Chapter 14
Every time they argued, she either stayed in a hotel or went to her best friend’s place. He had just canceled her room card, so she could only go to Trisha’s, right?
Sure enough, as Celeste left the apartment complex, Liam’s Mercedes was parked by the side of the road.
She hesitated, wanting to go to the passenger seat, but Owen had already got out of the car and opened the back seat door
for her.
Liam sat on the other side of the back seat, looking at his phone.
She didn’t want to sit with Liam and wanted Owen to open the passenger door for her, but before she could speak, Owen urged. “Get in the car, ma’am. We can’t park here, traffic police are coming.”
Celeste had no choice but to get in.
The car started quickly, and both of them were silent, making the atmosphere in the car eerily quiet.
Owen had been with Liam for many years and knew how to read the expressions. It was already strange to pick up Ms. Campbell, and the atmosphere in the car was even stranger.
They must have had a fight.
He looked at Liam, then at Celeste, cleared his throat to try to ease the atmosphere, and started a conversation, “Ma’am, do you remember the aroma stone you gave me last year? I gave it to my mom, and she loved it. She puts it by her bed every day, says her sleep has improved. When I went home a few days ago, she asked me for a new one, saying the old one’s scent had faded and wasn’t as good as before. Where did you buy that aroma stone? I want to buy her another one.”
Celeste smiled gently and said, “I made that essential oil myself. I found a craftsman online to help polish it, so I don’t think it’s available for sale.”
Owen was surprised, “You made it yourself? Do you know how to blend fragrances?”
Liam stopped and looked at Celeste curiously.
Celeste shook her head, “I’m not a professional. It’s just a hobby. I usually try making some myself. The essential oil Auntie uses has very common ingredients. I’ll send you the recipe and amounts later, and you can mix it yourself at a fragrance. store.”
“Thanks so much for that.” Owen said.
“No trouble at all.” Celeste started sending the fragrance formula through her phone.
Her skin was smooth, her fingers slender, and her clean nails were painted a delicate pink. Her makeup seemed different from before, not much overall change but it made her look unique..
Absolutely enchanting.
Liam’s gaze fell on her cleavage. The dress she was wearing today was very form–fitting, and the neckline was quite low, revealing a clear curve.
He frowned and said seriously, “Don’t you have any other clothes? Why do you have to wear something like this?”
Celeste chuckled to herself, thinking that it was already nice of her to show up, and he was still complaining?
She still responded politely, “This is a new outfit I bought. Don’t you think it looks good?”
Liam snorted coldly and said something that made Celeste want to smash her phone on his face, “Your taste, as always, hasn’t improved.”
Celeste’s forehead suddenly twitched.
If it wasn’t for needing a favor today, she would’ve kicked this guy out of the car by now!
Why couldn’t this dude just shut up?
Might as well treat it like a dog barking!
To comfort herself, Celeste ignored the chatty guy next to her and sent a text to Owen, saying, “You can go to the shop called Frozen Floral Scent‘ on St. Maria Street. They have a wide variety of spices, and you can get everything you need there”
höht, thanks, IN
d to him, Liam felt appointed and stopped talking.
agreed upon restaurant.
As Celeste was about to get out of the car, Liam suddenly grabbed her wrist, and she instinctively tried to pull away.
Don’t move
e couldn’t break free. Just as she was about to ask him what he was doing, her ring finger suddenly
cold, and a diamond ring vas slipped on.
De foe for a second
wedding ring. When she moved out of the villa, she had left the ring behind.
on her. On their wedding day Sydney had shown up, and Liam had left during the
herself.
ht’s just to avoid mom asking questions, don’t overthink it.” Liam let go of her hand, his arrogant voice interrupting Celeste’s
She pursed her los took her hand back, and said flatly, “Mr. Reed, you’re overthinking it. I know my place.”
Then she pushed open the car door and got out first.
