Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
Ava Joyner saw Flossie standing on the beach from afar, and excitedly hurried over to Flossie as if she was her long-lost child. “Flossie, when did you reach? Have you had breakfast? Why didn’t you tell me you’re coming? Did you forget about me?”
Flossie turned around and saw Ava. Her weathered face was simple and honest, and the older lady was smiling happily. Flossie smiled back and said, “It’s been a while, Mrs. Joyner. I wanted to go to your place to grab a bite, but I knew that you and Mr. Joyner would come here to fish, so I decided to wait for you both over here.’ Flossie had indeed been waiting for Cole and Ava Joyner there. Whenever she came to the village, she would stay at their house, so she had been banking in money to them every year in return for their kindness.
“There’s no need to be so formal, Flossie, our house is your house too. You can come and stay with US whenever you come here…” While talking, Ava dusted off her clothes. “Come home. I won’t go fishing today; I’ll go back and cook a feast for you.” Ava then turned to a nearby fishing boat and yelled, “Jeffrey… Jeffrey, come here! Look who’s here!”
After a few minutes, a tall figure jumped off the boat and walked toward them. Under the dim morning light, Flossie could see a tanned and muscular young man, his handsome features hidden beneath a wide- brimmed fisherman’s hat.
“Is that… Jeffrey?’ Flossie looked up at the bright and handsome youth in surprise, then sighed. “I guess the kid who always wore shorts and played with dirt finally grew up.” “Hi, Flossie!” Jeffrey Joyner smiled shyly, his eyes sparkling. “I thought I would never see you again!” “Jeffrey!” Ava glared at Jeffrey. “Flossie is happy and healthy, so why wouldn’t you see her? Ignore him, Flossie, he hasn’t seen much of the world past this fishing village, so he’s not that good with words. He’s always admired you since he was a kid, and still has that group photo with you at home. He’s always wanted to see you, but is too nervous to.” “Mom, you’re embarrassing me!” Jeffrey mumbled, covering his red face.
“What’s there to be shy about? Flossie is practically family, so why are you acting like a stranger?” Ava looked like she was about to whack Jeffrey, but Flossie quickly stopped her.
“It’s okay, I understand. Jeffrey is all grown up now, so it’s normal for him to feel shy.” Jeffrey was a young man who wasn’t even twenty yet, and Flossie knew that this was the time when boys his age cared most about their reputation.
“Take Flossie home. I’ll put away the net. Well take a day off today to welcome Flossie,’ Ava said enthusiastically and walked over to the boat.
“Okay, Mom.” Jeffrey nodded and awkwardly glanced at Flossie. “Flossie, I’m sorry. My mom can be a bit blunt sometimes.’ “I get it. Don’t worry, I won’t take it to heart.” Flossie chuckled, feeling like Jeffrey had changed a lot. In the past, he always followed her around and begged her to play with him, but now, he had become so shy. He still looked like his younger self, but Flossie felt a distance between them.
Jeffrey walked ahead of her on the beach, keeping a polite distance from Flossie. The sky was still dark since it was early morning, and although there was a light breeze, it still felt hot. Jeffrey turned around and saw Flossie fanning herself, then hurriedly asked, Do you feel hot, Flossie?” “A little bit.” Flossie nodded. The beach was different from the city. It was more refreshing and comfortable because of the sea breeze, but Flossie still felt hot. She might have walked too fast.
“Wait here. I’ll get you something to drink.” Jeffrey ran toward a coconut tree ahead, and after a while, he returned with an opened coconut and handed it to Flossie. “Drink this, Flossie.”
Flossie took the coconut from Jeffrey and sipped the coconut water, and the refreshing, sweet taste was like rain in the desert. She looked up and saw the sunrise lighting up the vast sea, and felt a happiness she hadn’t in a long time. It was little things like this that brought color to people’s lives, and at that moment, Flossie finally felt her stress melt away.
Jeffrey brought Flossie to his house, which was a typical two-storey house. It was built near the sea and had been renovated two years ago. There were various kinds of flowers growing in the yard. “Flossie, we managed to renovate the house last year because of your support. Dad and Mom made a room for you to thank you… I’ll take you there,” Jeffrey enthusiastically explained.
