The Hairclip He Gave Me Was a Free Gift from Her Jewelry Spree Chapter 11

The Hairclip He Gave Me Was a Free Gift from Her Jewelry Spree Chapter 11

The birthday hall was in chaos.

But none of it had anything to do with me anymore.

My homecoming banquet went smoothly.

I left the shabby rental and moved into the Hale house.

A month later, in the middle of the night, I got a call.

Sebastian’s voice was hoarse.

“Rhea.”

The scandal that day had blown up.

The Shaw family tried to manage the damage, but the news had already spread across the internet.

Sebastian had been dragged home by his father that same day.

“So you already knew all of it.”

“I wronged you, but you got your revenge, so we’re even.”

“Rhea, can we meet and talk? Talk about… starting over.”

“I’ll come to you.”

After tearing each other apart like that, could we still be together?

I must have been up too late and was hearing things.

Startled, I hung up and blocked his number.

He wouldn’t find me, because I was going abroad soon.

To be honest, life back at the Hale house wasn’t comfortable.

The missing years had created a real gap between us.

I couldn’t be as close to Mom and Dad as Ethan was.

They didn’t say it out loud, but I knew I wasn’t the daughter they had imagined.

When you’re young, you need love. By the time you grow up, the need seems smaller.

And their love, held back for so many years, no longer came in a flood.

If I stayed any longer, conflict would come sooner or later.

So I was the one who suggested studying abroad.

After a moment’s thought, Mom and Dad agreed.

At first, they visited me every two or three months.

But they were busy, and slowly it became once every year or so.

Ethan, though, came to see me every month.

Sometimes I casually mentioned food from home, and within a few days he would bring it to me.

Last time we met, he told me.

“Charlotte had so much bad press that the Price family disowned her.”

“Sebastian has stayed single all these years and kept asking around about you, but I didn’t tell him anything.”

I nodded.

The wind came down the alley and ruffled the hair at my temples.

He suddenly reached out, as if to tuck a loose strand behind my ear.

“Brother, shouldn’t you head to the airport?” I reminded him.

I rarely called Ethan “brother,” because he didn’t like it.

His raised hand slowly lowered. He made a low sound, got in the car, and left.

I went back to the apartment I shared.

The Hales gave me plenty of money, but I was frugal and thought I should save where I could.

I found another international student to share the place.

Mom and Dad said they would come visit me soon.

After more than a year, I finally saw them.

After a brief exchange, Dad looked at me.

“Rhea, you’ve been out of school for a while. It’s time to find someone.”

“A friend of mine has a good son. He came abroad with me this time. Why don’t you two meet?”

At that, Dad took a sip of tea and reminded me.

“His family has some business ties with ours. If you two were more deeply connected, even better.”

That was a hint at a strategic marriage.

But since he had brought it up, I couldn’t refuse outright.

I thought meeting him once couldn’t hurt.

We met at a Western restaurant.

I pushed the door open, and he was already in his seat waiting for me.

He looked up at the sound.

“Long time no see, Rhea.”