Page 23
“So?”
“Are you really sure you want to make me mad like this?”
Tonia quickly backed down. She sank to her knees in a dramatic way and raised both of her gloved hands in a thumbs-up. “Just kidding!” You’re the best! ”
Sammy’s heart warmed as she did something nice for him.
It also made Raph feel better. He saw Sammy’s bigger hands tenderly wrap over Raph’s smaller ones and tuck them into the pockets of his coat to keep them warm.
“Raph,” Sammy remarked, “we’ve already said happy birthday to Mr. Blunt Senior, so I’m going to take Tonia home now.”
Raph came to his senses. “The banquet hasn’t even started yet.” Why don’t you remain and eat before you leave? ”
“No, thanks,” Sammy said. “It’ll take until evening if I carry her all the way home.” “Time waits for no one,” Raph said in shock. “Oh, I see…”
“Say goodbye to Mr. Blunt Senior for me,” Sammy said as he stroked his shoulder.
“Okay.”
Sammy started to walk away with his arm around Tonia.
“Hey, Tonia!” Raph said out of the blue.
He didn’t know why he called out to her. His voice shook, and he opened his lips to say something but couldn’t think of anything. “Is there anything more you need? “Tonia enquired.
Raph forced a smile, but it seemed more painful than if he had been crying. After a long time, he was able to ask, “Can we still be friends in the future?”
It shouldn’t be that horrible that they couldn’t even say hello to each other on the street. Tonia thought for a bit and then replied, “I think it’s best if we stay away from each other.”
“Do you really have to cut me off so completely?” Raph questioned regretfully. ”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?”Tonia shot back.”
“But now I…”
Raph didn’t want that anymore. He tightened his hands at his sides, and his knuckles turned white.
Tonia let out a quiet sigh. “Raph, I guess you’re right. Let’s leave each other on good terms.
Sammy was already bent down in front of her. “Are you getting on or not?”
They were still at Blunt Estate, where guests and family were everywhere. But Tonia clambered onto Sammy’s back without thinking twice, like a calm little cat.
Sammy shifted her weight a little. “You’ve gotten a little heavier.”
Tonia pinched his cheek and said, “You feel that way because your stamina is running out.” No one is immune to the curse of getting older, huh? ”
Sammy turned his head like he was going to bite her hand.
Tonia hastily moved out of the way. “Are you part dog or something?”
“Yes! Didn’t you know? ”
“Pfft! I think you’re more like a pig! ”
“Humph!”
They both gently left Blunt Estate.
It was like they didn’t see or care about the people who were looking at them and whispering.
A curious stranger walked up to Raph. “Mr. Blunt, why did Mrs. Blunt go with that guy? ”
“That’s my cousin,” Raph said in a short voice.
“Oh, your cousin treats his in-laws like kids.” “Your families seem to get along well,” the guest said.
“Yeah,” Raph said without caring.
“But isn’t today Mr. Blunt Senior’s huge birthday party? Shouldn’t your wife be here to take care of things? Why is she going?
Raph frowned. “Are you worried about my business?”
“No, no! I was just curious…”
Raph had already left the courtyard and gone back into the villa before the guy could finish.
He couldn’t tell if his hearing was too strong or if the people behind him were just too loud, but even as he sped up, almost breaking into a run, the whispers kept drilling into his ears.
“Don’t you know? They’ve been dating for a while and even live together.”
“Seriously? Does Mr. Blunt know that his wife is cheating on him? He must know, right?”
“How could he not know? They were all over each other in front of him, so he must have known.”
“Is he really just letting it happen?”
“Who knows? But Mr. Blunt has a lot of other women on the side. Maybe their families set up their marriage, so they don’t really love each other.”
“That’s possible. Maybe that’s why they each have their own love lives.”
Not really feelings?
Raph almost ran back to his room.
Raph reflected, “Our relationship… It had a base of 15 years.”
Valentine’s Day, February 14th, was the day Tonia and Sammy were going to get married.
Tonia wasn’t particularly looking forward to being married anymore. She thought that couples came together and fell apart as fate decided. She wasn’t sure they would be together till the end, even with someone like Sammy.
She even started to believe that Raph could have been right about one thing as time went on.
It was against basic biological inclinations to expect a man to be faithful to one woman for life. This was especially true for Sammy. He was good-looking, smart, and came from a well-known family. He would have to deal with much more temptations than Raph.
It was equally true that the opposite was true. She also couldn’t promise that she would always love Sammy. She used to think she would love Raph forever, but now she had moved on with Sammy. People would become different. No one actually knew what would happen in the future until the day they died.
But things were hard for Sammy. He was 33 years old and the only son, so his family was putting a lot of pressure on him. At first, they didn’t want him to marry her because they thought it would be a difficult situation because of all the turmoil with Raph.
But when they saw their son, who was a die-hard bachelor, eventually decide to settle down, they reluctantly accepted.
Tonia thought about marriage for a few days after Sammy brought it up.
