Chapter 575
In mid–May, Robert concluded his European interviews and returned home to bid farewell to his wife and son.
The funeral of Royce and Bella was scheduled for May 17th.
On the day of the funeral, the sky was gloomy, with heavy leaden clouds hanging low, and the air was heavy and oppressive.
There was a private cemetery located 9.3 miles north of the Stark family’s old residence.
Here lay the ancestors of the Stark family for generations.
Rows of neatly arranged graves stood silently as if they were guardians of time, witnessing the end and beginning of countless lives.
Now, two new monuments were added, with the names, birthdates, and death dates of the deceased engraved on them.
The people who came to offer their condolences were dressed in black. With solemn and sorrowful expressions, they slowly entered this peaceful place.
The
graves were arranged in a vertical order, representing different generations.
Bouquets surrounded them.
The service started. The pastor’s voice rumbled deep and solemn, guiding the crowd through prayers and memories.
The mourners bowed their heads in silence.
Time thickened like molasses.
Finally, it was time to say goodbye.
The mourners approached one by one and placed the bouquets.
Even though Deandre and Haleigh had had unpleasant experiences with the Stark family, they still came to attend the funeral.
Deandre and Haleigh put down the bouquets and comforted the three members of the Stark family standing aside.
The funeral ended.
A young woman moved forward, her black dress swaying, a white flower pinned in her hair.
“Robert, Rayne.”
Robert nodded in response.
Rayne responded, “Jaida.”
Jaida greeted Robert and Rayne, then looked at the man standing beside them with a cold expression. Her eyes subtly changed, adding a touch of tenderness. “Lenny.”
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Lennon looked indifferent and politely said, “Thank you for making a special trip back to attend the funerals of my dad and grandma.”
Jaida Moore looked at Lennon sorrowfully.“Life goes on. Take care.”
Lennon nodded and averted his
gaze.
This meant that they no longer continued to talk.
Seeing that, Jaida lowered her gaze, her eyelashes trembling slightly. She pursed her lips and didn’t say anything more, then turned around and left.
People who came to attend the funeral gradually left one by one.
Lennon did not see the anticipated figure, a flicker of disappointment crossing his eyes.
The embrace on that rainy night seemed like a dream.
It was too good to be true.
It had been many days since then, and the ghost of her warmth still clung to his arms.
Marie’s wound had not yet healed, and the doctor said she should not move around too much.
She wanted to come to the funeral, but Deandre didn’t allow it.
She could only stay in the hospital obediently.
She sent a text message to Caylee.
Fiona did not attend the funeral, either. She was greatly frightened on the day Royce jumped off the building. Every night, she had nightmares and woke up screaming. Recently, Fiona has been staying at home and receiving psychological treatment.
Marie would call every few days to ask about Fiona’s condition. Darryl always answered the phone and said that Fiona’s mental state was still unstable.
After the funeral, Caylee answered her phone call.
“Hello, Marie, the funeral has ended.” Caylee lowered her voice as she walked towards the car, explaining the situation to Marie.
Knowing that she called to hear about Lennon, Caylee whispered, “Lenny’s acting normal. No need to freak out.”
Marie sighed with relief, “That’s good.”
Caylee chatted with Marie for a while, and then suddenly looked up and saw a familiar face. Caylee’s footsteps came to a halt, her voice abruptly silenced, and the unfinished words
in her throat.
In a daze, Jaida had already walked up to her and greeted, “Caylee, long time no see.” “What’s wrong, Caylee?” Marie asked with some confusion over the phone.
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Caylee said, “I have something to attend to, I’ll hang up now and call you back later.” “Okay.”
Hanging up the phone, Caylee met Jaida’s gaze and responded, “Long time no see.”
“Are you free? I’d like to treat you to a meal,” Jaida said.
Caylee hesitated for a moment.
She had intended to refuse, but when she thought about Jaida’s previous feelings for Lennon, she changed her mind.
Jaida made a special trip back to attend the funeral of Royce and Bella. She must have seen Lennon.
“This dinner invite isn’t just about the food. Jaida’s definitely digging for info on Lennon,” Caylee thought.
Similarly, she also wanted to find out from Jaida whether she had given up on Lennon.
“Sure,” Caylee said, “I’ll go change. You pick the spot.”
“Okay,” Jaida said, “We’ll keep in touch on WhatsApp.”
Caylee’s expression was dull, and she responded with a somewhat cold “Hmm.”
Jaida turned around and left.
Watching her departing, Caylee sighed.
She wondered, “Should I tell Marie that Jaida has come back?
“Although Marie and Lennon have broken up, they still love each other. Now that Nikolas has been arrested and Bella has also passed away, maybe they could reconcile…”
At 7:30 PM.
Inside a private room of a high–end members–only restaurant under the Moore Group…
Jaida and Caylee sat face to face.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Jaida sipped her coffee and asked, “I heard that Lenny and Mariela broke up?”
Over the years, although she was abroad, she had always been keeping an eye on Lennon.
Last year, when she found out about his marriage with the Logan family, she was sad for a lo
time.
The Moore family and the Stark family went way back to Robert’s generation. When they were toddlers, their parents even half–joked about betrothing her to Lennon someday.
Jaida’s first crush was Lennon.
Pretty and rich, she had many suitors.
< Chapter 575
But Lennon’s glow blinded her to the rest. Years later, she was still squinting at his shadow.
Before going abroad, she confessed once.
That year, she was nineteen.
She was about to study abroad.
Not wanting regrets and praying he’d beg her to stay, she took a bold step.
However, Lennon refused her.
“I’m sorry. I have someone I love.”
“May I ask who she is?”
Lennon did not hesitate and said, “Mariela.”
She knew Mariela.
and social
Mariela was the Logan family’s golden girl from New York. Sharing the same age circles, they would cross paths at parties sometimes. They just knew each other well enough to nod, not enough to stop to chat.
When Jaida learned that Lennon liked Mariela, she felt jealous.
But she had to admit that Mariela was indeed beautiful.
She heard that Mariela was the school belle from junior high school to university. Moreover, she excelled in both academics and extracurricular activities. She won awards for everything she studied as a hobby. In high school, she won the championship in the national youth golf tournament and received the first prize in the national piano competition. They said her calligraphy awards started piling up back in elementary school.
It was common for the ladies of noble families to learn some skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Most of them had some impressive talents to show off. However, exceptional individuals like Mariela were not often seen.
Proud as she was, after being rejected, Jaida did not persist stubbornly. She even calmly said, “I admit defeat to her wholeheartedly, but I will not give up on Lennon.”
She didn’t finish her words.
She wanted to say that she would work hard to improve herself and become excellent enough for him to see her.
Jaida snapped back to the present. The question still burned her tongue.
Lennon and Mariela broke up in January of this year. It had been over four months now, and she was not sure if they had reconciled.
She was afraid that the answer she would hear was not what she wanted to hear.