Liam frowned and followed, clearly unhappy.
had a younger sister named Kaylee Reed, who had just graduated from college. Two months ago, she went on a sduation the ith her classmates and only returned yesterday.
youngest child in the family and her father had passed away when she was young, the elders in the family doted on her and soled her resulting in her arrogant and domineering personality.
When Celeste first married into the family, she really wanted to get along well with her sister–in–law. She tried various ways to improve their relationship, but Kaylee didn’t appreciate it. When the elders were around, she treated Celeste one way, but
they were alone, her attitude was completely different.
Over the years, their relationship hadn’t improved, but instead had become more and more tense. Liam loved Kaylee, so Celeste was always the one left feeling hurt.
thinking about it even without Sydney, she and Liam probably wouldn’t have grown old together.
From their backgrounds to their families and values, nothing matched.
Under the guidance of the waiter, they quickly arrived at the reserved private room.
When they pushed the door in, Kaylee was talking to Skyler Reed. The mother and daughter looked very much alike. However Skyler had the elegance of age, exuding a noble temperament from inside, while Kaylee was much more
Upon seeing Celeste, Kaylee’s face immediately changed. But when she saw Liam, she instantly put on a sweet smile and acted coquettishly, “Liam! I’m starving Mom insisted on waiting for you before serving the food. Why did you take so long?”
Liam glanced at her. “Wipe your mouth first, then your words would be more convincing.”
Kaylee complained. “You’re so annoying! I thought about you during my trip and even brought you a gift!”
The brother and sister playfully argued for a while until Skyler interrupted them, “Alright, stop arguing, let’s all sit down first.” Then she turned to Celeste, “Celeste, go to the door and tell the waiter to serve the food.”
In fact, this could have been done by simply calling for the waiter, but Skyler was used to having Celeste do these things.
When they used to have family meals, Celeste always sat on the edge, making it convenient for her to get up and fetch things for everyone
Celeste had long grown accustomed to this, and was about to leave when Liam grabbed her wrist.
Without looking at her, Liam said to Kaylee. “Kaylee, you go tell them and ask the waiter to bring a bottle of red wine too.“
Kaylee immediately put on an unhappy face, “Celeste is already going, isn’t she?”
Liam said flatly, “She doesn’t know what kind of wine mom likes.”
But Celeste didn’t follow his arrangement, freed her hand, and said, “I know, it’s Sauternes, right?”
Skyler nodded.
Celeste turned and left, knowing that Liam must be unhappy without even looking.
After she had given instructions and was about to return, she heard Kaylee’s voice from inside, “Liam, don’t underestimate your wife. Not only does she know mom’s preferences, but she also knows grandma’s preferences very well. She’s desperate to climb the social ladder. I really don’t know why grandma agreed to let you marry her in the first place. Sydney would have been better.”
Celeste’s hand on the door stopped, and then she heard Liam say, “It doesn’t matter who I married.”
She clenched her hands, suddenly lacking the courage to push the door open, and turned to the bathroom instead.
She thought to herself, “It doesn’t matter who he married, so choosing her wasn’t because she was special. Anyone would do.”
She stayed outside for more than ten minutes, pulling herself together before returning.
When she pushed the door open, the dishes were already laid out. Liam looked up at her, but didn’t say anything.
Skyler gestured for her to sit down, “What took you so long?”
Celeste whispered, “Sorry, my stomach felt a bit off.”
Skyler paused, noticing her pale face and faded lipstick. “Why would your stomach be upset? Did you go to the hospital?”
“No, it’s probably just an old issue, nothing serious.” Celeste said.
Skyler said, “You should still get it checked out at the hospital later. What if it’s because you’re pregnant? If you don’t realize it, something might go wrong.”
So Skyler was only concerned about her health because she was worried about her unknowingly being pregnant and not being able to carry on the Reed family line.
Celeste managed a smile, “I got it.”
Skyler didn’t talk to her anymore. Their family chatted occasionally, and Celeste felt like an outsider. The meal didn’t even taste very good.