Feeling touched, Flossie went upstairs with him. There was a large room facing the sea on the second floor with many shells and beads hanging on the door, and it looked like an urban style from the 1980s or 1990s. Ava and her family had painstakingly decorated that room for Flossie. “Did you all do up this room for me?” Flossie pushed the beaded curtain aside and saw a large French window. The sea breeze gently blew the thin curtain, revealing a lovely view of the ocean.
“Yeah, do you like it?” Feeling shy, Jeffrey obediently stood at the door and watched Flossie, not daring to be in the same room as her. She was the woman he had admired since he was a child.
“Yes, I do.” Flossie nodded and touched the shell windchime hanging in front of the window. “These shells are so pretty, I’m sure it was tough to get them.”
“Not at all.” Jeffrey scratched his head and stammered, “They’re easy to find if you dive deep enough… If you like it, I’ll make another for you.”
Amused by his shyness, Flossie turned to him and said, “When did you become such a good boy, Jeffrey? I remember that you were pretty naughty when you were young. I remember the time when Mrs. Joyner stopped you from going into the sea at noon, but you insisted. You didn’t even listen to me, so finally, I had to beat you up for her. You even scolded me for being a witch, and you didn’t want to talk to me anymore…”
“Stop teasing me, Flossie, that happened so long ago.” Jeffrey’s tanned face turned red, and he wished he could disappear. “I’m all grown up now, so I won’t do things like that anymore.”
“You’re all grown-up, are you? Shouldn’t you be looking for a girlfriend then? ” Flossie teased, “Don’t tell me you’ve already got a girlfriend. When can I meet her? I remember that you were very close to your neighbor Daisy. You both are childhood sweethearts, right?”
“No, we’re not!” Jeffrey waved his hands anxiously as if he had been accused of a crime. He immediately clarified, “I dont have a girlfriend, and Daisy is like a younger sister.” He glanced at Flossie and quickly looked down, then muttered, “I… I like someone else.”
“What did you say?” Flossie frowned. “I didn’t hear you.”
“No, it’s nothing.” Jeffrey shook his head, his eyes bright. “I’m sure you’re hungry. Let me cook you something.” Then, he turned and ran downstairs. It was already rare for him to meet Flossie, so there was no point in wishful thinking. Besides, he was too shy to get close to her.
Flossie was left alone in the room, and the world became as quiet as before.
Flossie sat in the egg hammock in front of the window and watched the world gradually brighten. Surprisingly, she felt sleepy, which was a feeling that had evaded her for a long time. Soon, her eyelids slowly closed and she fell into a deep sleep.
“Flossie! Flossie!” After some time, Flossie heard Jeffrey’s voice. She opened her eyes and saw him standing before her, holding a tray with a grand seafood feast on it.
Flossie woke up and stretched, feeling relaxed. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time. ‘ Wow, it smells so good. Did you make this?” Flossie looked at the delicious spread.
“Yeah, they’re not too hard to make. I don’t know whether you’ll like it or not …” Jeffrey pointed at a bowl of steaming porridge. “Eat this seafood porridge while it’s hot. I added in a lot of nutritious ingredients which are good for your health.” He had noticed Flossie’s pale and sallow face, so he had made her their village’s secret seafood porridge to help her get back her energy,
“Okay, thank you.” Flossie took the bowl of porridge and started eating it obediently, feeling touched. Halfway through her meal, she picked up her phone and took a photo of the grand feast and the vast blue ocean, then posted a status on her Facebook.
[Good morning. Today, I lost touch with the world. The weather here is nice, and I feel good.] As soon as she posted it, likes and comments flooded in.
Leia Osborne: (Flossie, where are you?]
Xavier Stuart: [This is hilarious! Flossie, you’re safe now, aren’t you?]
Jovan Guajardo: [Where are you? Send me your location. Don’t make me have to get down on my knees and beg you!]
Justin Baldwin: [I’ve marked your IP. I’ll come and get you now!]
Even Liam, who hadn’t been in contact with Flossie for a long time, commented on the picture: [Boss, you certainly know how to enjoy life. I’m so jealous!]
Flossie scrolled through the comments, occasionally replying to a few. She couldn’t stop herself from hoping that a certain someone would comment on or like her post, but even after a while, she didn’t see that familiar profile picture.
“Ugh, I’m so dumb!” Flossie shook her head and turned off her phone.
“What’s wrong, Flossie?” Jeffrey immediately noticed her disappointment and asked in concern.
“Nothing. I had a dog at home, but he ran away and hasn’t come back yet. I’m worried that he got knocked out and eaten up,” Flossie blabbered.
