"Did you hear me?" Darcie asked firmly when Jaylene didn't respond.

Jaylene quickly replied, "Yes, I heard and remember."

As she looked at Darcie's pale face, a thought crossed her mind. Before she could stop herself, she softly asked, "Mom, was Stella taken away by mistake, or was it on purpose?"

Darcie paused and looked at her. "Do you think there are so many accidents in this world?"

Jaylene's eyes widened in shock, and she was speechless for a long time.

Darcie placed the documents neatly on her desk, stood up, and walked over to Jaylene, gently straightening her dress. "Some people are born into their fate, while others have to fight for it. I work hard so that you won't have to struggle like I did, but you can't be too satisfied with things as they are. Do you understand?"

Jaylene's fingers trembled, and after a long pause, she whispered hoarsely, "I understand."

She had always thought Stella's arrival took away everything that should have been hers, but now she realized the love and resources she enjoyed were actually taken from Stella.

If Stella hadn't been taken away by mistake, would her mother have married her father? Would she have grown up in the Saun family?

The answers to these questions were the ones Jaylene feared the most.

Meanwhile, Tatiana hung up the phone. Aaron, unable to hold back, said, "Give me the phone. I want to call her back."

Tatiana moved the phone out of his reach. "No, you can't call her back now."

Aaron grew anxious. "But didn't you say to call her later? Why not now?"

"Of course you need to call her back, but not right away. She just called you. If you call her back now, what do you think she'll assume?"

Aaron was confused. "What would she think?"

Tatiana explained, "She didn't contact you before, but now that you posted my picture on WhatsApp Moments, she called immediately and even asked who I was, sounding a bit hostile. This shows she cares about you, but she doesn't realize how important you are to her. If you rush to call her back, she'll figure out your relationship with me is fake and that you're still waiting for her. She'll feel safe to go back to treating you the same way as before. Do you really want to stay stuck, waiting for her mixed signals?"

Aaron paused, thinking it over. No, he didn't want that.

Despite what others said about Jaylene, she had treated him well when he was studying abroad. They were close-they kissed, hugged, and did almost everything lovers do except take the final step. He had even persuaded his mother and godmother to ask the Saun family for her hand. He still didn't understand why Jaylene had rejected him so harshly that day.

He had been heartbroken, but when his family arranged a blind date, Jaylene suddenly said that if he had a girlfriend, he shouldn't contact her anymore. That had reignited his hope.

She didn't want him to go on a blind date. Did that mean she still cared?

But Jaylene didn't reply to his calls or texts. He was the only one stuck in this, with no way out.

He had no real interest in Tatiana. He only went on the blind date to appease his parents. After meeting Tatiana, he told her straight up that he liked someone else but had to go on this date because of his parents. He even planned to tell his parents later that their personalities didn't match, and he wanted Tatiana to do the same.

Tatiana didn't agree right away. Instead, she asked, "What if I can help you be with the one you really love?"

Aaron thought she was joking, but she seemed serious. She asked him to tell her everything that had happened, promising to help him replace a solution.

He wasn't one to open up to strangers, but Tatiana was easy to talk to. She was friendly and understanding, and before he knew it, he had shared his whole story with her.

For several days, Tatiana invited Aaron out-sometimes to the park, sometimes to a coffee shop-and the topic was always Jaylene.

He told her everything about his relationship with Jaylene, and Tatiana was there for him, whether he was happy, sad, or trying to figure things out.

Pretending to be his girlfriend was Tatiana's idea to push Jaylene into making a move, and now Jaylene had actually contacted him, just as Tatiana predicted. It showed that her plan was working.

"Should I call her back? Or should I post more pictures of us on WhatsApp Moments to make her jealous?"

Tatiana shook her head. "Aaron, she just called, and you didn't answer. If you keep posting pictures, she'll know you're doing it on purpose and won't believe it."

Aaron asked, "If I shouldn't call back or post pictures, what should I do?"

Tatiana smiled. "It's not about not replying; it's about not replying too quickly. Think about it-when you messaged her before, did she take a long time to reply? Did you get worried while waiting for her?"

Aaron was surprised. "How do you know?"

Tatiana continued, "Of course I know.

That's a little trick some girls use. If

om

we reply right away, it shows we care allot. But when we're unsure of the other person's feelings, we hold back our true emotions."

Aaron was silent for a moment, then asked quietly, "If you really like someone, would you still not reply, even knowing they're waiting?"

Tatiana thought to herself that if a

girl really likes you, she wouldn't

make you wait. But instead, she said, "Love is sometimes like a game to ometimes like

see who will break first. You can use

this trick on her now. When she calls or texts, don't respond as quickly as before. Wait a few hours, or even a day. Don't always do what she wants.

Make her realize if she cares about

you, she needs to show it." The

Aaron nodded. "I get it."

Tatiana smiled, her dimples showing. "Now, can we go eat? I haven't eaten since my night shift yesterday. I'm starving."

Aaron suddenly realized he had been.

dragging her around to solve his problems since she got off work. Not oply had she not eaten, but she also hadn't rested. He noticed the faint dark circles under her eyes and felt guilty.

"What do you want to eat? I'll take you," Aaron asked softly.

Tatiana thought for a moment. "I haven't had noodles in a while. I really want some."

Aaron was surprised. "You like noodles too?"

Tatiana blinked. "You like them too?"

Aaron laughed. "I've loved them since I was a kid. When I was studying abroad, it's what I missed the most."

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you replace any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report