Chapter 98
Jessica was married to Timothy.
He was a man at the very top of the social pyramid, the kind whose household was likely staffed with countless servants, tending to his every need. As for Jessica–well, she was a woman of privilege now, a lady of the manor. There was no reason for her to work herself to exhaustion or even lose sleep over daily
chores.
Herbert gripped the steering wheel tightly.
He couldn’t bring himself to stop driving. Instead, he kept circling the outskirts of Azurehaven, inching along the quiet roads.
He didn’t pull over until the gas tank was empty.
When they finally rolled into a gas station and the car came to a halt, Jessica slowly opened her eyes.>
She’d thought they were home, but quickly realized they were somewhere unfamiliar–a gas station in the middle of nowhere.
Worried that she might barrage him with questions, Herbert flashed her a reassuring smile. “We’re in town now, not far from your place. No idea what happened today, but traffic on the highway was a nightmare.”
Once Jessica was fully awake, she realized she was starving. She fished out her phone and was shocked to see that it was already past one in the afternoon. So they really had been stuck in traffic for ages.
She quickly signed her question to Herbert: “Are you hungry?“}
“It’s past one. Of course I am.”
Jessica signed again, telling him she wanted to treat him to lunch.
Herbert was more than happy to accept.
After filling up the tank and paying, he drove them to a nearby restaurant.
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Timothy was just waking up.
He’d spent the entire previous night in negotiations with clients, compressing two or three days‘ worth of work into a single marathon session. By the time he finally returned home, dawn was already breaking.
Freshly showered, he stepped into the living room, where Sheila sat quietly at her laptop.
“Have you eaten?” Timothy asked, crossing the room toward her.
“Not yet. I was waiting for you.”
“Sorry I slept so long. Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”
He stopped beside her, catching sight of her screen, which displayed a half–finished digital painting.
Timothy studied it for a moment. “Are you working on that Grand Canal, Venice piece?”
Sheila’s lips curved in a soft smile. “Yes. Ines gave it such high praise the other day. I wanted to see if I could recreate the effect, see if my skills measure up. Timothy, I really appreciate what you and Henry did–buying that piece and giving it to me.”
1
The night Henry had a stomachache, right after they’d returned from overseas, he’d taken her straight to see that painting.
“Let me take a look.“Z
Timothy leaned down, taking hold of the mouse.
Ines was close to agreeing, and if Sheila could pull off a flawless reproduction, who knew? The deal might just go through.
Becoming Ines’s protégé would mean inheriting everything she had to offer. It would be a huge step forward for Sheila’s career.
Sheila sat in her chair while Timothy hovered behind her, leaning over so closely she felt cocooned by his presence. He probably hadn’t had a cigarette yet that morning, and his scent was pure cedarwood–clean and understated.
They were so close, it was as if she was nestled in his arms. She could feel his warmth radiating against her skin, making her cheeks burn.
Timothy clicked through her work. “Not bad at all. I can’t wait to see the finished piece.”
He straightened up, and just like that, the warmth and scent that surrounded her were gone. Sheila felt strangely empty inside.
“If you approve, that’s all I need,” she said quietly.”
“Keep at it. I know you’ve got the talent and the technique.”
Sheila had mentioned wanting to apprentice under Ines. Timothy hadn’t said anything yet, not until things were certain–he didn’t want to get her hopes up prematurely. Once the painting was finished, he’d show it to Ines. Maybe, just maybe, it would seal the deal &
“Thanks for believing in me. I’ll do my best.”
“Let’s go eat.”
Sheila closed her laptop and got to her feet. She’d only taken a few steps when she remembered something “Oh, right–I almost forgot to tell you. Mabel called you this morning. Your phone was in the living room, so I picked up in case it was important. She didn’t say anything, but I heard a crash on the other end, like something breaking. Maybe you should call her and check if everything’s okay?“{
