Book 1: She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement Annulment

Chapter 25

Chapter 73: Hello, Miss Smith

Logan hadn’t said a word since they left the kindergarten.

He simply couldn’t figure out why they hadn’t gone through an interview.

When Miranda was speaking just now, the look in his eyes had turned cold. His cat-like eyes were slightly downcast, his long eyelashes hiding the chilly look in them.

He was about to say something when Cherry’s childish tender voice rang out. At once, the corners of Logan’s lips curled upward.

When he saw Miranda’s smug smile freeze, he felt even happier.

At her question, Logan raised his good-looking and delicate eyebrows and replied, “We didn’t go through an interview.”

“You didn’t?” Miranda quickly reacted and said, “It must be because the recommendation letter you got from someone else didn’t work,Well, that makes sense. After all, where is your cousin going to get a recommendation letter from when even the Andersons can’t get an interview spot?”

spot?”

She turned around, took out a piece of paper from her bag, and handed it to Melissa with one hand. “Here you go, this is the Wood's recommendation letter. Just go to the interview again tomorrow and it’ll be fine.”

Melissa reached out to take the letter with a look of gratitude. She said, “Miranda, thank yo—”

Before she could touch the recommendation letter, Miranda’s grip loosened and the piece of paper dropped onto the floor.

Miranda immediately covered her mouth and exclaimed, “Oh dear, would you look at that, Melissa! Why did my hand let go in advance? I’ll have to trouble you to pick it up.”

After speaking, she sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, straightened her back, and looked at Melissa with a huge sense of superiority.

The Woods were a big family. Over the years, thanks to them clinging on to the Smiths, they were starting to do better and better.

Back then, Miranda and Melissa were both members of the wealthy circle. Melissa and Yvette were well-known while Miranda was just an ordinary person looking up to them.

The men she liked back then had all revolved around those two women…

But later on, Yvette eloped and ruined her own reputation.

As for Melissa, she was blind enough to fall in love with a man as incompetent as Simon and had disregarded her family’s objections and married him.

On the other hand, Miranda had married Melissa’s elder brother and became the mistress of the Woods.

Miranda was very smug about it. What she loved doing most was watching the person who had once been high up in the air, and whom she had needed to look up to, begging her for help.

Melissa stood there, her hand still stretched out.

She clenched her fingers. She knew very well that Miranda had done it on purpose. Her pride also refused to let her bend over. But when she glanced at Nora…

The young woman was cool and distant.Beautiful and gracious, she bore an 80% resemblance to Yvette.

Her eyes, in particular, were exactly the same as Logan’s.

However, that young woman had never had a mother. Her father disliked her, her stepmother abused her, and she had even become pregnant before marriage.

How could her heart possibly not ache for a young woman like that?

Melissa retracted her gaze and sighed. She was about to squat and pick up the letter when a fair and slender hand held her wrist.

The young woman’s voice was cool as she said, “We don’t have any use for that recommendation letter.”

The seated Miranda was surprised. “Why is that?”

Logan bent over, picked up the recommendation letter on the floor, and flung it right at Miranda’s face. With an awful look on his face, he said stiffly, “Aunt you can have the recommendation letter back! That woman… I mean Nora’s daughter has been accepted without an interview.”

Miranda was originally very angry when Logan flung the recommendation letter onto her face, but upon hearing what he said, she exclaimed sharply, “She was exempted from the interview? How can that be?! In all of New York, apart from the Hunts and the Smiths, the number of families eligible for exemption can be counted on one hand!Who did you ask for a recommendation letter?”

Logan also looked at her curiously.

Nora’s indifferent gaze swept across Miranda.

Then… She let out a big yawn.

Miranda, “…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Melissa asked, “Did you ask Justin to give them a heads-up for you?”

Out of all the families that Nora was acquainted with, the only one who she could think of with that sort of capability was Justin Hunt.

Nora clicked her tongue inwardly at her question.

Of course not.

Getting someone to do things for oneself was the same as using up favors.

She wasn’t going to let him return the favor of saving his grandmother and giving him the Carefree Pills so quickly.

She was waiting for him to owe her enough favors so that she could ask for her son back in the future!

She had merely talked to the kindergarten’s shareholders, that’s all.

However, since her aunt had provided an explanation, she couldn’t be bothered to say any more.

