Chapter 41
Caroline’s eyes fluttered open to see Kirk smirking at her. “What are you doing?” he asked, amused.
Immediately, her face flushed red. “N–nothing!”
“But you closed your eyes just now-”
“I was… I just couldn’t make myself look at the tie.” In her haste, she told him the first excuse she could come up with. She looked around the spot she was standing in, trying to think of a way to get out of this predicament.
Suddenly, the painting he’d given her popped into her mind, and she mumbled, “I–I have to keep the painting somewhere… I’m going back to my room.” With that, she darted out of the dining room and into her room, closing the door with a bang.
Kirk watched her the entire time. As he stared at the closed door of her bedroom, the smile in his eyes faded and was replaced with his usual icy look.
He’d almost lost control of himself… and he’d never done that in front of a woman before!
Maybe Sean was right. Maybe he did like Caroline a bit. But that didn’t mean that it was love!
Caroline returned to her room and hid under her blanket. She hid, as if she could delude herself into thinking that her racing heart said nothing about what she’d felt back there.
She covered her face with her hands when she recalled what had happened and immediately felt the urge to dig a hole and bury herself in it. What the heck happened?
It was as if she’d been bewitched.
Right! Bewitched!
She’d definitely reacted like that because Kirk was too handsome! She definitely wasn’t in love with him! Absolutely not!
Just then, her phone rang, making her jump out of her skin. She glanced at the screen. It was
Gwen.
She answered the call and started ranting. “You scared me! Why are you even calling me at this hour?”
Instantly, Gwen smelled something fishy. “Oh? Why can’t I call you now? Don’t tell me that you were doing something… naughty!”
Caroline’s heart leaped into her mouth. Her mind replayed the scene where she was tying Kirk’s
“Carol, you sound very guilty now.”
“Nonsense. Say another word, and I’ll head over to beat your a**.” Caroline buried herself deeper into the depths of her blankets. “Why are you calling?”
“Ehe! You’re the one who knows me best!” Gwen started sounding suspicious. “Are you online?”
“Why?”
Gwen’s unrestrained chortle came from the other end of the line. “When I switched on my phone today, I got thousands of messages and notifications about Brie!
“I thought that it was the Collins family trying to get positive publicity, but when I clicked the notifications, the news was all about Brie and her people cornering us at the auction house!”
Caroline remembered the journalists who had appeared out of nowhere at that time. “Weren’t those reporters hired by her?”
“Who knows? It’s strange, though. The journalist who reported this was professional enough. He blurred both our faces.”
Caroline froze. Logically speaking, this would serve as a hot headline. Since the journalist exposed Brie’s act, why didn’t he expose both Caroline and Gwen too?
Was Eddy behind this? Was it because he wanted to spare himself from embarra**ment? But Eddy would give anything to see Caroline humiliated.
Caroline immediately searched for the source of the news. The media agent who posted it first was owned by the Morrisons.
She sank into deep thought for a moment before dialing the number of the manager in charge of Morrison Corp’s media department.
“Mr. Sander, I’d like to ask about the news regarding Ms. Collins today. Why did and my friend’s face in the pictures?”
you blur my face…
“Oh. It was Mr. Eddy’s second uncle,” Mr. Sander answered. “He asked us to do that.”
Caroline froze. It was Eddy’s second uncle?
Chapter 42
Caroline had heard a lot about Eddy’s second uncle, but they’d never met before. Despite that, why
was he so concerned about her?
“Um.. he didn’t explain why, did he?”
“No, he didn’t,” replied Mr. Sander.,
“Alright, thanks.” Caroline sounded slightly dejected because she’d been expecting more.
Upon hanging up, she opened her laptop and started scouring the internet for any information on Eddy’s second uncle.
The man had spent most of his life overseas, so there was barely any news about him at home. A moment later, she realized that even his name wasn’t mentioned anywhere.
Frustrated about her fruitless investigation, Caroline began brushing her hair. Then, she suddenly recalled what the journalists yelled the other day.
