Chapter 0436
Peter turned to look at his friend Theodore, who was sipping his coffee. Feeling Peter’s gaze, Theodore looked up to meet his eyes.
“Wait, you didn’t know her? This is the first time you’ve talked to her, Isn’t it?” Theodore asked, clearly picking up on something.
“Yes!” Peter replied, a bit nervously.
“She’s clean, there’s nothing suspicious about her. I’ve already looked into her.”
“And?”
“Well, I have the report in my email, but from what I remember, she’s 35 years old, single–well, widowed. Her husband passed away eight years ago. They were married for two years before he died in a car accident.”
Wow… That’s tragic‘
“She doesn’t have kids. She lives in a modest apartment on the outskirts of Westhaven, alone with a cat. She studied fine arts. She doesn’t come from a wealthy family or anything. She’s just a regular woman, not the daughter of anyone important. In fact, she doesn’t have any close family left. Her husband was the last.”
“She’s all alone? She’s such a…”
“Beautiful woman? I thought the same thing. She’s stunning–and single.”
Peter fell silent for a few minutes. It was hard for him to reconcile the image of that cheerful woman with the fact that she was a widow and completely alone.
“Tell me something—she caught your attention, didn’t she?”
“No! Don’t get ideas…” Peter shot back defensively. “It’s just that seeing how well she gets along with Ethan made me curious.”
“Well, I didn’t tell you the saddest part. When her husband died, she was six months pregnant. With all the stress. and chaos from the accident, she lost the baby too.”
“Wow. Now you’ve really shocked me.”
“Well, now you know all the details about the woman who’s piqued your interest. Figure out what you want to do with them. I’ll send you the report later. By the way, tonight we’ve got an invitation to her art exhibit. If you want, I can give you my ticket, and you can go with Ethan.”
Peter was left speechless, staring at his friend. He knew exactly where this was going. One question, and Theodore was already trying to set him up on a date.
“I only asked out of curiosity. No need to read into it.”
“I’m not reading into anything. I’m just saying that if you want, you can join us tonight, or you can stay home. Ethan’s really excited. He’s been talking about it all week.
“Send me her report. I’ll take a look…”
“Just let me know if you’ll join us tonight or if it’ll just be Ethan and me. I want to see her paintings. Maybe I’ll buy something to decorate this house–it’s still missing a few touches.”
By the time Peter went to pick up Ethan from school, he had already read through the report. Theodore, of course, hadn’t missed the significance of this. Peter had never investigated any of Ethan’s other teachers before. Clearly,
Chapter 0436
this one had stood out to him.
+25 BONUS
[Celeste Johnson]
Celeste Johnso still wore her wedding ring and used her late husband’s last name. Losing her husband had been a devastating blow–not just because she had lost her partner, but also because she’d lost their unborn child. At 35 years old, she was a widow living alone with her elderly cat, which had originally belonged to her husband. She resided in a small apartment, just the right size for a woman and her pet. Neither she nor her late husband came from wealthy families or had a storied background. Her life wouldn’t suddenly change with the discovery of a rich grandparent or long–lost uncle. She was simply Celeste Johnson.
Getting a job at Clearmount had been a stroke of luck. She had struggled with financial instability for some time before landing the position. A friend had recommended her, and the sudden vacancy left by the previous art teacher, who moved overseas, had been a lifesaver for Celeste. That had been about eight months ago.
Celeste possessed a natural beauty. Her eyes were large, deep, and dark, her lips full and pink, her curly hair a rich dark shade, and her complexion fair. Though she wasn’t very tall, her slender figure gave her a poised, elegant air. There was an almost timeless grace about her, coupled with an extraordinary charm that often drew attention. In fact, this was precisely why she wasn’t often assigned to greet the children–some of the mothers felt intimidated by the young woman’s striking appearance.
