slowly falling for you

YOU HAVE TWENTY MINUTES TO GET HERE

CHAPTER 7

(YOU HAVE TWENTY MINUTES TO GET HERE.)

Navid cleared his throat. "You need Trenton?" He spoke while eyeing Trenton who

was aloof yet still exuded a powerful presence, smiling like a sly fox.

He patted the shoulder of the woman beside him and gestured toward the door. Though reluctant, the woman didn't dare to say no and got up to leave.

"Yes." came Sharlene's voice from the other end of the line.

"Is it urgent?" "Yes."

"I thought you were just missing Trenton," Navid teased.

After a brief silence, Sharlene's voice came through again. "Navid, I need to

talk to Trent. If you know where he is, could you let me know?"

"Well..." Navid hesitated, glancing at Trenton to gauge his reaction.

Trenton narrowed his eyes slightly. "What’s the matter?"

The distance between Trenton and Navid wasn't far, and with the speakerphone on,

even though Trenton didn’t speak loudly, Sharlene recognized his voice.

Her heart leaped with joy. "Trent, can I talk to you? I'm at Starry Bay. Can you

come back? Or should I come to you?"

"I'm busy," Trenton flatly refused.

"It’s urgent! I promise I won't take more than ten minutes of your time, okay?"

Trenton raised an eyebrow, a sudden smile creeping onto his lips. He stood up and walked toward Navid. "The Faye Bar. You have twenty minutes to get here. If

you don't make it in time, I won't give you another chance."

With that, he reached for the phone screen to hang up as he stood next to Navid.

"Hey!" Navid said with a teasing grin, "Trenton, you are so bad." Trenton chuckled lightly, "Am I?"

"It takes at least forty minutes to get from Starry Bay to here, and that's

without traffic jams," Navid scoffed. "If you don't want to see her, just say

so. Why bother?"

Trenton furrowed his brows and shot Navid a cold glance. He glanced at the time on his phone. "There's still nineteen and a half minutes left."

"..."

Twenty minutes later, Trenton grabbed his jacket, ready to leave. "I'm leaving."

"Hey!" Navid quickly called after him. "Are you really just going to leave like

that? Sharlene might be on her way right now! Can't you wait a bit longer? After

all, she's your wife!"

Trenton's expression darkened instantly.

He didn't say anything else and turned to walk out, but instead of heading

straight for the door, he detoured to the public restroom. He stood at the sink, meticulously washing his hands for three minutes. Then, he spent another ten

minutes in the lobby, observing the lively scene around him.

Making sure that he had stayed long enough, he stepped outside with his jacket,

a faint smile showing up on his face. "Trent!"

Just as Trenton was about to open the driver’s side door, a figure suddenly

appeared in front of him.

Sharlene was panting, "Can we talk for a minute?"

Trenton looked at her with a faint smile, "Twenty minutes have already passed."

"I didn’t realize it was this far. I drove as fast as I could," she replied

breathlessly.

"So?"

"You're still here, aren't you?" Sharlene refused to give up. "I only need ten

minutes... No! Just five minutes! Is that okay?"

Trenton pulled her arm, distancing her slightly before smoothly getting into the

car and shutting the door. "No way!"

"But I..."

Trenton glanced at the steering wheel, his tone indifferent. "Some opportunities

only come once. If you miss them, don’t blame anyone else."

"..."

***

The next day, Sharlene and Trenton "coincidentally" ran into each other at the

Howard’s estate. The night before, Sharlene had gone to see Trenton, but he refused to give her a

chance to talk because she was late.

Frustrated and anxious, Sharlene had no idea what to do.

After lunch today, she received a call from the Howard’s estate, saying her

in-laws were back in town and wanted her to come over for dinner.

She wasn't sure if Trenton would be there, but regardless of whether he came or

not, it was only right for her to visit the Howard family. Besides... if Trenton

still refused to help, Sharlene wanted to talk to Grandpa Dayton. After all, she truly had no other options at this point.

Sharlene picked out a simple yet elegant outfit and applied light makeup. There

were several cars in Trenton's garage, but she decided to take a taxi to the

Howard’s estate.

As soon as she got out of the car, she saw Trenton's vehicle approaching. He did come?

Sharlene felt a rush of excitement as she stood in place, waiting for him to

park. However, Trenton drove straight into the house without pausing for even a

second.

She knew he was doing it on purpose. As his car passed by her, he even shot her a sarcastic glance.

What a jerk!

Grinding her teeth, Sharlene quickly followed him. By the time she reached the

garage, Trenton was just getting out of the car. Seeing her panting for breath,

he frowned, clearly displeased.

"Trent..." He shot her a cold look, prompting her to quickly change her words. "Trenton,

I... need to talk to you."

"Do you?" Trenton scoffed. "Is that why you came all the way here?" "It was Dayton who called me," she replied, indicating that she was invited.

"And so?" Trenton leaned against the car, looking completely relaxed, but his

expression was filled with mockery. "What do you want to say? You don't want to

stay alone in an empty house and want me to come back, or is it just about your family business?"

Sharlene decided to be straightforward. "You should have a general idea about my

family’s situation. I know it’s a bit abrupt to ask for your help, but I have no

other choices. I..."

Before she could finish, he interrupted her, "Sharlene, what does your situation have to do with me?" He smirked, raising one corner of his mouth. "You have no

options, so you come to me. You had no options, so you planned all of this,

right? Ha! Sharlene, do you really think that just because we are married, I

have an obligation to help you? If that’s what you’ve been thinking..." He stepped closer to her, "you’d better stop being so delusional."

With that, he turned and walked toward the house without waiting for her

response.

Sharlene took a deep breath, not daring to linger, and hurried after him.

"Trenton!" As he reached the door, Trenton indeed stopped and turned to look at her.

She stood beside him, ready to speak, but he cut her off. "Sharlene, I don’t

care who invited you here today. This conversation ends here. I don’t want to

hear you mention this to anyone in my family, understood?" “...”

Sharlene wanted to say something more, but when she saw the warning look on

Trenton's face, she decided to keep quiet for now. She knew his style and didn’t

want to be sent back before she even entered the door. Even though he had

already warned her, she couldn't help herself; she would find a chance to speak

up later. The Wood family and her mother were the things she desperately wanted

to protect.

Once they reached the living room, Dayton, Trenton's parents, Trenton’s older

sister, and brother-in-law, were sitting on the sofa, chatting, and the atmosphere seemed quite pleasant.

After they entered, Trenton simply greeted everyone before taking a seat.

Sharlene had often come here to hang out before, so she was familiar with the

place. However, today, she felt unusually tense.

Sharlene greeted everyone in order of seniority. Dayton was quite friendly,

while Cuthbert Howard looked serious, merely nodding his head in acknowledgment.

Sarah Howard and her husband were warm and welcoming, asking Sharlene to relax.

However, Clara Hill hadn’t smiled since she saw Sharlene enter the living room,

and when Sharlene said hi to her, she even let out a soft huff.

Sharlene chose a seat in the far corner. Dayton occasionally chatted with her,

and she responded to each question. The rest of the time, she remained silent.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the housekeeper came in to announce that

dinner was ready.

Dayton stood up first. “Go call Glennon down for dinner,” he said, then turned to Sharlene. “Sharlene, come over for dinner. After dinner, I have something to

announce to you all.”