Anya brought the dress that was worth a hundred grand home with her.
During her ride back home, she peered into the bag and caught a glimpse of something hidden within
the folds of the dress. It was a beautifully made card.
The young woman pulled the card out of the bag and flipped it open. Her eyes widened with incredulity
instantly. Written on the card were two simple words: Happy Birthday.
Happy birthday?
Sure, it was her birthday today, but why would Evan know that?
He had ced the card in the bag though. He must know that it was her birthday today.
Anya could feel her heartbeat speeding up slightly.
Was that why he had invited her out for dinner tonight? Did he intend to celebrate her birthday with
her?
The young woman’s heart was beating furiously now. She took a few moments to calm herself down.
What was she thinking?
An expensive dress and a birthday card weren’t going to win her over. She wasn’t going to fall into bed
with the mant because of a simple birthday gift.
She had principles.
Anya pulled herself together. She ripped the lovely birthday card into pieces and tightened her fists
around the crumpled shreds. As soon as the bus reached her stop, she alighted and threw the torn
pieces of the card into a bin.
She had nned to bring her kids out for a good meal to celebrate her dinner. It appeared that her
ns were now dashed.
After some thought, Anya decided to buy a cake from a bakery around the corner. She would have her
birthday cake with Ellie and her kids. They could have dinner at a nice restaurant some other time.
Anya tried to cheer herself up. The young woman was greeted by the cries of her kids when she
stepped into the apartment with the cake that she had just bought..
Ellie was trying her best to make them stop crying.
It was to no avail. No matter what she did, Nathaniel and Eudora kept wailing. The sound of their loud
cries made Anya’s
heart break.
She ced the cake on the table hurriedly and turned towards her aunt. “Ellie, why are the kids crying?
What’s wrong?”
“I’m so d you’re back.” Ellie was at her wits‘ end. She was ready to burst into tears as well.
“Nathaniel’s running a fever. He feels really warm.”
FAN 10% 13:36
Nathaniel had started running a fever unexpectedly. It was a high fever. His skin burned a worrying
heat. The difort of suffering such a high fever had finally driven the boy into tears.
The sight of her brother wailing had upset Eudora as well. She couldn’t bear to have her brother
suffering in misery. That was why Eudora had burst into tears as well.
Ellie had no idea what was going on in both the kids‘ heads. She had been trying desperately to stop
the twins from crying. After they had quietened down, she was going to bring them to the hospital and
get Nathaniel seen to.
They couldn’t let the fever ravage the young boy’s body. It was a terribly high fever. It might lead to
brain damage if it were left untreated.
The consequences were unimaginable.
A fever? A sudden wave of panic surged inside Anya. She rushed towards the couch where Nathaniel
was currently sprawled across, and stuck her hand out. Her palm fell on the boy’s forehead gently. It
burned.
“Ellie, have you taken his temperature?”
“I just did. It was 102.2. I’ve been taking his temperature regrly. It’s been stuck between 100.4 and
102.2. I stuck a cooling pad on his forehead earlier. It didn’t help much,” Ellie said. Now that Anya was
back, her aunt turned her attention to Eudora, who had not stopped crying.
“Nathaniel, be a good boy and stop crying. Let’s take you to the hospital now. The doctor will fix you.”
Anya’s heart broke at the sight of her son’s flushed and tear–stained cheeks. The boy wouldn’t stop
crying. She could feel her own eyes turning wet. Without saying another word, she lifted Nathaniel into
her arms and headed towards the door.
Ellie lifted Eudora into her arms. She took a minute to shove some diapers, milk powder and milk
bottles into a bag. Then, they were off to the hospital.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the city of Nordeny was a nightclub filled with neon lights, loud music,
and a crowd that lost itself to alcohol and dancing.
A handsome young man was drapedzily on afortable couch in a suite in the nightclub. He had a
ss of red wine in his hand and was swirling it nonchntly. He wasn’t talking to anyone at all. In fact,
his mind seemed to be elsewhere. Next to him was Dan, who was chatting happily with the other
patrons in the suite.
After some time, Dan finally turned around. The look on his friend’s face seemed unreadable in the
myriad of wild and shing lights. Dan whirled the ss of wine in his hand gently. “We’re supposed to
be having fun. What’s with that look on your face?*
“Til be leaving soon,” Evan said before taking a sip of wine from his ss.
“What’s the hurry? Do you have someone waiting for you back home? Or are you sneaking off to a
date?” Dan’s lips quirked into a yful smile. “Is it Anya?”
Evan wasn’t behaving like his usual self.
The man might dislike loud crowds, but always shared a few drinks with them.
He would take the opportunity to rx and let himself go.
*四
*UND10% 13:36
Π
But that wasn’t what he was doing today at all. Dan wondered if this had anything to do with Anya.
It might be.
The mention of Anya seemed to make the man unhappy. “It’s nothing.”
“I’ve invited a few models to join us. You should get to know them. Make a few friends,” Dan said with a
laugh. He didn’t
believe a word that Evan had said.
“I’m not interested.”
Dan wasn’t having any of that. He raised his hand, caught the attention of a waiter and then snapped
his fingers.
Within minutes, a few gorgeous–looking, skimpily dressed young women sashayed into the suite.
Their eyes fell on the two handsome looking young men seated in the middle of the couch instantly,
The models‘ eyes brightened instantly at the sight of the two young men.
N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.
The men that they usually had had to drink with were fat and ugly. Hardly great specimens of the male
sex.
There were currently six men seated in their suite and at least two of them were handsome looking
young men who looked like they belonged in a Hollywood movie.
The young models buzzed with excitement. They walked up to Evan and Dan before the young men
invited them over.
Evan didn’t like strange women around him. His voice was frosty when one of the models tried to sit
down next to him.
“Move over.”
“What’s wrong?” the young woman murmured sweetly. She didn’t seem to know who Evan was, “Don’t
you want someone to drink with you?”
The look in Evan’s eyes darkened with anger. His voice was as cold as winter. “Do you need me to
repeat myself?”
A waiter standing at the corner tugged the model away immediately. He kept his voice down as he
reprimanded the clueless young woman. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to? That’s Mr.
Welton. When he tells you to get out of the way, you get out of his way!”
A young woman like her couldn’t have known that the man that she had tried to get friendly with was
the most powerful man in Nordeny.
Her face paled instantly. “I didn’t know. I had no idea he’s Mr. Welton.”
“Just stay out of his way. You can drink with the others.” The waiter was clearly worried that Evan might
get upset. He
wanted the young woman as far away from Evan’s sight as possible.
EN
10% 13:36
The young woman didn’t dare to linger as well. She immediately left and found herself another
companion.
Without any further intrusions from clueless young models, Evan began to drink alone. He couldn’t stop
the rampant twitching of his eyelids as he drank..
It felt like a message. As if something temble had just happened.
Frustration pooled inside him gradually and sat heavily in his gut like a stone. The image of two
adorable kids popped into his head without any warning.
He wondered how they were doing right now. Were they alright?