She gave Melissa a small smile as a response to her guess.

Then, she took Cherry’s hand lazily and went upstairs.

Starting the next day, Cherry would have to report to school at eight in the morning.

She had to get up at 7:40 am to see her off, so she had to have an early night tonight.

Seeing that the two of them had gone upstairs, Miranda frowned, looked at Melissa, and asked in a low voice, “Who exactly is your niece? How did she get to know Mr. Hunt?”

The few big families in New York were acquainted with one another ever since a few generations ago, so they all knew one another.

Even so, no one had the guts to trouble Justin with trivial matters.

Seeing how Miranda was always looking down upon others, Melissa decided to give her a vague answer and replied, “They met in California.”

This way, Miranda, who was sycophantic toward those in power and bullied those who weren’t, wouldn’t dare to be rude to Nora anymore if they met again in the future.

Seeing that Melissa was disinclined to say more, as well as when she thought of that young lady who was so beautiful that her face was an eyesore to her; Miranda didn’t say much anymore.

After Miranda left, a worried Melissa discussed the matter with Logan. “Actually, Nora has given Justin 5,000 Carefree Pills, but he was also already intending to help us out back then… Never mind, maybe I’ll call him and thank him again.”

Melissa and Simon were Justin’s elders, so he had treated them very politely in California. Due to his good upbringing, he was a very polite man.

However, Melissa also understood that this was primarily based on the friendship between those of the previous generation. To be honest, given his status, it would actually make more sense if he ignored them instead.

Upstairs.

Nora washed her hands and changed into her pajamas. She had only just laid down on the soft mattress when she received a call from Justin.

She picked up the call. “Hello, Mr. Hunt.”

His voice rang in her ear. “Hello, Miss Smith.”

Nora had heard many people addressing her as ‘Miss Smith’ before, but when his low, subwoofer-like voice uttered the two words, coupled with his clear pronunciation, there was actually a different kind of charm to it.

It made Nora feel like hearing him say a few more words.

She chuckled and asked, “Is something up?”

The man continued to speak seriously. “Oh, Aunt Melissa called just now to say that she wanted to invite me to lunch as thanks for giving you the recommendation letter for Golden Sunshine Kindergarten.”

“…”

Nora felt a faint headache coming on.

This was so awkward that she wanted to die!

She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling in resignation. Just as she was thinking about how she could gloss the incident over, the man’s low voice rang out in the cell phone again. “May I know when Miss Smith is planning to invite me to lunch?”

Nora was rendered speechless.

She turned over on the bed and said, “Well, there’s no time like the present. How about noon tomorrow?”

“Okay.” After Justin finished speaking, he added, “Bring your daughter along.”

“Sure.” Nora’s lips curled up mischievously and she said, “You bring your son, too.”

Chapter 74: How Did She Get Pregnant Back Then?

The two settled on a time and place.

When she hung up,Cherry ran in.

She stared at her all wide-eyed and asked, “Mommy, are you really taking me to have lunch with Daddy tomorrow?”

Nora rubbed her head and said calmly, “You have classes tomorrow, so how am I going to take you out for lunch?”

“…” Cherry hung her head dejectedly. “I knew it!”

A mischievous look flashed across Nora’s eyes.

Pete went to the Quinn School of Martial Arts every Tuesday and Friday.

Apart from those two days, he spent the rest of the time studying at home. She hadn’t seen her son for three days.

The next day, Nora sent Cherry to the kindergarten.

She stopped the car at the roadside as usual. Then, she took Cherry’s hand and led her to the door where a teacher was waiting.

Cherry was wearing a school uniform that the kindergarten had custom-made and carrying a big schoolbag. She looked extremely adorable.

The teacher greeted them. “Are you Cheryl Smith? You’re in Class A. I’m your teacher. Shall I bring you in?”

Cherry was about to run in when Nora held her shoulder. Nora said, “I’ll say a few words to her first, Miss.”

The teacher nodded. She was already accustomed to this.

Parents were generally reluctant to part with their children the first time they sent them to kindergarten, and would say things like “Tell the teacher if someone bullies you”, “Don’t cry. Mommy will pick you up on time”, and so on.

The thought had only just formed when she saw the woman in front of her coolly instruct, “Don’t bully the kids, don’t pretend to cry, and don’t bully the teachers. Do you hear me?”

