Chapter 830 Let’s Compare Notes Together, Shall We?
Ariel stood in front of Danny International Finance Corporation Building with a coat tightly wrapped around her body. The cold wind blew, and her body shivered due to the chilly breeze while her eyes locked on the corner of the street that wasn’t far away.
The time stated on her watch was 11.00PM—an hour later than the latest time she usually clocked out. He’s probably not coming, isn’t he? Ariel took out her mobile phone and prepared to book a cab when she thought of that.
Out of the blue, a flash of light beamed from a distance and illuminated the entire area when Ariel had just logged onto the ride-hailing application.
Ariel kept away her phone and watched as the car stopped at a familiar spot. The door opened, and Danny stepped out of the vehicle. After that, he went around the car to open the door to the passenger seat for Ariel.
She instinctively entered the car, made herself comfortable, and fastened her seat belt. Then, she watched as Danny also got into the car and skillfully started the engine swiftly.
Danny had been consistently fetching Ariel to and from work for seven years. The only inconsistency was Danny’s increasingly mature aura and also his ability to shoulder his responsibilities alone. Right now, every gesture Danny made exuded a sense of superiority of someone sure and confident in himself.
“I thought you were not coming today,” Ariel eventually started a conversation to fill the silence.
“I got held up by some matters,” replied Danny’s heart was on the road as it wouldn’t be a good idea to get distracted when he was driving. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something before going back home?”
However, instead of answering him, Ariel suddenly asked, “Are you in a relationship?”
When Danny heard her question, he lightly curled his lower lip into a faint smile and replied, “You know me best. I’m busy all day, so how would I have the time for such a trivial thing as a relationship?”
Ariel lowered her lashes and smiled as she asked, “Actually, there’s one thing that I’m quite curious about. Don’t you feel annoyed fetching me to and fro every day for seven years?”
“I’m used to it,” Danny blurted. Regardless, he felt something was off with his words after he had the time to think about it. Therefore he immediately added, “You deserve such special treatment for being the company’s ace accountant.”
“I’m preparing to resign,” Ariel said, absolutely catching Danny off guard.
Danny’s eyes flickered slightly, and despite unknowingly tightening his grip on the steering wheel, his face remained calm as he teased lightly, “Is it because I took the CEO position? I can return it to you. Besides, everyone established this company together in the first place, so it doesn’t matter who becomes the CEO.”
Ariel smiled brightly when she heard that, genuinely happy for him. “You taking the position of CEO is in favor of everyone’s expectations. Besides, I’m not that petty. I’m resigning due to personal reasons, that’s all.”
Danny was silent for a moment. In the end, he still relented and said, “I respect your choice, but you’re an essential asset to the company. So, you must give me some time, either six months or a year, to hire someone capable enough to replace you. Whatever it is, just don’t resign now.”
“Sure. I’ll wait another year before handing in my resignation letter.” Ariel readily compromised.
After she finished saying that, she leaned against the car window. Her mood gradually sank as she looked up at the moonlit sky. Seven years have passed anyway. Will it make any difference to our situation if I wait another year? Perhaps I’m just deceiving myself. Since when exactly did I hope my relationship with Danny to be different? Was it because of his punctuality in fetching me to and from work regardless of the weather condition? Or was it because of the warmth and concern he offered when I was sick? Or was it because of his attentiveness to me, regardless of how trivial the matter was? Or was it because of his present unique charm of maturity and steadiness? But what’s the use of hope? I’m no longer young, and no matter how much I put in the effort to maintain my beauty, my condition is still far worse than Danny, who is in his prime. So we’re not destined to be together.
The car pulled over downstairs at Ariel’s apartment while she was still deeply immersed in her thoughts.
“Good night, and sweet dreams.”
