“Sandy is now dead.” Tanner approached Pearl with mixed emotions surging from the bottom of his eyes.
“So how about you stay by my side on behalf of her from now on?”
Pearl’s shoulders trembled, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. “What have I done to deserve
this?”
“Indeed, you haven’t done anything. You can blame it on the fact that we’re now tied to each other.”
Tanner grabbed her by her neck and pulled her closer, his eyes bloodshot. “Everything would have been
better if you hadn’t appeared in my life. Without you, Sandy and I wouldn’t have gotten to where we are
today, and she wouldn’t have chosen to end her life either.” Looking at the tear that was rolling down
from the corner of her eye, Tanner pushed her away and turned away from her. “At this point, even
though this is not the right thing to do, we can only move on with what we have since we’ve already
made the wrong choice in the first place. Pearl Santiago, if you don’t want these photos to be sent to
your parents, you can only stay by my side obediently until you’ve made it up for the child that we lost.”
Tanner left. Watching the door close, Pearl was stunned and looked glazed. She was clearly indoors but
felt as cold as if trapped in an ice cellar.
Naomi knocked on the door of the office. After getting permission, she pushed the door open and walked
in. “Ms. Vanderbilt, are you looking for me?”
Maisie stood in front of the bookshelf and was flipping through a book. She turned to look at Naomi, put
the book back onto the shelf, and asked with a smile, “Would you like to go on an outing together on the
weekend?”
She was startled. “An outing? Is it some kind of activity organized by the company?”
“Of course not.” Maisie sat back in her seat. “I’m the organizer of this outing, and only a few people will
be there. Ryleigh’s due date is expected to be somewhere in the middle of next month, so I’m arranging
an outing for her to relax before she goes into labor. Since the both of you are quite close to each other,
let’s go together.”
Naomi smiled. “Okay then, I’ll definitely be there.”
Maisie nodded, and she picked up her cell phone and sent a text message to Barbara after Naomi went
out.
At this time, at the Spring Ripple Neighborhood…
Barbara had just finished breastfeeding the baby, and after putting the baby to sleep, she handed her
over to the nanny to bring her back to her room. When she came to the study, she saw Helios sitting
behind the desk, revising a script.
Helios stopped writing when he heard some movement, raised his head to look at her, and smiled.
“What’s the matter, Mrs. Boucher?”
Barbara walked behind him and placed both hands on his shoulders, “Seeing that you’re so busy with
work, I’ve come to give you a massage on the shoulders.”
He held the back of her hand and turned to look at her. “Is that so?”
She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “Zee has invited us to an outing this
weekend.”
Helios smiled. “Didn’t she go on a trip with Nolan? Why would she think of asking us to go on an outing
out of the blue?”
“Ryleigh’s baby is due next month.” Barbara rested her chin on his shoulder and tilted her head against
his. “But your cousin is still a bachelor.”
Helios frowned, pulled her to the front, and looked up at her. “Is my cousin the main point?”
Barbara hugged him. “Of course, Zee specifically requested that you should bring your cousin along.”
He squinted and smiled. “Is that so? Then I’ll have to ask him about that.”
Helios called Francisco right after the conversation.
Francisco seemed to be outside, and some background noise came from his end of the call. “There’s an
outing. Do you want to come along?”
Francisco wondered. “What kind of outing are you talking about?”
Helios responded, “Maisie invited me and your cousin-in-law.”
Francisco kept quiet for a few seconds and then rejected him directly. “No, you people are all couples,
yet you want to drag me along with you? Don’t you think it’s a little too much?”
Helios smiled and seemed to have guessed that he would say that “I didn’t say that it’s only the four of
us. There may be others 100”
Francisco remained silent again
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