The thought had only just formed when she saw the woman in front of her coolly instruct, “Don’t bully the kids, don’t pretend to cry, and don’t bully the teachers. Do you hear me?”

The teacher was bewildered.

When she looked again, the little girl, who was happy and excited just now, had straightened her back. She grinned and said, “Cherry will take good care of the teachers and the other kiddies, Mommy. Don’t worry!”

The teacher felt a chill go down her back. Suddenly, she wondered to herself, ‘What if that newly-enrolled little girl’s no little princess but a little devil instead?’

Nora watched as Cherry, whose hand the teacher was holding, hopped and skipped into the kindergarten.

Before they even went through the school building’s entrance, Cherry said something which made the teacher laugh. She picked her up straight away and brought her to the classroom.

Nora was rendered speechless.

The little fellow sure was capable of getting along with everyone.

After dropping her child off, a relaxed Nora stretched and looked at the time. When she saw that it was still early, she decided to go back home and take a nap.

At 11 am, she finally woke up lazily and got ready to head to the restaurant where she was meeting Justin.

Before she left, Melissa stopped her and said, “There’s a dance party in a few days, Nora. I’m thinking of taking you there to meet more people.”

Nora answered casually, “Sure.”

She left right after that.

Melissa, however, looked hesitant.

Simon asked, “What’s wrong?”

Melissa sighed. “A lot of people will be attending the dance party. I’m afraid Nora doesn’t know how to dance."

Simon was a man, so he wasn’t concerned about as many things as her. He said, “Just don’t dance then. We’re just going there to socialize anyway.”

Melissa stared at him speechlessly for a moment. If she didn’t dance at a dance party.

Others would only think that Nora wasn’t fit to be seen in public!

Besides, all the ladies of wealthy families were skilled at song and dance, and had no lack of talent. Nora was so pretty; there was no doubt that they would make things difficult for her there.

Worried, she picked up the phone and said, “I’ll call Sheril’s dance teacher and have her give Nora a crash course! At the very least, she should master the waltz first.”

—

Justin had picked the restaurant. After all, New York was his turf.

After turning several corners in a small alley according to the address he gave her, Nora finally saw a courtyard. There was only a small sign at the entrance.

If she hadn’t seen the house number, she would probably have never noticed that the place was a restaurant.

The exterior was decorated with blue bricks while the interior was a whole different world on its own.

Past the entrance was a pathway paved with tiles that exuded a rich classical flavor. There was a fountain at the front, and meticulously maintained bushes lined both sides, making it look like a garden in a palace.

The decor was very exquisite.

Nora followed the service staff into the private room.

She had arrived ten minutes early, so she thought that there was no one inside yet. However, when she pushed the door open, she instead saw a tall figure seated at a table in the room.

The man, whose long legs were crossed, wore a black suit. An elegant landscape painting was hanging on the wall behind him, and he was drinking from a coffee cup.

The man didn’t appear to be out of place at all even in a room as full of classical flavor as this.

His skin was fair, and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye was alluring and charming. It was as if he had merged with the decor around him, making him seem like a princely young man from olden times.

At the sight of Nora, the man placed the coffee cup down gracefully. He glanced behind her before he gestured to the seat opposite him and motioned her to take a seat. He asked, “Where’s your daughter, Miss Smith?”

“Oh, she has classes.” An unabashed Nora said without batting even an eyelid. She sat down across from him and asked, “Where’s your son, Mr. Hunt?”

There was a smile in Justin’s deep-set eyes as he said, “He has classes, too.”

“…”

Had she known her son wasn’t coming, she might as well have stayed home and slept!

That scumbag!

Nora dissed him silently. She picked up the coffee cup that was just served to her and took a sip. The coffee was very rich and fragrant—it was Geisha coffee. On top of that, it seemed like Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee?

The coffee required unique cultivating conditions, and only a certain amount was grown every year.

She didn’t think that a humble little restaurant like this would actually have it and even serve it to guests.

Unfortunately, in her eyes, good food and good drinks weren’t as practical as a night’s sleep.

Justin found himself amused at the sight of her finishing the coffee in one gulp as though someone didn’t know how to appreciate it.

He asked dispassionately, “Miss Smith seems particularly concerned about my son?”

