A stock clerk pushing a cart interrupted us, "Excuse me,ing through."


    1 tugged Christine back and asked, "What were you saying?"


    "Do you think Margaret could be Albert''s biological daughter?" Christine''s eyes sparkled with the thrill of gossip.


    I frowned. "That seems a bit far-fetched. Margaret''s even older than Bryant by two years."


    Even if it were an affair, it wouldn''t have started that early, right?


    "Why not?" Christine dismissed my doubt with a wave, excitedly diving into high society scandals. "You know how messy these rich people can get. Marrying one, keeping a few mistresses on the side, isn''t that business as usual?"


    "But still..." I hesitated, "If Margaret was Albert''s flesh and blood, and considering how much Timothy despised Margaret, why didn''t Albert tell Timothy?"


    That way, Timothy would have been kinder to his granddaughter.


    at were Christine paused, finding sense in my words, puzzled. "Yeah, you''re right. If Albert''s daughter, he wouldn''t just sit back and watch Bryant get involved with Margaret. That''s incest, right?"


    I nodded, not wanting to delve deeper, but Christine suddenly said, "No, something''s still off. It doesn''t add up."N?velDrama.Org ? 2024.


    "Let''s not dwell on it. It''s none of our business, anyway." I poked her forehead yfully and handed her a bag of tomato-vored chips. "Here, your favorite."


    In any case, next month woulde soon enough. Once I got the divorce papers, Bryar and I would be worlds apart, let alone Albert and Margaret. It wouldn''t matter if they we father and daughter or, just as Christine had bluntly put it, shared the same bed. It woul be none of my concern anymore.


    For dinner, we chose a cozy restaurant known for its localfort food, with Christine and me arriving first. When Mark showed up alone, Christine nced at him and twitched her mouth sarcastically.


    I saw through the awkwardness and asked, "Mark, Steven didn''te?"


    Steven used to tag along wherever Christine went.


    "He..." Aware of the strained rtionship between Steven and Christine, Mark hesitated before saying, "He was caught up with something today."


    Christine knew better. "He went on a blind date. His family is pushing for a strategic marriage.


    11:50


    I was momentarily stunned, feeling a sense of inevitable anger, though notpletely surprised. I didn''t expect it to happen so soon.


    Christine''s rtionship with Steven was doomed from the start much like mine with Bryant. If not for Timothy, I would never have dreamed of marrying into a family like the Ferguson family.


    In front of Mark, I didn''t try to console Christine.


    Instead, Christine brought up a new topic. "Jane, you represented the Ferguson Group in the design contest and won first ce, but you''ve resigned. What about the jointly-designed?"


    Caught off guard, I turned to Mark. "Yeah, Mark, I''ve left Ferguson Group..."


    Mark''s eyes twinkled. "Then, would you be interested in joining us?"


    "Joining?" My eyes widened in disbelief at what I was hearing.


    Designers in our field were usually those who had won internationa name awards or had made a name for themselves. I never dared to dream that far.


    was ours."


    Mark nodded, smiling. "I remember your dream brand in college was


    "Mark, I''ve noticed you have a good memory about anything rted to Jane." Christine was amused. "Is there anything that Jane said that didn''t stick in your memory?"


    I squirmed ufortably, about to smooth things over as Mark replied, "Not as of yet."


    11:50


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