Chapter 301
2、., 80%
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Since they both came from the same place and were high school classmates, they got along well during their university years.
Not long ago, Leonard transferred to the same hospital as her. They had met three times–once at a class reunion and twice when he brought her little gifts. Ellie was well aware of what Leonard’s intentions were.
“I like the mug, but I can’t take it,” Ellie said, pushing the cartoon–shaped mug back toward Leonard. “And please don’t give me anything else in the future. They might misunderstand.”
With that, she gave the mug back to him and walked away.
Ellie had no intention of marrying, nor would she ever give any man false hope. She wouldn’t keep things ambiguous with anyone. She thought the best place for a woman to end up wasn’t in marriage or having children–it was independence, both mentally and financially.
Later that evening, Ellie still went to the class reunion. After all, she and Leonard worked at the same hospital, and they would have to see each other regularly.
When she got the address, she was surprised to find that the event was being held at Earl Hotel, which was under Layton’s
name.
She had heard that their former classmate was doing well, but even though it was the smallest private room at Earl Hotel, the cost was still an amount far beyond her budget.
When Ellie arrived at the private room, she quickly realized how naive she had been. No matter the gender, it was all the same–what seemed like casual conversation was just everyone trying to outdo each other.
Men were rolling up their sleeves to show off their expensive watches, making phone calls with their hands intentionally raised to flaunt diamond necklaces.
People pretended to search through their bags to show off designer brands, car keys were placed on the table instead of tucked in pockets, and someone was even passing around business cards from her wealthy husbands.
Ellie looked down at herself. The only thing she had that stood out was the cheap jacket which was worth about a few dollars. After a moment’s hesitation, Ellie turned around and left. She had originally come to catch up with her classmates she hadn’t seen in years, but in this situation, stepping inside would only make her feel more uncomfortable.
As she exited through the hotel’s revolving door, she ran into Alex and Layton. She quickly averted her gaze and walked away without a second thought.
Alex stood there, watching Ellie’s figure disappear, and before he could say anything, he froze. He was momentarily caught off guard.
Ellie acted like she was treating him as if he were invisible. No matter what he said or did, and even if his expression was filled with pain or frustration, it was as though she couldn’t see or hear him at all.
Her silence was like an invisible net, wrapping around him tightly, leaving him no way to escape.
Layton turned back and saw Alex’s miserable face. With a smirk, he said, “Stop looking. This is what you deserve. You avoid doing anything decent but jump at every bad idea. You pushed her away.”
08:24 Wed, Feb 12
Chapter 301
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“Shut up!” Alex barked, clearly irritated.
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Layton pursed his lips and stepped back. “If yelling could solve problems, donkeys would be running the world by now.” Alex leaned against the hydrant under the hotel awning, one hand gripping it tightly, his body slightly hunched over. His chest felt so tight that he could hardly breathe.
Noticing something was off, Layton quickly stopped joking. “Hey I was just joking around. You don’t need to get so worked up. Seriously, calm down. Even if you drop dead from anger, Ellie isn’t coming to see you.”
Alex gritted his teeth and stared at Layton with an intimidating gaze. “Can you just shut up?”
Layton threw his hands up and kept backing away. “Look at you pushing people to their limits one minute, expecting them to move on the next, and leaving everyone miserable in the end. You’re a real piece of work, do you know that?”