Nora lowered her eyes and replied, “Yes. After all, Pete is smart, cute, and lovable.”

Dim light flickered in Justin’s eyes when he heard her reply.

The look in his dark eyes was unreadable. It was hard to tell whether he believed her or not.

The service staff knocked on the door at this point and started to serve the food.

The food portion was small but exquisite and varied.

To foodies, it was a great option.

However, to Nora… This was too troublesome!

A single dish wasn’t even enough to fill up her mouth. She could’ve filled her tummy with just a few bites, but in the end, she was forced to spend several times longer than usual to eat.

She felt very frustrated.

She could usually fill her tummy in two minutes, but ten minutes had already passed and yet she still wasn’t full.

Nora glanced at the man—he was eating slowly and elegantly. She couldn’t help but think that he was doing this on purpose.

Ah, well.

She wasn’t really here to eat anyway.

Nora suddenly spoke. She said, “It’s so boring, Mr. Hunt. Why don’t we play a game?”

Justin asked, “What kind of game?”

Nora’s lips curled into a smile. She picked up a wine bottle from the side and replied, “Truth or dare.”

She spun the bottle.

Justin, however, reached out and pressed the bottle down gently.

He looked at her with a faint smile in his eyes and said, “You can just ask whatever you want to, Miss Smith.”

That woman sure was doing everything possible to get to know him better.

As soon as the thought formed, he heard the woman ask, “How did you and Pete’s mother come to have him, Mr. Hunt?”

Chapter 75: A Stray Cat

How exactly had she gotten pregnant back then?

Nora was really curious about this, so she looked at Justin eagerly, hoping that he could give her a logical answer.

However, Justin’s smile gradually faded.

Pete’s mother was something unmentionable to him. No one had ever dared to bring it up all these years.

The moment he thought of all those things she did, he couldn’t help but wish he could find her and kill her!

Yet when the person asking about it was the woman in front of him, for some reason, Justin actually found that he couldn’t get angry with her.

She must be worried that Pete’s biological mother would suddenly appear and end up affecting their life together, right?

Justin cast his deep-set eyes down slightly. Although his tone was mild, his choice of words was strong. “Don’t worry, I won’t allow Pete’s mother to show up in front of me and him again!”

Nora fell silent when she sensed the acute frigidity bursting out of the man.

Hello, she was already right in front of him, though?!

Besides, what was he telling her not to worry about?

She decided to be blunter about it and asked, “What I want to ask is—was Pete conceived naturally?”

“…”

Why were her questions becoming more and more explicit?

Something occurred to Justin and his ears gradually turned a little red. He put down his cutlery, took a sip of water, and chuckled softly. “Is Miss Smith concerned that I may have problems of a particular nature?”

Nora was bewildered.

“I’m a normal man.”

Nora, “!!”

She had only spent five years abroad, but she actually found that she didn’t understand English anymore!

The woman in front of him widened her eyes as a look of surprise came over her palm-sized face. For some reason, this put Justin in a great mood.

He felt a rare urge to tell her the secret hidden in the depths of his heart, but at the thought that it would damage his image, he suppressed the desire to talk and instead asked, “What kind of person is your daughter’s father?”

“Huh?” Nora didn’t expect him to actually ask questions of his own. On top of that, he had even asked about something like that.

Her slender fingers tapped against the table and she chuckled softly. “I’ll tell you if you answer my question.”

Was she talking about whether Pete was naturally conceived or not?

Justin suddenly realized that perhaps what she was concerned about was whether he’d had relationships with other women instead. That was why she was pressing the issue.

He pressed his lips together. With the beauty mark at the corner of his eye exuding a bit of a serious aura, he suddenly said, “If I say that I don’t know how Pete came about either, would you believe me?”

He only recalled vaguely that he seemed to be missing a night’s memories…

Dark light flickered in his eyes. He reckoned that probably no one would believe him even if he said so, right?

Unexpectedly, the woman nodded seriously and replied, “I believe you.”

Justin, “…”

He suddenly felt a little warmth in his heart, as if a ray of sunshine had suddenly shone into a flower on the verge of blooming, making it slowly bloom.

How could Nora possibly not believe him?

The exact same thing had happened to her, too.