Jeffrey wasn’t fooled that easily. He watched her for a while, then asked carefully, “Flossie, are you waiting for someone’s texts?”
“Hey, you’re pretty observant!” Flossie smiled and remarked.
“I saw a picture a while back, and it said that the first step of being unlucky is waiting for a man to text back. Flossie, don’t get upset over a man,” Jeffrey tried to persuade her. He didn’t want her to be unhappy.
Flossie chuckled. “That’s a good saying. Yeah… we’ll be unlucky if we wait for men.” Although she said so, she glanced at her phone. Her eyes widened, and she shot to her feet. “Damn it!”
“What’s the matter, Flossie?” Jeffrey had never heard Flossie curse before.
However, Flossie ignored him as she peered at her phone screen closely. She was pretty sure that she had seen Halston like her post just now, maybe out of accident or for some other reason. However, it had only lasted for a second before he canceled it. Hope burned in her, and she suddenly felt alive again. That meant that Halston was still alive, and he’d been watching her. After calming herself down, she texted Halston.
[Where are you? I saw you liked my post. Can’t you say it to my face? stop hiding like a tortoise!]
A few minutes went by, but there was no response.
[I’m very grateful to you for everything you’ve done for me. I know the disgusting things you did behind my back too, but it isn’t important. I just want you to come back and explain everything to me, okay? We love each other. Are you trying to drive me mad? I can date someone else too as long as you make it clear to me. I’ll leave and won’t trouble you anymore!]
Flossie kept texting him. She wondered if he found her annoying, but she couldn’t just ignore it. The person she missed every day had disappeared just like that, and she didn’t even know if he was still alive. It tortured her mind endlessly, but suddenly, Halston appeared. He had been watching her all along. Flossie felt like she was going mad. She tried to give him a video call, but there was no response. “You jerk! You’re a coward! If I go mad one day, it’ll be because of you!” Flossie howled, sending Halston a long voice message.
Jeffrey’s eyes widened in shock. Although he didn’t know what the situation was, he couldn’t bear seeing her like this. “Flossie, calm down. Tell me what’s going on, and I’ll try my best to help you if I can…” Jeffrey knew that Flossie was probably upset because of a man, and he was heartbroken not knowing how to pull Flossie out of that grief.
“You want to help me?” Flossie smiled bitterly and shook her head. “No, no one can help me. I created this cage and locked myself in. I don’t want to leave it. I know I’m just torturing myself, but… I just want to know if he’s alive. I can let it go then, but his message is clear-he’s still alive but doesn’t want to see me. He might have a new lover and wants to break up with me, but he just doesn’t want me to pester him. Maybe he’s hoping I have some self-awareness, but I… Why am I so stubborn?”
Jeffrey whispered, “If he has a new lover and wants to break up with you, you should stop pestering him. Protect your dignity. The Flossie I know is straightforward and confident, and would never lose her mind over a man.”
“Yeah, how did I turn out like this?” Flossie covered her face in humiliation.” I can leave him… but I just don’t want to. I want closure. I don’t want him to keep me guessing. I don’t even know if he’s alive or dead!”
“Well, there’s no point in trying to force him out to give you an answer. You should use some tricks to lure him out instead.” Jeffrey racked his brain to come up with ways for Flossie because he did not want to see her sad.
“What kind of tricks?” Flossie looked up at him. She always felt that she was an amateur in romance. She didn’t know how to flirt or seduce someone- she was usually just straightforward and honest… which was probably why she always ended up hurt and disappointed. After so many years, Halston was the only man she had loved. All her other experiences were failures.
“In relationships, exclusivity is always a must. Everyone wants to be the one and only for their partner, and if there’s a third person in the relationship, things will get messy. Anyone who gets cheated on will surely go mad and do irrational things,” Jeffrey said slowly. It was the kind of romance he understood at his age.
“So?” Flossie asked, still baffled. She had to admit that she was a fool in romance. She wouldn’t know what to do next if others didn’t tell her.
“So, I think… you should try to look at someone else. Introduce someone else into the relationship, or… give him a sense of urgency.” Jeffrey tried to use simple words to express his thoughts. He knew that most people would be very possessive of their partners. If Flossie was his girlfriend, he would go crazy if she got close to another man, so he was sure the man Flossie was talking about would be restless too if Flossie had a new lover.