Danny bid her goodbye as usual and watched as she walked up the steps. He only retracted his gaze once her figure disappeared at the hallway entrance—a disappointed glint flashed across his eyes as his mind constantly replayed the scene where Ariel mentioned her resignation in the car earlier. I learned to restrain myself and hide my feelings in the deepest part of my heart after she rejected my confession seven years ago. I never once showed traces of affection over the years and only silently took care of all her needs, just like a good friend. I’m already doing my best to keep my feelings to myself, so I wouldn’t scare her away, yet why is she still leaving?
As he thought of that, he clenched his fists and furrowed his brows due to the bitterness he felt. Then, he leaned back and rested his head on the seat. His eyes closed, he remained in this posture and only drove the car away until it was almost dawn.
…
It was already fall when the world’s top symphony orchestra arrived in Tissote to hold their first domestic concert tour.
Sure enough, someone as notable as Alexander naturally would attend such a grand occasion. As Alexander’s fiancée, it was only natural for Jessamine to walk by his side. Meanwhile, her two children ambled in front of her under the servant’s care.
Shortly after, they bumped into Elise and her children, who were about to enter the concert hall at the ticket gate.
When Jessamine noticed they didn’t have tickets in hand, she took the initiative to hug Alexander’s arm and walked up to greet them, “Miss White, you guys are here too? What a coincidence, huh? Did you guys forget to bring your tickets?”
Before Elise could say anything, Alexia acted first and replied, “We don’t need tickets.”
Jessamine smiled indifferently and said, “You can’t enter without tickets. Kid, do you want me to find a way to get you guys some tickets? But the seats may be a little behind the front row seats.”
“That won’t be necessary. Miss Jessamine, my sister and I are used to sitting in the front,” Irvin chimed in, “We came here just to buy some popcorn.”
“Sit in the front?” Jessamine purposely drawled as she curled her lips upward into a meaningful smirk. Anastasia’s two children are rather clever. They know how to cover up for her, but too bad, their overly confident statements are full of flaws. The organizer has allocated the VVIP seats to Alexander, me, and my children. So, how can they magically vacate extra seats for Anastasia and her children? Perhaps they may have never attended any musical concert at all, and they just deliberately show up here in an attempt to get acquainted with the upper-class society.
“Well, in that case, you guys must like the piano very much. So tell me: which maestro do you guys admire?”
As she spoke, Jessamine silently gave her children a wink, motioning for them to answer.
Her children were very discerning as well. Thus, they immediately pounced and chimed in when they received Jessamine’s signal.
“I like Maestro Yorkson!”
“I like Danielton!”
Irvin glanced up at Elise before he commented on the maestros mentioned, “I like my Mommy better. Maestro Yorkson is too lazy, while for Mr. Danielton, his musical pieces have lacked plenty of their soulful tempo as he’s simply busy with his relationship these years.”
While they were abroad, Yorkson and Danielton came to visit them in person basically every week and jammed with Elise when they had the time. Sometimes they would also get a little competitive. Hence, the two siblings naturally had a different insight than others, for they were subtly influenced since childhood.
When Jessamine heard this, she further confirmed that Anastasia and her family knew nothing about classical music.
Even so, she still maintained an elegant demeanor in front of Alexander. “Little guy, your insight is really unique. Your mommy must be very good at playing the piano. Am I right, Miss White?”
“Oh, thank you. You’re too kind. I’m just playing it for fun,” replied Elise modestly.
Jessamine deliberately set a trap as she had no intention of backing off in order to embarrass Elise. “It happens that I know how to play the piano myself. Shall we compare notes together if you’re free?”
“Sure.” Elise readily agreed. Just after she finished saying that, she saw the staff waving at her. Thus, she nodded and immediately took her children away. “Excuse us. We’ll be taking our leave first.”
As Jessamine didn’t expect Elise would agree so readily, she was stunned for a moment. By the time she came back to her senses, she hurriedly feigned composure as she remarked, “It’s really not easy to be a single mother. She even forgot to educate her children on the basic respect one should have for fellow maestros.”
Alexander, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke, “Don’t forget. We haven’t got our marriage certificate yet, so you’re a single mother yourself.”
