a woman’s willpower!
“Tell me, what were you thinking about? Why were you so absorbed?” His thin lips opened lightly, that magnetic voice seducing her into temptation.
“I’m thinking about… Chase Harper…” she murmured.
“Chase Harper?” The name sounded like a man’s name no matter what. Hadwin Stephenson’s brows became furrowed. “Why were you thinking about him?”
“I think he’s quite pure and innocent. He keeps blushing too. I don’t know if—”
“Lina, don’t forget whose girlfriend you are!” Hadwin Stephenson’s expression immediately sank. ‘What is this woman thinking? She just confessed to liking me a few days ago, and now she’s thinking about another man?’
Hadwin Stephenson’s beautiful eyes were glaring at Lina. In his mind, he had already stabbed the man named Chase Harper dozens of times.
Lina’s scalp tingled. She knew that
Hadwin Stephenson had misunderstood, so she said quickly, “No, no, no! Of course, I remember that I’m your girlfriend. I’m just thinking of Chase Harper for Grace!”
“What do you mean?” he asked suspiciously.
Lina then told him about Chase Harper.
When she was done, she said in a gossipy manner, “I think Chase Harper must like Grace. Otherwise, he wouldn’t drive Grace back every time Grace goes to talk to him about the case.
I’ve checked. He lives in the opposite direction from Grace’s place.”
Hadwin Stephenson let out a sigh of relief. ‘It turns out that this girl is not having a crush on another man after all.’
Even though she told him she liked him and that she wanted to be in a relationship with him, he was still a little skeptical. After all, she had a long history of being infatuated with several men!
“Even if he really likes Grace, it’s still up to her. I think she’s not in the mood for another relationship anytime soon,” said Hadwin Stephenson.
Lina immediately looked discouraged like a deflated balloon. “Yeah, I blame
Jason for hurting Grace so deeply. I should’ve advised Grace not to date
Jason back then.”
Lina wanted to slap herself when she recalled that she approved of their relationship!
“Take it easy. If they’re destined and if
Chase Harper really likes Grace, perhaps she’d be willing to open up to Chase
Harper after a few years?” said Hadwin Stephenson.
Lina hesitated a little. “Isn’t a few years… too long?”
‘Grace will be over 30 in a few years!
‘A woman’s youth is limited!’
“Is it?” Hadwin Stephenson smiled softly.
“If you really like a person, what are a few years? Even if you have to wait 10 or 20 years or even longer, you’ll wait anyway. If you’re unwilling to wait, then there’s a limit to your love.”
Lina stared at the man in front of her. He just said those words so carefreely as if the years he spoke of were as light as feathers and were not at all a heavy burden.
“Will you wait for me too?” She could not help asking.
Lina realized it seemed a bit inappropriate after asking the question. They were already in a real relationship, so there was no need for him to wait!
“Yes.” Hadwin Stephenson gave her a definite answer. “If you haven’t come to understand love and have yet to fall in love with me, then I’ll wait for you, no matter how long.”
Lina’s heart rate suddenly quickened.
‘Is this a form of… sweet talk? I… like it very much.’ She felt a gush of sweetness pouring out of her heart, and she knew he was telling the truth.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.