Terilynn touched one of her cheeks.
She swept her eyes at the phone. Her heart thudded against her chest when she was typing a reply to Joshua. "Then I'll keep this in mind."
Terilynn had to wait ten minutes for the notification. When a message popped up, her eyes lit up seeing Joshua had sent her a voice message. "Terilynn, do you have time now? I just finished dinner with my friends and saw someone setting off fireworks. It's very lively here. Would you like to join us?"
'Fireworks?' She repeated the word in her heart.
They could only be set off in a designated area in recent years, so Terilynn rarely saw fireworks. When Joshua suggested enjoying them together, her heart was moved. But... "I don't know if my father will agree to let me out."
In an instant, another voice message appeared. "Ask your mom for this!"
Her eyes lit up, and she laughed at herself. Why didn't she think of that? Her mother would agree! She jumped out of bed in a hurry, and she was nearly at the door when a thought flashed in her mind, making her frown. How should she go there? She didn't have her driving license with her.
With a gloomy face, Terilynn sat back on her bed and started typing. "Well, forget it. I left my driving license at college."
"Don't worry about that. Since I didn't drink, I can pick you up. Wait for me at the gate of your manor." A voice message came that raised her hopes again, and a wide grin spread across her face.
Her eyes were brightened again. "Great!" Terilynn stood up and sat before her dressing table, carefully observing her face. She took out her cosmetics and put on light make-up. With her flexible fingers, she used a thin layer of an orange lip gloss.
She walked over to the closet and picked a brand-new pink overcoat. Her eyes swept on a white scarf and wrapped it around her neck after a moment of hesitation.
Terilynn hung a small purse around her shoulders and hurried downstairs with her mobile phone in hand.
At first, she thought she could easily deal with it, but when her eyes slipped on the elders sitting in the living room, her movements slowed. No matter what, she didn't want Carlos to notice her. She lowered her head and headed toward the door. But how could Carlos not notice the small movements of his daughter? He narrowed his eyes at the girl dressed in a new coat and frowned. "Where do you think you are going? It's already late."
Terilynn pressed her lips in a thin line. Now she was done, and her father wouldn't give her a chance. She cast a glance full of expectations toward Miranda and Debbie. "Grandma, Mom, my friend invited me. Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
It was only past seven in the evening, and Debbie wanted her to go out and have fun. She just smiled at Terilynn. "Are you going to drive yourself? Or do you want to go with the driver?"
Terilynn sensed hope. "I left my driving license at college. My friend said he would pick me up. I'll just wait at the gate."
Just when Terilynn was waiting for her mom to give her consent, Carlos' sharp and icy voice rang again. "Which friend are you talking about? Do I know this person? Where is he taking you?"
Terilynn shut her eyes closed. Why wouldn't her dad stop interrogating her as if she were a criminal? She took a deep breath and swept her gaze at him. "Just a friend. There will be others too. You don't know him. Dad, stop asking!" Even her grandmother and her mother wouldn't ask so many questions. Thankfully, Terilynn had the support of the two powerful ladies in her family. With their help, she was able to ignore her father's questions.
Her father didn't give her and her sister freedom to mingle with anyone easily, especially men. Although she knew her father only wanted the best for them, she still longed to go out without any restriction.
Carlos scoffed, "Why, can't I even ask you now? Each of you thinks you have grown up and don't need your parents anymore!" Sadness cast over Carlos' eyes in a flash.
Miranda ignored Carlos and waved at Terilynn. "Go ahead. You better take Bennett with you because it's too late. Or else, we'll be worried."
Terilynn said with glee, "Thank you, Grandma! Thank you, Mom." She glanced at Carlos. "Bye, Dad." The girl left the living room and her ponytail swung as she rushed at the door.
Terilynn walked towards the gate of the manor while playing with her mobile phone. Behind her, Bennett drove the car, following her close. Just as she reached the main gate, a honk sound gained her attention. Her eyes shone brightly. Joshua was standing in front of the passenger seat door, smiling at her.
Terilynn's mouth curved up to form a grin, and she ran toward Joshua.
He opened the passenger door and gave her a paper cup. "Here, have some hot milk."
"Thank you!" Terilynn took the milk and sat in the car.
Joshua took the driver's seat and buckled the seat belt. That was when Terilynn turned to him. "I didn't expect you to get here so soon." She had supposed it would take him at least twenty minutes to get there.
"I was nearby."
"Oh!" It made sense.
At home, since the sisters were out, Matthew chose to accompany the elders. But instead of watching TV, he preferred to play on his phone.
Evelyn and Sheffield headed downtown after they left the manor.
"Would you like to go to the theaters with me? A new movie was released today," he asked. It wasn't like he was serious about watching the movie. In the theater, they would get plenty of opportunities to spend quality time with each other.
Evelyn cast him a thoughtful glance. She had hardly been to the cinema before. "Sure."
The cinema was filled with people and Sheffield could see a long line of customers outside the ticket counter. He wasn't worried, though. They were already an hour early. It took them half an hour to get their tickets, but they still had thirty minutes more to spend.
Since there was a long line to get the normal tickets, Sheffield had decided to go for the VVIP theater, which was a bit more expensive. That was how he was able to save time.
Several individuals took their seats to wait for the movie to start, but Sheffield didn't have that kind of patience. He decided to take Evelyn to the shopping mall downstairs to kill the time.
Before they could step on the escalator, a small voice rang in his ears. "Sheffield."
Sheffield turned back. Evelyn's eyes also followed the voice, and she saw two women standing about two meters away from them. The woman on the left was wearing a blue jacket, and the other had a short grey plaid overcoat over her body. Both of them looked stunning.
No matter how these ladies would dress up, Evelyn wouldn't fail to recognize one of them. Wasn't that the woman she had seen in the photo that Calvert sent her?
Evelyn cast Sheffield a confused glance only to find him nodding at Gillian indifferently. "Hello." His voice was cold and aloof.
Gillian walked elegantly towards them with one arm hooked in her friend's hand. She smiled at Evelyn and turned toward Sheffield. "Are you here to watch a movie?" A momentary glance of Gillian was swept at Evelyn. "Sheffield, who is this?"
Sheffield tightened his grip on Evelyn's hand and pulled her into his arms. "This is my wife, Mrs. Tang." He turned to look at Evelyn and his eyes softened. "Honey, this is my old classmate, Gillian Chi."
Evelyn had a strong aura around her that made her look unapproachable and dignified. Her light tan overcoat and a pair of black high boots made her look even more elegant.
She nodded with a smile on her face. "Nice to meet you, Miss Chi."
Gillian narrowed her eyes at Evelyn. As a person who was always pursuing brand products, Gillian could tell at a glance that the price of Evelyn's outfit was enough for her to buy several sets of her own
She wondered if Sheffield had bought these clothes for Evelyn.
Her gaze was fixed on Evelyn. The longer Gillian noticed how beautiful Evelyn looked with her figure and skin tone, the more Gillian became jealous.
She had a habit of looking down upon people. Gillian would think everyone in front of her was inferior to her. In that case, few people had the capability to make her jealous to this extent.
Initially, she was confident that she could beat Sheffield's girlfriend before meeting Evelyn face-to-face. But now, the situation was worse than what she had imagined. For the first time in a longer while, Gillian felt inferior.
"Nice to meet you too." Gillian forced a smile and turned toward Sheffield. "Why don't you tell us your girlfriend's name? Maybe we can be friends since we live in the same city."
Sheffield smiled as well. "No problem. Let me start over. This is my wife, Evelyn Tang."