“Are you really sure you want to make me mad like this?”
Tonia quickly backed down. She sank to her knees in a dramatic way and raised both of her gloved hands in a thumbs-up. “Just kidding!” You’re the best! ”
Sammy’s heart warmed as she did something nice for him.
It also made Raph feel better. He saw Sammy’s bigger hands tenderly wrap over Raph’s smaller ones and tuck them into the pockets of his coat to keep them warm.
“Raph,” Sammy remarked, “we’ve already said happy birthday to Mr. Blunt Senior, so I’m going to take Tonia home now.”
Raph came to his senses. “The banquet hasn’t even started yet.” Why don’t you remain and eat before you leave? ”
“No, thanks,” Sammy said. “It’ll take until evening if I carry her all the way home.” “Time waits for no one,” Raph said in shock. “Oh, I see…”
“Say goodbye to Mr. Blunt Senior for me,” Sammy said as he stroked his shoulder.
“Okay.”
Sammy started to walk away with his arm around Tonia.
“Hey, Tonia!” Raph said out of the blue.
He didn’t know why he called out to her. His voice shook, and he opened his lips to say something but couldn’t think of anything. “Is there anything more you need? “Tonia enquired.
Raph forced a smile, but it seemed more painful than if he had been crying. After a long time, he was able to ask, “Can we still be friends in the future?”
It shouldn’t be that horrible that they couldn’t even say hello to each other on the street. Tonia thought for a bit and then replied, “I think it’s best if we stay away from each other.”
“Do you really have to cut me off so completely?” Raph questioned regretfully. ”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?”Tonia shot back.”
“But now I…”
Raph didn’t want that anymore. He tightened his hands at his sides, and his knuckles turned white.
Tonia let out a quiet sigh. “Raph, I guess you’re right. Let’s leave each other on good terms.
Sammy was already bent down in front of her. “Are you getting on or not?”
They were still at Blunt Estate, where guests and family were everywhere. But Tonia clambered onto Sammy’s back without thinking twice, like a calm little cat.
Sammy shifted her weight a little. “You’ve gotten a little heavier.”
Tonia pinched his cheek and said, “You feel that way because your stamina is running out.” No one is immune to the curse of getting older, huh? ”
Sammy turned his head like he was going to bite her hand.
Tonia hastily moved out of the way. “Are you part dog or something?”
“Yes! Didn’t you know? ”
“Pfft! I think you’re more like a pig! ”
“Humph!”
They both gently left Blunt Estate.
It was like they didn’t see or care about the people who were looking at them and whispering.
A curious stranger walked up to Raph. “Mr. Blunt, why did Mrs. Blunt go with that guy? ”
“That’s my cousin,” Raph said in a short voice.
“Oh, your cousin treats his in-laws like kids.” “Your families seem to get along well,” the guest said.
“Yeah,” Raph said without caring.
“But isn’t today Mr. Blunt Senior’s huge birthday party? Shouldn’t your wife be here to take care of things? Why is she going?
Raph frowned. “Are you worried about my business?”
“No, no! I was just curious…”
Raph had already left the courtyard and gone back into the villa before the guy could finish.
He couldn’t tell if his hearing was too strong or if the people behind him were just too loud, but even as he sped up, almost breaking into a run, the whispers kept drilling into his ears.
“Don’t you know? They’ve been dating for a while and even live together.”
“Seriously? Does Mr. Blunt know that his wife is cheating on him? He must know, right?”
“How could he not know? They were all over each other in front of him, so he must have known.”
“Is he really just letting it happen?”
“Who knows? But Mr. Blunt has a lot of other women on the side. Maybe their families set up their marriage, so they don’t really love each other.”
“That’s possible. Maybe that’s why they each have their own love lives.”
Not really feelings?
Raph almost ran back to his room.
Raph reflected, “Our relationship… It had a base of 15 years.”
Valentine’s Day, February 14th, was the day Tonia and Sammy were going to get married.
Tonia wasn’t particularly looking forward to being married anymore. She thought that couples came together and fell apart as fate decided. She wasn’t sure they would be together till the end, even with someone like Sammy.
She even started to believe that Raph could have been right about one thing as time went on.
It was against basic biological inclinations to expect a man to be faithful to one woman for life. This was especially true for Sammy. He was good-looking, smart, and came from a well-known family. He would have to deal with much more temptations than Raph.
It was equally true that the opposite was true. She also couldn’t promise that she would always love Sammy. She used to think she would love Raph forever, but now she had moved on with Sammy. People would become different. No one actually knew what would happen in the future until the day they died.
But things were hard for Sammy. He was 33 years old and the only son, so his family was putting a lot of pressure on him. At first, they didn’t want him to marry her because they thought it would be a difficult situation because of all the turmoil with Raph.
But when they saw their son, who was a die-hard bachelor, eventually decide to settle down, they reluctantly accepted.
Tonia thought about marriage for a few days after Sammy brought it up.