Chapter 10
When Grace was little, she didn’t feel safe because her
parents passed away early. Whenever she went out or went to school, she would hold Antonio’s hand tight.
Now, they were walking two steps apart. It was the perfect distance for an uncle and a niece.
After a long silence, they suddenly saw a school in the darkness, quiet and still.
Both Antonio and Grace were students there, and Antonio was two or three years ahead of Grace.
Wintervale High School was the top high school in the historic Wintervale, with the best educational resources and the most modern setup. Grace had read many books there.
It was where she spent her teenage years, filled with unrequited love.
“Is this Wintervale High School?”
“Yeah, I heard they built a new teaching building this year. It’s right behind the one I used to go to class in,” Grace answered. The whole time, Antonio was asking questions and she was just answering, one by one.
She was being polite, which made Antonio more upset.
Grace suddenly stopped under an old locust tree. Coming back to this place made her remember a lot.
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Chapter 10
There, her feelings never even got a chance to start, and Antonio turned into a strange uncle to her.
“Antonio, I’m really sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you over the years. I shouldn’t have had those feelings for you. I’ve realized my mistakes now, and I owe you an apology.
“I hope you and Zelma can be happy together.”
Grace spoke sincerely, but Antonio didn’t want to hear it. He just pointed to a restaurant that was open not far away.
“Let’s go grab something to eat.”
The owner of the restaurant recognized them and quickly came out to greet them. “Oh, Grace! It’s been such a long time! And this must be Mr. Kaufman, right? You look so handsome!”
“Two servings of spaghetti with ground beef, extra spicy, please,” Grace smiled.
Back in high school, she had a lot of stress from studying and was a picky eater. After a month at school, she would lose about four kilos, so Antonio would take her out to eat
something warm and tasty.
This restaurant was the perfect place for them. For three years of high school, they ate spaghetti here almost every week.
Soon, the owner brought over the spaghetti. Back in the day, Antonio and Grace were quite famous around here. Antonio even gave the owner money to buy better beef just to make sure Grace had something healthier to eat.
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“After all these years, I still remember you two. You’re such a good–looking pair. Every time you came here, my business would boom.”
It was a Saturday night, and the restaurant wasn’t very busy, so the owner chatted with them casually.
“If you didn’t say you were uncle and niece, people would think you’re a couple with how good–looking and well- matched you are,” the owner joked.
Surprisingly, Antonio didn’t deny it. Grace quickly clarified, “You can’t say things like that. Antonio is already engaged. I’ll be living with my grandpa from now on.”
“Really?” the owner said, sounding surprised. “I often see Sir Kaufman taking walks all by himself. You should spend some time with him. You know, as the saying goes, two tigers can’t live on the same mountain. Now that your uncle has got a fiancée, you should keep some distance from him.”
Antonio’s phone rang. He answered it without checking who was calling, and he sounded pretty upset.
“Antonio, I…kind of need your help. Can you come back?” It was Zelma’s voice, all sweet and delicate.
Grace looked at Antonio, who had eaten about half of his spaghetti, and said, “Antonio, we’re very close to home now. You should go back and see what Zelma needs.”
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