Chapter 35 I’m Talking To Y*u

Sarah slapped the dog gently on the back of its head. “I’m talking to you! Can you give me a response?”

“…”

Both she and Nunu had been standing in front of Hale Residence’s main gate for a little while.

Sarah was not sure how Maddy would react if she went begging for his forgiveness. He would probably pull a long face and disregard her entirely.

She was still contemplating if she should ring the doorbell when a blank Benz pulled in next to her gradually.

Mother Hale poked her head through the car window. “Sarah, what are you doing standing here alone? It’s cold out there…”

An embarrassed smile spread across Sarah’s face as she pointed toward a random direction. “Hi, Aunt Hale, um… I was just passing by while I walked around with Nunu…”

Mother Hale stepped out of the car. Upon discovering Sarah’s face that was red from the cold, she leaned forward to hold the girl’s hands. “Why are your hands freezing? Come on, head inside with me to warm yourself up.”

……

In the living room, Maddy could be seen wearing a gray hoodie. His long legs were crossed at the ankles as he leaned back on the couch with his eyes closed. The remote control was positioned behind his head.

As soon as they walked through the door, Nunu darted forward before Sarah had time to change into the home slippers.

Nunu, who had not seen Maddy in a few days, had long forgotten the hatred it fostered for the man. The dog leaped into the couch enthusiastically and began licking Maddy’s face with its massive, sloppy tongue.

Maddy widened his eyes as a disgusted expression washed over his face. He pushed Nunu’s head away from him and jumped up from the couch. “F*ck. Nunu? Where did you come from?”

Mother Hale handed over her purse to the housekeeper, who was waiting on the side, as she announced into the living room, “Maddy, Sarah’s here.”

He could not hide his displeasure at the mention of Sarah’s name. He quickly snapped his head around to glare at the direction of the door.

However, Maddy shifted his attention away arrogantly just when their eyes met. He appeared as if annoyed by her presence.

Mother Hale was already accustomed to seeing the two of them in dispute. She knew at first glance that they must be at odds with one another again.

When they were younger, it was a normal occurrence for Maddy and Sarah to fight and argue every other day.

Even so, they rarely carried the dispute over to the next day. More often than not, they would not bring the issue up again after a night’s sleep, agreeing tacitly for the former hatred to be bygones.

It was rare for Maddy to ignore Sarah for several days consecutively. The first time Maddy had completely flown off the handle at Sarah was when she did not give him a head’s up about her decision to go abroad. This was probably the second time.

The man returned to lean back against the couch. He reached out his long arm to change the TV channels absentmindedly.

Nunu jumped onto the couch and settled itself down comfortably, resting its head on Maddy’s stomach.

Sarah plopped herself down on the other solo seater couch nearby. She watched silently as Mother Hale passed her coat to the housekeeper while giving out orders simultaneously, “Do we have any durian left? Make some durian puffs for Sarah if there are some.”

The housekeeper left with Mother Hale’s coat. This irritated Maddy and he glared at his mother with widened eyes. “Dear my beloved Madam Hale, can you please consider my feelings too? Why do you like to fill the entire house with that thing that stenches like trash…? I’m your birth son at the very least or is Sarah your real child?”

Mother Hale rolled her eyes at the man. “I don’t mind if she calls me Mom, but then again that would make her my daughter-in-law…”

This left Maddy speechless…

Mother Hale retreated to her room for a change of clothes. Apart from the noise from the television, Sarah and Maddy were facing away from each other and neither one was willing to break the tension in the air.

A brief moment later, Sarah threw a glance at Maddy who appeared to be watching TV on the couch.

The man was only pretending to be entertained by the show. He kept stealing glances at Sarah from the corners of his eyes.

The girl extended her arm to poke him on the waist. She knew Maddy could not resist tickles.

As expected, the man budged slightly from the seat and he immediately pointed at Sarah using the remote control in his hand. “Don’t lay your fingers on me. I’m still mad at you if you haven’t noticed. Don’t expect me to forgive you today, no matter how you try to convince me otherwise!”

Sarah was grinning from ear to ear as she sat down on the floor in front of the couch. “Maddy…” she said in an exaggerated voice.

He turned his back against her coldly.

She proceeded to poke him relentlessly. “Here we have… The straightest guy in the entire universe…” She teased playfully.

“Ah… Leave me alone…”

Maddy extended his long arm to swat her attacks away.

Suddenly, the girl lost her balance. She let out a shriek when she fell to the ground and supported herself with her right arm.

He rolled over swiftly and grabbed her right wrist to examine it. Colors drained off his face within seconds. “Does it hurt? Let me have a look.”

A bubble of laughter escaped Sarah’s mouth upon discovering the consideration that was written all over his face. “I know you’re not really mad at me. Look, you still care about me, don’t you?”

Emotions chased over Maddy’s face in quick succession. He lifted her from the ground and positioned her properly onto the couch. “You’re d*mn right that I owe it to you. Are you satisfied now?!”

“…”

——————

Jon had not visited Xijing Villa for two consecutive days.

Sarah thought she resembled those mistresses who had been long-forgotten by the Emperor. She yearned for receiving his attention every single day.

She was shocked by the idea.

How could she be nurturing this kind of thought?

Jon was only but an elder acquaintance of her grandpa. The former was only being thoughtful to her upon considering the relationship with the elders. Why would she entertain such silly thoughts?

She darted to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. Then, she lifted her eyes to look into the mirror.

Sarah convinced herself again and again that the person she loved was Henry and no one else. What she felt for Jon was nothing more than a sense of security and dependence because he had appeared in her lowest point of life.

Exactly, a sense of dependency!

She must have regarded him as a person who could protect her under his wings. This explanation was plausible.

Looking back at the person staring back at her from the mirror, she heaved a sigh of relief. A commotion was heard coming from the front door simultaneously.

Wearing a beige, long-sleeved hooded sweatshirt, Sarah pushed the door open to steal a glance at the first floor.

Aunt Wren was entering the house along with Nunu. She was also holding a bag of vegetables and a bag of apples in her hands.

Aunt Wren smiled when she noticed Sarah standing on the second floor. “You must be hungry. Nunu was having so much fun today that it took me loads of persuasion to bring it home, I even…”

“Will he be back for dinner?” Sarah interrupted the long-winded Aunt Wren.

This caught the latter by surprise but she shook her head eventually. “Second Young Master didn’t call to inform me that he’s coming for dinner.”

Sarah had no idea that disappointment was written all over her face.

Aunt Wren removed the leash from Nunu’s neck before heading into the kitchen. Before she could finish washing the apples, however, she discovered Sarah shuffling down the stairs in a pair of cotton slippers.

Aunt Wren questioned in confusion upon seeing the girl putting on an overcoat. “Miss Grove… Are you heading out?”

Displeasure overtook Sarah's face. The girl grabbed her purse and shouted, “I don’t care if he doesn’t come here for dinner. I’m going to eat out too.”