Curiosity made her ask another question. “Since you don’t know what had happened, what if Pete’s mother is also innocent? You—”

Before she could finish, Justin lowered his gaze and said, “She’s not worthy of being someone’s mother.”

Nora’s words came to an abrupt end.

The man’s tone was full of murderous intent.

As if he had thought of something, Justin said with a cold expression, “Let’s not talk about that vicious woman anymore.”

He looked back up and changed the subject. “Can you tell me your story, Miss Smith?”

“Oh.” Nora gently rested her chin on her hand. In a slightly husky voice, she said casually and calmly, “Cherry’s father… has a problem with his brain, so he’s an i***t. He goes on and on about fighting and killing people every day, and also thinks that every woman in the world is in love with him. Sigh”

Since he had called her a vicious woman, it wasn’t too much to curse him a little, right?

It’s just tit-for-tat!

Justin frowned.

An i***t?

He had always thought that her premarital pregnancy was because she had been young and foolish, and ended up being deceived. He asked, “Isn’t Miss Smith the best at resolving problems with the brain?”

Nora waved. “He’s very ill. I can’t cure him.”

Justin felt a little uncomfortable, yet he was also puzzled. “Why did you have a child with an i***t, then?”

Nora, who was trying to suppress her laughter, glanced at him again. “Who knows? Maybe God thinks he shouldn’t be left heir-less?”

Justin scoffed and said sarcastically, “You’re pretty much just doing charity with that. After all, apart from you, that i***t probably won’t be able to find any other woman for the rest of his lifetime.”

Tsk.

He sure had a foul mouth.

Nora looked at him with amusement.

Seeing the woman’s smile, Justin suddenly realized something—what was the point of him taking an i***t so seriously?

He picked up the cutlery and continued eating.

Inwardly, however, he suddenly became very curious and he couldn’t help thinking, ‘I wonder what that i***t looks like?’

While he was eating, Nora, who simply found the whole affair very troublesome, said, “I’m full, Mr. Hunt. You—”

“I’m not done yet.”

“… Take your time to eat? I’ll leave first?”

Justin, who continued to dine leisurely, said, “Is this how the Andersons treat someone to a meal, Miss Smith?”

“…”

Nora sat back down in silence. She realized that the man really was very particular about his meals. He ate the cold dishes first before going on to the warm ones and even drank a bit of water in between every once in a while.

He carried himself elegantly and beautifully, much like a beast in human clothing.

When Nora, who had always felt that eating was a waste of time, calmed herself down, she couldn’t help but think, ‘So, the act of eating can actually be that beautiful?’

Two hours later, Justin finally put down his cutlery.

Nora heaved a sigh of relief. When she asked for the bill, the service staff said, “Mr. Hunt has already paid.”

Taken aback, Nora looked at him.

There was a small smile on Justin’s handsome countenance. He said, “It’s my treat this time. You can treat me next time.”

“Alright, then.”

She stood up together with him and followed him out of the private room. It was only after they left the restaurant that Nora finally realized what he had said just now.

What the f*ck?

This meal alone was already torturous enough; were they going to do this again?

That scumbag! He was trying to waste her time, wasn’t he?

The corners of her lips spasmed a couple of times. The two of them reached the underground car park. When Nora pressed the car key, the big black jeep lit up. She was about to walk over when she realized that Justin had walked over one step ahead of her.

What was he doing? Didn’t he drive here?

She was just thinking about it when Justin actually walked over to where the driver’s seat was, opened the door for her, and gestured politely for her to get in.

“…”

The light in the car park was a little dim, yet when the man stood there, it was as if all the light was shining on him. His actions were gentlemanly and thoughtful. “Be careful not to knock your head.”

Nora felt her throat going dry.

After she got in the car and left, Justin stared at her from the back. He suddenly smiled.

That Mercedes Benz jeep was very big and had a taller chassis. There was no doubt that women who liked driving that car had a wild and feral nature.

Then, he thought of the young woman’s lazy appearance—she looked just like a cat.

And on top of being a cat, she was even a wild little one.

Nora drove back to the Andersons.

Midway, however, she suddenly received a call from the kindergarten. “Miss Smith, please hurry to the kindergarten! Something has happened to Cherry!”

Something had happened to Cherry?

Nora’s eyes widened. She did an abrupt U-turn, stomped on the accelerator, and raced straight to the kindergarten.