Chapter 357
Chapter 357
Fresh out of the shower, Owen called Kim.
“What’s the matter?” Kim said on the phone impatiently.
Owen cut to the chase. “How are things going between you and Cloe?”
A brief silence hung on the other end of the line.
Owen got the message. Clearly, nothing had changed. He teased, “Mom and Cloe are practically besties now, but you’re still stuck in first gear. Pathetic
Kim, fresh off work, sat on Cloe’s sofa. Owen’s words made him upset as he struggled to steady his breath.
Taking a deep breath, he reined in his icy demeanor and turned to Julia, who was playing with her toys nearby, flashing what he believed was a particularly gentle smile.
Julia glanced up at him, then suddenly sprang up, clutching her toys and dashing toward the kitchen. “Mom! Uncle Kim’s smile is so creepy. How scary!”
she said.
Kim nearly choked on his own breath.
While tidying up in the kitchen, Cloe turned her head and said gently, “Just ignore him, sweetie.”
Over the phone, Owen heard every word Julia said and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Kim gritted his teeth. “What the hell do you want?”
Owen stifled his laughter and asked, “Wait, is Cloe in the kitchen?”
“Yes,” Kim replied.
“Now I get why you can’t win Cloe over,” Owen said.
Kim sneered and shot back, “So, did you get Aria?”
‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have said that,‘ Owen thought.
“Look, I’m serious for once. Just hang up if you don’t want to hear it,” he said.
“Spit it out!” Kim was impatient.
“You actually let Cloe into the kitchen?” Owen’s voice was full of disbelief.
No sooner had Owen spoken than he heard the sounds of movement on the other end. Someone rose abruptly, followed by the sharp slam of a door and
the sudden rush of running water.
Then came a torrent of furious shouts.
“Owen, I’ve had it with you! Aren’t you a Shaw, too? Why the hell am I the only one stuck running this company? If I weren’t buried at work, you wouldn’t have learned to cook by now?”
Owen subconsciously lowered his gaze, his tone tinged with guilt. “Hey, you promised me that when we were kids, remember?”
“That was then. Not now!” Kim shouted.
think!
“You could at least do the dishes and sweep the floor,” Owen said.
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Chapter 357
Kim’s furious voice roared over the sound of running water. “You think I haven’t tried?”
He did wash the dishes, but broke a few of them.
He also swept and mopped the floor, only for Julia to slip and fall.
Cloe was so angry that she banned him from touching anything again.
Owen thought to himself that Kim wasn’t exactly the domestic type. Then he said, “Honestly, I don’t think the reason you can’t win Cloe over has anything to do with these household chores.”
Kim’s face darkened. “I know!”
The most important reason was that Cloe had Julia.
Owen said, “Honestly, you need to work on your temper. Julia likes gentle dads. She actually likes me quite a bit.”
Owen and Julia exchanged numbers and spoke on the phone frequently.
They really hit it off.
Kim had long been aware of this, seething with jealousy. Just as he was about to retort, a sharp rap at the door cut him off, followed by Cloe’s stern warning.
“Hey! Why is the water still running? Did you leave your brain at the door or something?”
Kim hurriedly turned off the faucet. “Right away!”
Then he said to Owen, “Nothing else? I’m hanging up.”
Owen said, “Alright, don’t waste your chance then.”
Kim sneered, “Don’t think I don’t see through your little scheme. Do you really think I haven’t discussed this with Julia? She told me that when you first met Aria, you explicitly said you only liked her as a friend, right?”
Owen said nothing.
Seeing Owen at a loss for words, Kim’s mood lifted considerably. “Bye,” he said.
Owen stared at the ending call, pausing for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh. ‘If I could go back to that moment, I would never say those words,‘ he thought.
-That day, Aria drove to the city library.
As she browsed the shelves by category, she had just pulled out a book when someone gently tapped her on the shoulder.
“Madelyn?” the man said softly.
Aria turned and saw a vaguely familiar face, but for a moment she couldn’t place him.
Lincoln flashed a warm smile and said, “Hey, it’s me. Don’t you remember?”
Seeing her blank look, Lincoln prompted, “Remember that night when I tried to apprentice under Mono but got turned down? You were there.”
Aria nodded slightly. “Oh, I see. Hi.”
Lincoln glanced at the book in her arms and said, “Clinical Pharmacology? Are you studying medicine?”
Chapter 357
“Sort of,” Aria said.
Aria headed to the reading area, and Lincoln followed without hesitation. “Honestly, I thought you were an art major” he said
“Nope.”
Aria found a seat by the window and sat down. Lincoln slid into the chair across from her and asked, “By the way, do you know why Moon got so andry last time?”
Aria said, “I don’t know,”
Mono rarely showed such open dislike for someone.
Lincoln let out a helpless sigh.
He’d racked his brain for ages, yet still couldn’t pinpoint the source of Mono’s anger.
He remembered it clearly that when he and Madelyn added each other on social media, Mono didn’t react at all. But the moment Mono got hold of her phone, he suddenly lost it. It was so weird.
Lincoln suggested, “Hey, how about we add each other again? I promise I won’t bug you.”
Aria shook her head. “Better not. Mono doesn’t like you.”
She didn’t need to add anyone Mono disliked.
Lincoln felt a pang of disappointment. Aria was surprisingly mature for her age and spoke even less than Mono.
Not ready to give up, Lincoln continued, “I swear. I won’t tell Mono we added each other on social media.”
He coaxed, “Just add me back, and I’ll stop bugging Mono.”
Actually, ever since Mono made his disgust obvious last time, Lincoln had been too afraid to meet him again.
Aria had arrived early, so the library was still nearly empty. But with Lincoln sitting across from her, chattering nonstop, she knew this couldn’t go on. There was no way she’d get any reading done like this.
Aria nodded curtly. “Fine. I need to get back to my reading.”
Lincoln beamed. “Deal!”
Aria took her phone to scan his QR code, but Lincoln waited in vain. No friend request notification appeared.
Lincoln asked awkwardly, “Did you blacklist me?”
Without a word, Aria unblocked him, and only then did the friend request finally go through.
Lincoln said, “My name is Lincoln Saxon. Nice to meet you.”