According to them, Eddy’s second uncle attended the auction …
Had he noticed Brie bullying her? Perhaps he’d decided to intervene personally because he wanted to protect his family’s reputation?
Caroline ma**aged her throbbing temples.
Since it was so difficult to figure out the answer, why not just ask him directly?
She pulled out her phone and gave Jude a call. “Grandpa.”
“Carrie!” The old man sounded like he was in a good mood today. “So you finally remembered to
give this old man a call.”
“I’m sorry, Grandpa.”
“Hahaha, I like your honesty. Now tell me, what brings you to Grandpa? Ah! I’m going to lose this
round…”
Halfway through his sentence, Jude began talking to himself. Confused, Caroline asked him,‘ What are you doing right now, Grandpa?”
11
“Haha, it’s nothing. I’m playing chess with Eddy’s second uncle at the moment. This kid’s smart! We barely started, and he’s already got me beat!”
His reply caught Caroline by surprise. So he was right next to Jude?
“Is that so? I heard he’s a tremendously talented businessman, but I’m surprised he’s equally good at chess. So when are you going to introduce him to me?”
Jude laughed heartily “Are you that keen on meeting him? Alright, let me ask him about it,” he
replied as he stole a glance at Kirk
Kirk overheard their conversation as he was moving his piece, causing his fingers to shake ever–so
-slightly.
Over the phone, Caroline held her breath nervously.
A moment later, Jude’s voice came over the line. “He says no problem. You pick a time and place, and he’ll meet you there.”
“Alright,” said Caroline after letting out a long sigh of relief.
Finally, she was going to meet Eddy’s second uncle!
Overjoyed, she ran out into the living room, only to be greeted by silence. It appeared that Kirk had left without her knowing at some point.
She pumped her fist in the air triumphantly before darting back into her room to pick out an
outfit for her meeting.
Jude looked at Kirk as he pa**ed his phone to the butler. “I’m surprised you’re willing to meet
Caroline.”
“We’re family after all,” Kirk answered earnestly.
The old man started to frown. “I’m afraid that the bond between her and Eddy will come to an end.
soon.”
“What makes you say that?”
“It’s pointless to hide the truth from me. I’m old, but I’m far from senile.” He paused momentarily
as he got up from his seat.
“Although I wasn’t the one who raised Carrie, she’s been taking care of Eddy for so long since she
returned to the country that I started to regard her as my granddaughter–in–law. It’s a shame my
grandson refuses to be with her.”
“Uncle Jude…”
Jude waved his hand dismissively. “I heard she’s married. Is that true?”
Kirk hesitated for a moment before he nodded.
The old man sighed. “Then do you know who she’s married to?”
With a hint of annoyance in his eyes, Kirk shook his head.
If you’re clueless, then it means he’s no average Joe Jude stared at Kirk with a grave expression “I don’t know what will happen to Carrie and Eddy’s relationship, but you must help me find out
who that man is!”
A complex mix of emotions swirled in Kirk’s gaze when he replied, “Understood.”
Jude patted him on the shoulder and reminded him, “Before I forget, I just want to tell you that Carrie is a good girl. My time’s running out, and if Eddy doesn’t change his mind in the future, could you help me make sure she’s looked after?”
Kirk was about to nod in agreement when the old man emphasized, “As a family member.”
He froze up immediately, clueless as to whether he should nod or not.
Thankfully, they were interrupted by a message from Caroline. She’d picked a quiet little restaurant where they would meet at 8 pm.
She’d wanted to meet him on the very same day, and that just showed how much she was looking forward to meeting Eddy’s second uncle.
Soon, she received a reply.
It was a simple “Okay,” but she was so excited that she belly–flopped onto her bed. Finally! The opportunity had come for her to meet him!
Caroline began putting on her make–up at 4 pm. Had it been any other day, the time would have
flown by, but today, time seemed to flow at a snail’s pace. By the time she was done, it was barely
6 pm.
