Chapter 132 I’d Like to Give You a Present
It was the height of summer in Melrose City and a rare breeze was blowing outside even though the sun had set.
In her five inch heels, Courtney walked into the hotel lobby. Just as she stepped out of the elevator, she caught sight of a familiar MPV parked at the entrance. An impeccably dressed Alexander got out of the car, fastening the buttons on his suit.
She was about to step forward when she saw another familiar figure getting out after him.
Despite dressing in a low-key manner, her simple white T-shirt and black skinny jeans couldn’t conceal the star’s stunning figure. Not to mention, the black baseball cap and huge sunglasses that she had on was simply accentuating her identity.
Courtney’s steps halted. She quietly retraced her steps and went to stand in the corridor at the corner of the elevator, keeping an eye on the two figures at the hotel entrance. They looked like a lovely young couple but they began to blur into two dark silhouettes as anger clouded Courtney’s vision.
Britney was adjusting Alexander’s collar and he didn’t seem to be resisting her advances. From her corner, Courtney couldn’t see any changes in Alexander’s expression and she couldn’t hear what he was saying either. Eventually, Britney got back into the car. A tiny head peeked out and Britney rubbed it ‘gently’.
Upon seeing that, Courtney clenched her fists.
This is the important matter that Alexander was referring to?
She gritted her teeth and couldn’t help but imagine their conversation.
“Your tie is crooked.”
“There’s too many people here. Get in the car first; my assistant will send you back.”
“Okay.”
“Take care of Jordan.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him.”
Watching as Alexander walked into the elevator, Courtney frowned and glared at the elevator, nearly balding the fortune tree in front of the doors with her deadly stare.
In most cases, when a woman encountered a suspected cheating incident, she would lose the ability to think rationally. If she didn’t get a reasonable explanation in time, the situation would take an uncontrollable turn.
Courtney lingered at the entrance to the banquet hall for a long while before going back in, but she didn’t see Alexander anywhere.
“Courtney.” Jennifer’s voice pulled her back from her thoughts.
“Yes?” Courtney came back to her senses. When she turned around, her expression had already turned pleasant.
Jennifer enthusiastically tugged on her hand. “President Duncan is back and he has gone to discuss something with my husband. It just so happened that I was looking for you. Come with me.”
Courtney followed Jennifer to her hotel room.
Three suitcases were in the living room. Evidently, the couple had already packed their luggage.
“What’s the matter?” Courtney was slightly worried. “Is there a problem with the hotel?”
“Not at all.” Jennifer turned around and laughed. “The hotel’s great. Hans and I are very grateful for your hospitality. We like Otharia very much so I’d like to give you a present as promised yesterday.”
Upon hearing that, Courtney remembered and felt extremely flattered.
Jennifer then handed her a purple satin box and looked on expectantly. “Open it.”
The purple satin box appeared somewhat dated. It was a palm-sized rectangular box with a delicate copper latch. Courtney opened it to reveal an emerald gemstone earring.
She was flabbergasted. “It’s…”
“This is for you.” Jennifer tilted her head. Despite being in her fifties, she still had a certain charm to her and she sat with complete elegance. “The first time I met you, you told me that I could call you Natasha. From that moment on, I knew that this earring would suit you well.”
“This is too much,” Courtney hurriedly declined.
Although she didn’t know much about jewelry, she had heard that Hans and Jennifer were both famous jewelry collectors, so the things they gave away were certainly not cheap. She and Jennifer had only known each other for half a month and it was all for a government function, so it didn’t seem right to accept such a costly gift.
However, in her best attempt at speaking Otharian, Jennifer insisted, “I must give it to you.”
Puzzled, Courtney asked helplessly, “Why?”
Jennifer tucked her hair behind her ears before getting up and walking toward the tall wardrobe. She returned with a black and white picture. On it were two young children, both around five or six years old. The boy had a big figure and huge eyes; it was obvious that he was a mixed-race child. The girl, on the other hand, resembled an Otharian doll.
“This is my daughter and son when they were little.”
“They’re adorable.”
An enigmatic smile appeared on Jennifer’s face. “Yes, they are. If my daughter was still alive, she would be around your age now, probably about to get married. Her name was Natasha.”
Hearing this, Courtney instantly understood why Jennifer was giving her the earring.
No wonder Jennifer had never called her by her first name.
“So keep it. Your eyes look like my Natasha’s. I know you Otharians call this fate, right?”
Jennifer’s eyes were wet with tears. To Courtney, Jennifer had always been a humorous and elegant lady, an easily approachable person. She never thought that Jennifer would have such a heartbreaking story hidden behind that exterior.
Courtney didn’t have the heart to pursue more about Jennifer’s past so after a moment’s hesitation, she took the earring out of the box and smiled, “I’ll keep it, but can you put it on for me?”
It would be like helping Natasha put it on.
The earring was inlaid with a circle of beautiful diamonds, which brought out the dazzling emerald gemstone in the middle and made it glisten. It resembled a dark green pool of water, full of ancient mystery.
When putting it on, Jennifer was filled with excitement as she explained, “I got this earring at an auction when I was pregnant with Natasha. It should’ve been a pair, but I don’t know where the other one is. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Looking at her reflection in the dressing table mirror, Courtney admired the single earring glowing with luster. In the mirror, she could see Jennifer desperately trying to hold back tears. Courtney quickly grabbed her hands and nodded solemnly. “It is; it’s beautiful. Natasha thinks so too.”
Jennifer covered her mouth, her eyes rimmed red. Hugging Courtney, she sobbed, “Yes, my Natasha thinks it looks beautiful.”
After the banquet was over, all the foreign guests got into their cars and left the hotel one after another. Before leaving, Hans saw the earring on Courtney’s ear and cast a surprised glance at Jennifer, but didn’t ask any questions as he understood his wife’s intentions. He gave Courtney a polite hug. “Thank you.”
After seeing Jennifer off, Courtney felt a mixture of emotions gnawing at her heart.
Compared to Jennifer, who had lost her daughter to an accident, Courtney was fortunate enough to find her son after five years; that was her only consolation today.
“Let’s go.” A familiar voice from beside her brought her back to her senses.
Their guests were present earlier and Courtney couldn’t say much during working hours. Now, she glanced at her wrist. Seeing that the hands on her red Longines watch showed that it was a little past eight o’clock, she said, “President Duncan, it’s time for me to get off work now.”
Alexander nodded. “Of course. You’ve worked hard these past two days so you may take three days off. I’ll take—”
“Thank you, President Duncan.” Before he could finish speaking, Courtney angrily interrupted him and turned on her heel before walking into the hotel.
Alexander frowned and stared at her retreating back for a while, then strode to catch up.
He chased her all the way to the hotel room, where she had wordlessly begun to pack up her suitcase.
“You’re leaving?” Alexander’s deep eyes were tinged with a hint of surprise.
Without looking up, Courtney snapped, “My work here is done and you’ve allowed me to take a short vacation. If I don’t leave, am I supposed to stay here and work overtime for free?”
