Marshall reached out his hand to stroke her hair with a smile, “Just hold on. I don’t know how he feels
either.”
Katherine pouted, “Unpredictable.”
Marshall looked around, “Alright, just leave them here. Let’s go for somewhere else for lunch.”
Then both of them left, while Khalid was still sitting there alone, waiting for the dishes.
Marshall didn’t order much as he had noticed himself beforehand that he might need to leave soon.
Khalid didn’t feel much appetite while staring at the dishes.
He picked up the tableware, fiddle with the food and then put it down.
He sat still with his back leaning on the chair, emotionless.
Frances also found herself that her appetite had fled away, feeling uneasy though she failed to tell the
reason.
Nicolas also noticed that. He smiled, “What’s the matter? Are you feeling unwell?”
Frances breathed out, “No.”
After some consideration, she raised up her head to look at him to confess, “I saw my ex-husband
here.”
Nicolas paused, “You mean here?”
Frances nodded, “Just a few steps away.”
Nicolas smiled, “No wonder Miss Jordan walked away.”
Frances had no idea how to continue.
Actually, the situation wasn’t an embarrassing one. She could deal with it by simply walking to his front,
greeting and smiling.
However, she found herself uneasy out of no reason.
Nicolas also looked around and soon noticed Khalid.
Actually, they didn’t know each other. Though Khalid had kept himself a low profile, some news about
him was covered for a few times on the financial section.
So Nicolas felt a bit familiar when looking at him.
Khalid simply sat still, looking displeased with those dishes intact.
Nicolas took a look at him and smiled. Then he said to Frances, “I am sure your ex has seen us.”
Of course Khalid had for they were both involved in the tricks of Katherine. So he had noticed her as
soon as he entered.
Frances hesitated while licking her lips, “You might wait here. Let me walk over for a greeting.”
Nicolas looked at her, “Do I need to go with you?”
Frances shook her head, “No, thanks. Just leave it to me.”
It would be really weird if Nicolas walked over there with her.
Though now he was just a friend of Frances, it would make both of them fishy if he followed over to
greet her ex.
Nicolas didn’t insist, “Alright, I will be waiting here.”
Frances stood up to walk over to Khalid.
Actually, Khalid was that displeased-looking. He was just wearing a poker face.
Frances walked to his front and said in plain voice, “Hey, what a coincidence!”
Khalid kept his posture still without looking at her.
Frances sat down though struggling in her heart, “I also saw Marshall just now. What brought you both
here?”
Khalid took a look at her. Not until quite a while later did his expression soften a bit, “Marshall proposed
so. But it must be intentional.”
Frances was rendered awkward. She licked her lips, “It was just a friend of mine. He asked me for a
favor because of something in his house.”
Actually, Khalid also realized that it was just a normal meet for friends since Katherine was by her side.
So he nodded, “Oh, I see.”
Frances added, “Last time, I left so soon without noticing you because my family needed me to be back
ASAP.”
She smiled awkwardly, “But I didn’t think you cared.”
Khalid didn’t continue with the topic. Instead, he raised up his jaw to point at Nicolas, “So, he is the one
for blind date?”
“No, no, no…” Frances hurried to explain, “Not for blind date. He is just a friend of mine.”
Khalid stared at Nicolas again while he also looked over there.
Nicolas appeared to be more composed and decent. He greeted with a smile at Khalid.
But Khalid still showed him indifference on the face.
He paused and then said, “But you have never told me about this ‘friend’ before.”
Frances paused out of awkwardness. She felt like a girl being caught after committing lies. So she
confessed, “We just knew each other a few days ago. It was my mom who introduced him to me. She
said he was nice…”
After saying that, she felt a bit weird. So she hurried to stop and then explained, “I don’t have many
friends, so my mom suggested that I should try to make some friends. So…that’s it…”
She was rendered even more embarrassed after the farfetched explanation.
So she chose to keep her mouth shut in case she made it worse.
Khalid let out a plain smile.
Frances took a look at the dishes on the table, most of which remained intact.
She was confused as she had no idea what he meant.
Was he mad? But his face didn’t seem to be likely. Nor did he show enough evidence to prove himself
totally madness-free.
Frances was rendered so confused.
But to be honest, she couldn’t find his madness justified if he was.
From her perspective, she would never believe that his weird look at this moment was out of a sense of
jealousy.
Nicolas had been waiting but Frances still hadn’t returned. So after finishing the rest of the food, he
walked over.
Nicolas looked more decent. He greeted, “Mr. Grant, it’s my honor to meet you here.”
But Khalid did know nothing about him. So he asked while looking at him, “So, your name?”
His reply sounded inappropriate. He didn’t even start with the most basic social formality.
But Nicolas didn’t feel like being offended. He smiled to introduce himself.
Khalid simply nodded perfunctorily, “Okay, nice to meet you.”
Uneasy, Frances turned to whisper to Nicolas, “Why are you coming?”
But he replied with normal sound, “You brought me here because I didn’t see you return.”
His voiced was mixed with a trace of pleasure, which made their conversation a bit ambiguous.
Khalid stared at him for a while. Then his frowning brows gradually loosened.
Nicolas then asked Frances, “Have you finished your food? Do you want more?”
Frances shook her head, “That’s enough for me.”
Nicolas stood up, “I have finished as well. Let’s go.”
Before Frances could respond, he looked at Khalid, “Mr. Grant, enjoy your meal. We will dismiss
ourselves.”
After saying that, he grabbed Frances’s arm and she stood up.
Nicolas helped to carry her Baguette and said, “I think the color of the last curtain we saw just now
perfectly fits my need. Don’t you like it? Or do you prefer the light blue one?”
Frances was led away from the seat. She didn’t reply to his question. Instead, she looked back at
Khalid.
But Khalid didn’t look at them. He sat still, emotionless and unmoved.
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