Although my parents' house and workplace were both in the same city as me, I still rented a place outside after getting a job. Although it was tougher living alone, the freedom I gained was worth it.
Florence had invited some people we were close with, and we were just preparing to have some fondue together.
Seeing Hayden arrive uninvited, she could not help saying sarcastically, "Oh my, are you trying to get a pass from Anna before officially introducing Whitney to your parents?"
"Shut up," Hayden snapped darkly. "How many times have I told you guys? Whitney and I are just old friends."
Whitney's smile froze on her face, but no one noticed it.
Florence did not let up. "What do you mean by this visit then? You're bringing an old friend to visit your childhood friend? My, it turns out that this old friend can't trump a childhood friend!"
Everyone looked like they were highly enjoying the drama unfolding before them.
Hayden ignored Florence's questioning and turned to me. He said, "I went to visit Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer, but why was nobody home?"
"They went to Marratiff on holiday over the new year," I said indifferently. "Are the two of you staying for fondue? I didn't prepare any extra."
Whitney tugged on the hem of Hayden's shirt. She was eager to leave. "In that case, let's…"
"It's fine," said Hayden, helping himself to a seat beside me. "We're already here, so we might as well get together with Anna and the others."
He looked at Whitney and said, "You just came back from abroad, so you need to expand your network of connections."
As he said that, he glanced meaningfully at me with an expression that said, "you'd better appreciate my goodwill".
At the end of the day, it was all for Whitney's sake.
Honestly, what were you expecting, Annabelle Shaffer?
I smiled self-deprecatingly, feeling completely downtrodden.
However, Hayden was once again startled to see my smile.
"It seems like you still can't bear to leave Anna!" Florence exclaimed with a laugh while nudging me.
"Hardly," Hayden replied with a snort, returning to his usual self and helping himself to some fondue. "Why wouldn't I be able to part with her?
"Besides, I really think that it is meaningless. Sometimes, even if I don't do anything wrong, she will get angry with me. Just why is that?"
There was a rare hint of passive-aggressiveness in his voice. Florence ignored him and held her phone out to me.
"Look at this! Gets you excited, doesn't it?" she asked enthusiastically.
Hayden followed my gaze, and his expression darkened instantly.
There was a five-foot-nine-inch-tall man with particularly dazzling eight-pack abs displayed on the screen.
"Whoa!" someone exclaimed enviously. "Do you have connections to any more of those quality men?"
"Yes, in your dreams," said Florence sarcastically. She rolled her eyes. "This is a junior staff member who just came to work with my department. Anna gets dibs."
"He'll definitely do," I say, practically drooling.
Unexpectedly, I was grabbed by a pair of hands.
"What are you up to?" Hayden asked in a low voice, which was a sign that he was truly angry.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.
"Strange," Florence said loudly. "I'm just introducing Anna to a potential partner. Why the heck are you getting angry?"
Seeing our confused looks being directed his way, Hayden let go of me and turned away from me.
With the presence of Hayden and Whitney, the get-together quickly ended amid a strange atmosphere.
In the following days, I focused on enjoying myself. With Florence by my side, I enjoyed all the food and entertainment that I had been reluctant to try out in my previous life due to monetary concerns.
One day, as we were in the middle of a spa session, Florence suddenly held her phone out to me. "Isn't this Whitney's Instagram page?"
Whitney had posted a photo of herself baking at home. However, Hayden's figure was clearly visible in the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
In fact, they were both in their sleepwear.
Whitney had captioned the photo, "With me."
"It doesn't matter," I told Florence. I massaged my face in an effort to get rid of the flash of bitterness that I felt.
A moment later, both our phones rang at the same time. We were being invited to dinner. Apparently, something big was about to happen.