After waiting for another grueling 30 minutes, she headed off to the restaurant. The moment she
reached, she excitedly asked the maitre’d, “Has the other guest for table 201 arrived?”
“I’m afraid not.”
The maitre’d led a rather disappointed Caroline to her table. Sure enough, it was still empty. Eddy’s second uncle had yet to arrive.
She took her seat and watched as the hour hand slowly made its way to 8 pm. She pricked her
ears to capture any movement outside.
It was already ten minutes past the time they’d agreed on, and yet no one came in.
With a pout, Caroline peered outside. There were customers, but none of them were heading for table 201 in the private room.
Feeling restless, Caroline returned to her seat, where she tried to convince herself that he was
probably just stuck in a traffic jam.
Just then, she heard three knocks on the door. It was polite and restrained.
Immediately, the glow returned to Caroline’s eyes. She got up and pushed the door open.
“Hi…”
Caroline abruptly stopped in her tracks the moment she recognized the man standing at the door.
Chapter 43
“K–Kirk? What are you doing here?”
Kirk calmly pointed at a private dining room nearby. “I was supposed to meet a business partner, but he wasn’t able to come today. I saw you when you came in, so I figured I’d drop by and say hi.
Caroline let out a sigh of relief. For a second there, she’d actually thought that Kirk was Eddy’s
second uncle! What a relief!
She’d barely regained her composure when her phone started ringing. She almost pounced on the
table to answer the call.
“Carrie.” Jude’s voice greeted her. “Your second uncle gave me a call just now. Something came up, and he won’t be able to meet you today. He asked me to apologize to you on his behalf, but he
promised to buy you a meal later to make up for it.
Caroline quickly glanced at Kirk, who was standing outside the door. Compared to before, her gaze
Kad turned dull. Tightly gripping her phone, she forced a smile as she said, “It’s alright. Thanks,
Grandpa!”
Then, she hung up the phone silently.
“Your date left you hanging?”
The sight of Caroline’s reaction made Kirk feel uncomfortable.
“Yeah.” She looked completely defeated. The anticipation that had been building up the whole
afternoon gave way to nothing. “It looks like we’re victims of the same crime.”
Kirk took a step forward. “You seem… quite excited to meet that person?”
A subtle smile appeared on Caroline’s face at the mention of Eddy’s second uncle. “Out of all the
people I know–wait, I don’t even know him. But yeah, he’s the smartest person that I know of.”
Kirk’s fist tightened when he saw the admiration in her eyes.
“He might not be what you imagine him to be…”
Caroline turned to face him. He covered his mouth and coughed. “What I meant to say is that there’s always more than meets the eye when it comes to knowing a person.”
“You’re not wrong, but he really is incredible,” replied Caroline smilingly.
After he’d taken over the company, Eddy’s second uncle had been able to turn it into the largest group of companies in Sarcozia. If that wasn’t amazing, she didn’t know what was.
Caroline wasn’t asking for much. She just wanted to learn a thing or two from him so that she
Kirk’s brows furrowed Caroline was clearly praising him, but for some reason, he felt
uncomfortable about it
“Let’s order”
“Sure.”
Time flew by, and Jude’s birthday drew nearer.
Unable to stand the boredom that filled her days, Caroline invited Gwen to go get their nails done
together.
The manicurist was trimming her nails when Gwen asked, “Babe, I heard Brie is getting engaged to Eddy’s second uncle. But isn’t that guy working abroad right now?”
Caroline frowned. She remembered Jude telling her that her second uncle had returned in secret
and to tell no one about it.
She hadn’t even told Gwen about it.
“Where did you hear that?”
“You haven’t heard about it?”
“I…” Caroline had just spoken when she was interrupted by her phone ringing.
A nearby staff member answered the call for her and put it on speaker.
“Carrie! Something bad happened! Come home now!” It was Dan, and he sounded like he was panicking.
Caroline leaned forward from her seat. “What happened?”
“I’ll tell you when you get here.”
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