Velma’s POV:
Early that morning, I was awoken by Erin‘s phone call.
"Velma, how would you like to have a cup of coffee with me?"
Although I hated being woken up so early in the morning, I dared not take it out on Erin, nor could I
ignore her request.
"Good morning, Mrs.Affleck.It‘s so nice to hear from you.Are you in New York?" I asked respectfully.
"Yes! I arrived last night.I‘m at a cafe near your home.Come over and join me."
Although Erin‘s voice sounded soft and gentle, I knew she wouldn‘t take "no" for an answer.
"Okay! I‘ll be there soon," I replied.
After hanging up the phone, I hurriedly got out of bed, took a quick shower, and then changed into a
decent dress before going to the cafe to meet Erin.I simply thought that she just wanted to meet me for
coffee, because she used to often invite me to dinner and treat me like her own daughter.
No matter what a life Kendal and I led outside our homes, the moment we were to meet these elders,
we were always polite and respectful.
This was the lesson we had learnt and practiced since childhood.
The more independent and rebellious we behaved, the tougher our elders got.
On the other hand, if we pretended to be obedient to them, they would let down their guard and give us
more freedom.However, when I arrived at the cafe and saw Erin‘s long face.I guessed that something
was terribly wrong.I had an awful hunch.
"Velma, please sit down," Erin said, looking at me as if she was going to eat me alive.
I sat down gingerly, fanning the fear in my heart to calm myself down.
"Mrs.Affleck, what can I do for you?" Erin did not answer.
Instead, she just slowly pushed the cup of coffee she ordered for me across the table.She just stared at
me with her large eyes without saying a word.
Startled by the cutting look in her eyes, I silently drew my fingers back as soon as I touched the cup
"Mrs.Affleck, you can speak freely to me.It scares me when you look at me like this," I said.
Erin slowly withdrew her gaze and took out her phone from her bag.She unlocked the phone and flung
it in front of me with a clang.
"Look at this." The phone fell on the table with a dull thud.
I was scared.I shot a glance at her, and shivered to pick up the phone.I was stunned, by what I saw on
her phone.
There were some photos and videos.
When I could clearly make out George and Helen, I was flabbergasted.I threw the phone back onto the
table and shook my head in desperation.
"Mrs.Affleck! This is also news to me.I know nothing about it.Please don‘t ask me."
I couldn‘t afford to offend Erin or George.I was in a dilemma.
"Are you sure you know nothing about this? I suggest you take a closer look."
Erin firmly shoved the phone back into my hand.I had to pretend as if I didn‘t know anything about
George‘s relationship with Helen and I scanned through the photos, feigning surprise.
Most of these photos were taken in the community where George and Helen lived.
They showed them walking hand in hand along the avenue, sitting intimately next to each other by the
lake or kissing passionately in the garage or elevator.
Perhaps because of the skill of the cameraman in zooming in on close ups of the pair, they seemed to
ooze sweetness and tenderness.
Their perfect chemistry almost burst out of the screen.I didn‘t even know that George was capable of
expressing such warm feelings when he was around Helen.
Anyway, looking at their lovey–dovey pictures somehow made me want to be deeply loved by
someone.
"Mrs.Affleck, who sent you these photos?" I asked blankly after taking a moment to calm down.
From the number of photos, the person who had taken them obviously had a plan to expose the
intimate relationship that existed between George and Helen.
But who could it be?
"I‘m so disappointed in you, Velma.You already knew about George and this woman, didn‘t you? How
long have they been together?" asked Erin with a stern face.
"Mrs.Affleck, honestly this is the first that I am hearing about their affair."
I denied knowledge of their relationship vehemently and shook my head vigorously.I really regretted
stalking Kendal last night.If I hadn‘t followed him, I wouldn‘t have bumped into George and Helen.
Perhaps now I could speak to Erin candidly.
"I heard that Helen is a lawyer.She is currently in charge of Spacetime Finance‘s acquisition case, isn‘t
she?"
Erin asked as she tapped her well–manicured finger on Helen‘s photo.
"Yes.It was Kendal who introduced her to take over the case.It had nothing to do with me.I believe she
was his high school classmate or something, so he knows her better," I replied cautiously.
Erin kept asking about Helen, so I had no choice but to drag Kendal down with me.
"Velma, don’t tell anyone I came to you with this revelation.Just pretend you never saw the photos,
okay?"
Erin couldn‘t get any useful information out of me, so she gave up.
"You can rest assured, Mrs.Affleck.If anyone ever asks, I‘ve been sleeping all day today, and I certainly
never meet you!"
I promised without a moment‘s hesitation.I didn‘t want to get involved in their family affairs.
After all, I couldn‘t afford to upset George or his mother.So I decided to say nothing and simply sit back
and watch how things unfolded.
Helen‘s POV:
I had to go back to the law firm for the time being because the negotiations between Spacetime
Finance and Fantail Entertainment had reached a deadlock.
The two sides were in a stalemate Anya was on a business trip and Phil was busy with another case so
I didn‘t see him at all during work hours.
I was not very close to any of the other lawyers in the firm.
In fact, they were deliberately distancing themselves from me.
Even Tina and Melissa were trying to avoid me.I ignored their gazes and simply settled down to study
the negotiation terms between Spacetime Finance and Fantail Entertainment, trying to find a way to get
them back to the negotiating table.
On my way to the tea room during my break, I opened my Facebook page.
First I saw the daily filming routine posted by Velma, and then I saw a photo of two hands clasped
together posted by Lucy.
The photo had no caption, but I knew for certain that it was taken with Dyer.
It seemed that Lucy had really fallen head-over–heels in love with him.
Just then I got a voice call from Cece.
"Helen, what‘s the hell is wrong with Lucy?"
A few days ago, when Lucy‘s love life became a hot issue, Cece called me to ask about her.I briefly
told her the whole story.
Of course, I neatly neglected to mention the quarrel that I had had with Lucy.
Cece and I both concurred that Lucy should stay away from such a man.
How could a smart woman like Lucy fall in love so deeply with such an insensitive man? It wasn‘t until I
saw the photo that I finally realized that Lucy was hopelessly in love with Dyer.
She felt more strongly about him than I thought.
"She has no love for herself.I can‘t believe she got herself into such a terrible mess for a man," Cece
said angrily.
"Helen, just leave her alone."
"Don‘t say that.It can‘t be easy for her." I couldn‘t allow anyone to speak ill of Lucy.
"Really? You mean it‘s easy for Dyer‘s wife?" Cece sneered.
"And what about their innocent, little daughter? Helen, if she takes you as a friend, she wouldn‘t have
reduced herself to the level of a home–wrecker.What‘s the difference between her and Jane‘s mother
now?"
"It wasn‘t her fault that Dyer lied to her," I clarified.
Hearing Cece misunderstanding Lucy like this distressed and saddened me.
Lucy had been avoiding and even ignoring me recently.I knew that it was because she cared too much
about me.
Hence, she could not face me.
But what did I do to her? As her best friend, in her direst time of need, i behaved exactly like those
bullies, criticizing her from the moral high ground.
But the truth was that I just wanted her to be happy, no matter who she was with.I was strongly against
her relationship with Dyer simply because I didn‘t want her to get hurt.
When I hung up, I immediately sent Lucy a message of apology.
"I‘m sorry, Lucy." I wanted to give her a hug and tell her that as long as she was happy, I would support
her decision whole heartedly.
But Lucy didn‘t reply to me even after I got off work.
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