Chapter 41
Chapter 41
“Ms. Sorelle, since you’re already here, why don’t you take a seat and have a chat with me?” The man’s deep voice rang out, a nonchalant smile displayed on his face.
Angeline raised a brow when she heard that. To make sure she was not mistaken, she asked, “Were you the one who sent the text?”
“What do you think? I’ve done you a great favor, haven’t I?” His gentle voice was very attractive. As he spoke, he casually poured a packet of sugar into his cup of coffee and stirred it with a spoon. It was the amount Angeline took daily.
Angeline gazed at him solemnly, then pulled out a chair and sat down, clenching her bag strap. “Who are you? Why are you helping me?”
The man pushed the cup of coffee toward her. “I’m Jonathan Green. We have a common enemy, and I can help you take revenge.”
“Nonsense!” Angeline’s face darkened, and she got up to leave.
Right then, Jonathan, behind her, said, “I know you were set up by your sister to have sex with a stranger. You even gave birth to a child, right?”
He uttered every word unhurriedly, yet each word was a huge blow to Angeline.
She stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at Jonathan. Her calm gaze stirred with emotions. “What are you trying to do? Are you suggesting we work together?”
Jonathan stood up and approached Angeline. His mischievous smile had vanished. “Yes. I’ll help you take back Sorelle Group’s shares and continue looking for the child. However, I need you to remember this. Get on Evander’s good books. That’s the easiest shortcut to your success. Give it some thought
and contact me when you’ve made a decision.” With that, he turned around and left the cafe, having no intentions of staying back.
As Angeline watched him disappear from her sight, she slumped into her chair listlessly and stared at the cup of coffee in front of her in a daze.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how terrifying the situation was. That man even knows how much sugar I put in my coffee. Just exactly how much has he looked into me? Most importantly, he said he’ll help me look for my child. Is he trying to tell me that my child isn’t dead?
At that thought, Angeline could no longer suppress the wave of emotions in her heart. She clenched her fists so hard that her palms became sweaty.
Shortly after, she stepped out of the cafe. As the blazing sun shone on her face, she lifted her hand and blocked it off.
At that moment, her phone rang in her pocket.
Seeing it was an unfamiliar number, she frowned and swiped the screen to answer it.
“Hello, Ms. Sorelle. I’m the driver of the Golding family. Ms. Floretta has been asking to see you. Mr. Golding has instructed me to ask you if I could bring you over now.”
Angeline was surprised to hear that. It was at that moment that she finally realized it was Thanksgiving that day.
“All right. I’ll send you my location,” Angeline responded. She returned to the cafe, bought a red velvet cake from the counter, and patiently waited for the Golding family’s driver.
Around fifteen minutes later, Angeline got into a minivan that sped toward a mansion.
On the lime-green grass in the courtyard stood a swing entangled by flowers and vines. Dressed in a pink lace dress, Floretta sat on the swing and swung her legs while humming a tune.
Beside her stood a middle-aged lady who had an apron on.
The moment she heard the sound of a car engine, Floretta hopped off the swing excitedly and ran toward Angeline with her arms wide open. “Angel!”
Francesca went after her anxiously. “Ms. Floretta, don’t run. You’ll fall.”
Angeline caught Floretta in time and gently tapped her nose with a smile. “You little glutton, did you come running because you smelled cake?”
“Cake?” Floretta was surprised to see Angeline revealing a cake box. She held it close to her chest, her eyes crinkling as she beamed. “Wow! This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”
She then turned and showed off to Francesca. “It’s from Angel! And it’s my favorite flavor!”
Francesca held her steady in an affectionate manner. “I see that. Please slow down, Ms. Floretta. We don’t want to drop this cake, now do we?”
Seeing Floretta so happy made Angeline feel slightly awkward. She glanced at Francesca and said, “It’s just a little present.”
Francesca nodded respectfully, having a good impression of Angeline. “It’s all right. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Ms. Floretta this happy. You must be Ms. Sorelle, right? You look more beautiful in real life.”
Angeline grinned shyly. “You flatter me, Francesca.”
Floretta grabbed Angeline’s hand and led her into the mansion. Upon arriving at the living room, Angeline scanned the interior, which had a modern-style structure. It had three floors and a large area.
The table was filled with fruits, boxes of apple hand pies, and unopened presents. Angeline figured they must be given by Evander’s business partners.
Francesca walked over and said, “Ms. Sorelle, why don’t you play with Ms. Floretta? I’ll head over to the kitchen to finish the apple hand pies.”
Angeline arched her brows upon hearing apple hand pies. She looked rather interested. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Floretta, do you want to try making apple hand pies?”
Floretta’s eyes lit up. She clapped excitedly and replied, “Yeah! I want to be as great as Franny!”
“Can we join you, Francesca?”
Francesca could not believe her ears, for she had never seen Floretta showing so much interest in something. She nodded and said, “Of course. Come on.”
Angeline led Floretta into the kitchen and helped her wash her hands. She then folded Floretta’s sleeves and helped her put on an apron.
Once the tools were prepared, Angeline and Floretta stood in front of the countertop. Angeline explained patiently, “Floretta, let me show you how to knead the dough and you can follow me after that.”
“Okay!” Floretta beamed.
With that, Angeline began to teach Floretta step by step. At the same time, Floretta followed her instructions seriously. As Floretta was not familiar with the steps, she accidentally covered her face with
flour.
“Oh my goodness. Why are you in such a state, Ms. Floretta?” Shocked to see Floretta in such a mess, Francesca quickly rushed off to get a towel.
Just as she was about to walk out of the kitchen, she bumped into Evander, who asked frostily, “Why are you in such a hurry?”
As soon as he saw what was going on in the kitchen, he was stunned. Floretta had always been particular about hygiene. Yet, she was playing flour with Angeline in the kitchen. What shocked him more was that Floretta’s face was covered with flour.
“Stop playing around, Floretta.” An exasperated Angeline grabbed hold of Floretta, who was running around and not paying attention. Even so, her voice was still filled with affection.
As she looked up casually, she spotted the man standing by the door. She felt her stomach drop, and she staggered a few steps backward.
“Y-You’re back. So soon?”
“Angeline, is this your way of getting revenge? By messing up the kitchen?” Evander’s expression darkened, his eyes filled with displeasure.
Angeline shook her head vehemently. “That’s not what I’m trying to do. I just wanted to teach Floretta to make some apple hand pies. I thought that would be meaningful.”
Evander frowned, unable to understand her actions. He said impatiently, “That’s totally unnecessary. There are tons of ready-made apple hand pies in the house already.”
Angeline glared at him and retorted, “They taste different from handmade ones. Besides, Floretta’s at the age where she needs company. If you keep her company by making them with her, she’ll be very
happy even if they taste bad.”
“Daddy…” Floretta called out sweetly as she made her way toward Evander, not realizing the floor was slippery.
“Floretta!” the two adults shrieked in unison.