Chapter 35 The Ring
1494 Words
On Saturday, Sophie arrived right on time as promised.
"Wow, Little Willow, I feel like your belly gets bigger every time I see you. Is it just my imagination?" Sophie turned to look at Lucas.
That's right—Lucas had come along too.
"It's your imagination," Lucas nodded. "It's not a balloon. It doesn't inflate that fast."
"I brought Lucas along to carry your bags," Sophie said to Willow with a smug look, raising an eyebrow.
"Lucas, is your hand better?" Willow asked with concern.
"Much better. Thanks to Sophie's... attentive... care," Lucas said, turning toward Sophie with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Sophie scratched her head. *Some care is better than none,* she thought guiltily, sticking her tongue out at Lucas.
"Little Willow, by the way, do you know what my brother has been up to lately?" Sophie asked as she helped Willow pick out clothes.
Willow paused, then shook her head. She hadn't seen Adrian in half a month.
"What's wrong?" Willow asked.
"Our whole family! We haven't seen him in over a week. When we went to his place, Mrs. Wright said he hasn't been home for days—just working overtime every single day. Why is he suddenly pushing himself so hard? His body can't take it," Sophie said, worried.
Willow said nothing, her mind drifting.
Seeing that Willow didn't want to talk about Adrian, Sophie quickly changed the subject.
"Let's go, let's go. Today, let's also buy some things for my little niece!" Sophie said excitedly, rubbing her hands together.
"How do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Willow asked curiously.
"It has to be—a soft, squishy little girl! Please!" Sophie turned around and pleaded with Willow.
Willow: ...I'll do my best.
At the maternity store, Willow and Sophie began picking out items left and right.
As expected, for women, retail therapy was the best stress reliever.
Lucas: *Thanks. No need to treat me like a person. Just use me like a pack mule.*
Seeing that Lucas's hands were almost full, Sophie nodded in satisfaction.
"Let's go buy things for the baby," Sophie said.
Willow nodded, turning back to give Lucas a sympathetic look.
"By the way, have you picked out a name for the baby?" Sophie asked.
"Not yet. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl," Willow said, also feeling a bit of a headache about it.
"Buy a little of both blue and pink," Sophie said, looking at the tiny baby clothes and practically bubbling over. They were too cute!
Looking at the tiny little clothes and hats, Willow's heart softened too.
She couldn't wait for the day she would finally meet her baby.
The due date was in October—Willow's favorite season, autumn. Thinking about it, a faint smile appeared on Willow's face.
"I should buy a welcome gift for the baby, right? I have to be the first one!" Sophie suddenly remembered, saying excitedly.
"Sophie, the baby is still so tiny," Willow said, laughing and shaking her head.
"They'll be here in the blink of an eye. Come on, let's go take a look. I'll buy her a big gold bracelet!" Sophie said excitedly.
After all, it was her first time being an aunt—and a godmother!
They went upstairs to the luxury brand floor.
Sophie's sharp eyes actually spotted her own brother. She rubbed her eyes—it really was Adrian. What a coincidence! Speak of the devil?
Sophie was about to go over and say hello.
Wait, why was there some flashy tramp next to him? Wasn't that Olivia? She'd rather be blind!
"Ugh, let's go. I don't like this brand. Let's go downstairs," Sophie immediately turned around and pulled Willow toward the stairs.
"Huh? But didn't we just..." Willow still caught sight of the two people in the jewelry store.
*Are they... looking at rings?* Willow thought to herself.
Olivia was even helping Adrian fix his hair.
"Little Willow, are you okay?" Sophie looked at Willow.
"I'm fine, Sophie. Actually, there's something I need to tell you too," Willow said, glancing at the two people in the store.
"What is it?" Sophie asked.
"Actually, your brother has already signed the divorce agreement. We're just waiting until next month to file the paperwork. So... what he does has nothing to do with me," Willow said softly.
Sophie was stunned.
"Ah... oh..." Sophie could only nod dumbly.
After all, this wasn't something she could force.
