Female Novel
Chapter 1753
As Maja observed Shirley's hesitation, she couldn't help but wonder if Shirley's lack of confidencewas because of her age. Was Shirley thinking that at thirty, she was too old for Abner, who was justtwenty-four? Was the age gap making her reluctant to confess her feelings?
It was pretty clear that Abner had been the first to fall for Shirley, but at that time, Shirley seemed tobe engaged to another man.
So, she had been repressing her feelings, keeping them bottled up until now when she couldn't helpbut sneak a peek into his life, yet she refused to come face-to-face with him.
"Hey, Ian is planning to grab a bite with Abner soon," Maja casually mentioned to Shirley, "I waswondering if you'd be free to join us, Ms. Dorothy. Since you know each other and I'm keen onmaking a new friend, why not come along?"
Shirley's response was a momentary freeze, followed by a hesitant pause, and finally a tight-lippednod without a word.
Maja waited patiently.
After ten seconds, Shirley slowly nodded and said, "Sure, but I don't think he's too keen on seeingme. We ended on a bit of a sour note."
It must have been the whole fiancé situation.
Maja couldn't help but smile.
"Great, I'll text you the details once the place is set. Is it okay to add you as a contact?"
Without hesitation, Shirley pulled out her phone and displayed her QR code. They added eachother, and Maja breathed a sigh of relief. This was a good start, especially since Shirley was willing,
no one was forcing her. At thirty, Shirley knew what choices to make, and it seemed she wasn'tdevoid of feelings for Abner.
After leaving the university, Maja headed back to Greenfield Gardens.
Ian was busy training Rocky, who was leaping impressively high, while Coco sat loyally by, wagginghis tail more enthusiastically than anyone else.
Pregnancy had put a temporary stop to Maja's pet cuddling sessions, so she could only watch fromthe sidelines. Coco, understanding as ever, circled around her but kept his distance.
Upon her arrival, Ian asked, "So, what did Shirley say?"
"I reckon there's mutual interest. Maybe there's just some misunderstanding they haven't clearedup. Anyway, we're setting up a meeting. How about you? When are you inviting Abner?"
"I called him, but he hung up as soon as he saw it was me."
Maja sighed.
Ian tried calling again, and this time Abner picked up, though his tone was heavy. "What do youwant?"
Ian was inwardly cursing. If he didn't owe a favor, he wouldn't be groveling like this.
"Are you free tomorrow? Let's have lunch. I'll send you the place."
"You're done? So soon, it seems that Queena's poison is still not heavy."
Ian wanted to hang up the phone on the spot, but Maja glared at him and continued humbly.
"Anyway, I've sent you the location. It's up to you whether you come or not."
Abner still came.
Although he came a little late.
When he arrived, Shirley had just sent a message to Maja to apologize, saying that she had beenpulled to a meeting temporarily and would be half an hour late. Maja told her not to worry.
After Abner entered the box, he saw that Maja was still inside. His eyebrows furrowed. He gave thecigarette at his fingertips to the waiter and asked the other party to help throw it away.
He handed his coat to the driver and entered the box.
His relationship with Ian was not that good. He was willing to help with the previous research basebecause he was worried that someone would use the medicine inside to deal with him one day, sothe place would be ruined if it was destroyed.
He casually flipped through the menu twice, showing a lack of interest. At first glance, he was veryperfunctory.
Ian was angry. "Just order something to eat. I have a friend later."
"You're inviting me to lunch and bringing a friend too?"
Ian stayed silent, secretly thrilled at the thought of Shirley's arrival and how it would throw Abner offbalance.
"It's not my friend, it's Maja's. She's quite the looker. Want me to introduce you?"
Abner scoffed and remained silent.
Ian's anticipation grew. He finally understood the thrill Tyler must have felt watching dramas unfold;people truly did revel in chaos.
Once the food was served, Abner began to eat.
Maja glanced at a message on her phone and excused herself, "She's just outside. I'll go get her."
Abner pretended not to hear and continued eating as if he had no manners at all.
When Maja opened the room door to greet Shirley, Abner's hand tightened around his utensils,snapping a piece of cod in his grip.
His lips pursed, and for a brief moment, his breathing quickened.
Ian couldn't resist turning to catch Abner's reaction. He saw him neatly picking up the broken pieceof fish with a napkin and cleaning up the mess on the table.
Typical.novelbin