Just as she was feeling dejected, an ill-timed voice appeared.
"Wow, Willow? Long time no see. You don't look so well," Olivia said, appearing before them with a bright smile.
Sophie jumped in fright. She turned around and saw Olivia's big face right in front of her. She looked around—where had her brother gone?
"Adrian went to get the car. Are you guys shopping?" Olivia flicked her hair, a brand-new ring gleaming on her middle finger.
It stabbed at Willow's eyes.
"Hey, don't you know a good dog doesn't block the road? You're in our way," Sophie stood in front of Willow.
"Sophie, you don't actually have to be so hostile toward me. I think we could get along," Olivia said, patting Sophie's shoulder with a smile, emphasizing the words *get along*.
Looking at Olivia's manipulative, two-faced snake act, Sophie shuddered violently.
"Miss Sterling, have some self-respect," Lucas stepped between Olivia and Sophie and Willow.
Seeing how everyone was treating her like some dangerous monster, Olivia's face darkened.
But seeing that Willow looked even worse than she did, Olivia felt a little better.
"Willow, you need to take good care of yourself," Olivia said, looking Willow up and down meaningfully before turning to leave.
"Let's go," Willow didn't want to stay any longer. She was afraid of running into Adrian.
Sophie could only hold Willow's arm, keeping an eye on her emotions.
With no desire to continue shopping, Lucas prepared to drive them home.
"You men are all terrible!" Sophie said indignantly once they were in the car, shooting Lucas a glare as a bonus.
Lucas: *What did I do to deserve this...*
Lucas wisely said nothing and drove obediently.
The ride home was nothing like the cheerful laughter on the way there.
Meanwhile, on Adrian's side.
Today was the day Olivia's assistant was out of danger. She had finally woken up, and Adrian let out a sigh of relief.
Olivia said that to thank the assistant, she wanted to buy her the necklace she had always wanted, to celebrate her transfer to a regular ward. And to show sincerity, she wanted Adrian to come along.
Originally, something like this only required Assistant Yan to go. But Assistant Yan was still at the hospital handling various matters.
The entire time, Adrian was distracted. He perfunctorily helped Olivia pick out a necklace, then went to the parking garage to get the car, preparing to go to the hospital together to visit Assistant Chen. The overtime work of the past several days had left him looking haggard.
"Adrian, you've been working too hard lately. You look worn out. You need to take care of your image," Olivia said.
Olivia had actually spotted the three people outside the store at first glance. It was truly a gift from heaven. She found an excuse to brush away some invisible "lint" from Adrian's hair.
"Thanks," Adrian dodged slightly.
He still wasn't used to people suddenly getting so close to him.
"Olivia, you should still call me Mr. Adrian," Adrian said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was really quite tired.
Olivia paused, frowning, but said nothing.
"Once you've picked it out, I'll go get the car. Have them ring it up. The company will reimburse it," Adrian said, then left. He took the store's VIP elevator, perfectly missing the few people at the entrance.
"Miss, will it be this necklace?" the sales associate asked with a smile.
"And also one of your store's classic matching rings—the women's one," Olivia said with a smile.
Olivia's gaze drifted toward the store entrance.
After getting the necklace and putting on the ring, Olivia couldn't wait to appear in front of Willow.
As expected, seeing Willow's face turn so pale gave Olivia an indescribable thrill.
With a sneer, Olivia thought to herself—Willow was still as foolish as ever.
"Willow, long time no see," Olivia said, deliberately adjusting her hair so Willow could see the ring on her hand.
Watching Willow's almost fleeing figure, Olivia felt an unspeakable satisfaction.
Stepping on her high heels back to the underground parking garage.
"What took you so long?" Adrian asked, frowning impatiently.
"Sorry, the sales associate made a mistake with the bill," Olivia said, fastening her seatbelt, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
*Willow, if you're trying to fight me, you're still not quite there yet.*
Olivia twirled the ring on her finger, feeling a sense of triumphant confidence.
- Writer
